Product Design
Design for me is a means of communication, a vehicle for storytelling, and a catalyst for change. Every project is a canvas for exploration, a space where ideas come to life, and where innovation seamlessly melds with aesthetics. I have always aimed to have thoughtfully crafted solutions that speak to the heart of the user, with a meticulous attention to detail.
I studied Product Design at both BSc and MSc level, at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Below is a collection of my projects from this time.
Equinox is a smart lamp designed from start to finish to aid people with Seasonal Affective Disorder. 2018 BSc. Product Design Studio Project.
Using smart technology with IOT (the internet of things), the product in two parts — a light and a sensor — works in time with the sun to feed live sunlight data into the device, in order to provide the correct amount of blue and white light throughout the day. This then should help keep the users circadian rhythm in better shape, when they’re working inside and lack enough access to the sun.
Otto is an AI powered smart robot prototype, designed to aid children with
autism, created for Microsoft. 2016 BSc. Product Design Studio Project.
The group brief set by Microsoft was to design and build a product around conversational user interfaces. Otto was designed to help tackle the problem that parents face when trying to engage with Autistic children in stressful situations. There were 2 working prototypes made, the first was through the university module and the second advancement was for the summer exhibition at Microsoft's Design Expo.
A wood-crafted minimal light, designed with aesthetic in mind.
The idea behind the Tilt Light is to bring an ambience of light into a space through simple user interaction in an unobtrusive manner. This project was part of a collaborative brief with Instrmnt, a Glasgow based industrial design firm who make quality goods that are accessible to all.
Grab is a prototype handle which aids people diagnosed with Arthritis, a project set as a live brief in conjunction with Versus Arthritis.
Taking ‘grab’ literally, I worked closely with my mother who suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis in the hands to design a universal tool, crafted to help remove any sort of medical stigma, that can be used in many different scenarios to aid with grabbing things around the home. From opening heavy doors, fridges and cabinets, to helping carry heavy bags or items, it is designed with pure functionality in mind using first hand research and sessions with Versus Arthritis to drive towards the end product.
The Window To Dundee is an installation research product created to help with decentralisation using the Internet of Things. (IoT)
“How can you decentralise Dundee using mindfulness and navigation?”
Collaboratively, my team decided to research into health and sustainability within the city of Dundee, and from this we looked further into mindfulness. Our research was based heavily on an independent business, Heart Space Whole Foods. We tried to stretch their morals and values out to the whole city, and to see how we could find out what people think mindfulness means to them as an individual. Our outcome, the ‘window to Dundee,’ influences people to ‘wander with words’ and help find mindfulness throughout the city.