INDUSTRIAL DESIGN |
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Exhibition Text |
My prototype of paw clippers is created to explore the process of creating a product in an industrial design setting. Inspired by the ideas and works of both Lawrence Murphy as well as the company Resco, I have developed a product assisting in the issue of clipping a dog's nails when the dog is moving around and uncomfortable. The creation of this product is meant to engage my creative thinking and brainstorming skills.
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Inspiration |
As an introduction to the concept of industrial design, I was introduced to an industrial designer, Lawrence Murphy, going by the name Murph. Having been employed at GE Medical Systems for 40 years managing the Global Design and User Experience team, his introduction allowed me to become more educated upon the topic of industrial design. Murph also has experience in human factors and product design, having patents in IT, X-ray, GE Energy, and many others. He additionally is a part-time professor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, teaching concept development, visual brainstorming, and creative problem solving. The creative process that Murph introduces inspires me to provoke my thoughts and ideas to design a creation.
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Planning |
Completing activities and lessons taught by Murph, I was introduced to the concept of industrial design. As a further education of aspects of this type of design, Murph presented me with a project considering the lives of pets and their owners. As graphic design is typically a means to a solution for a presented issue, the objective of the project was to make a creation which innovated an issue in pet care. With the intention of making an easier living environment, either for pet owners or pets themselves, I was to create a design for a product catering to the needs of a pet. In order to spark creative processes beginning the project, Murph introduced a variety of methods of visual brainstorming.
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The first creative brainstorming method Murph introduced was the implementation of an empathy map. This type of map is a reflection of things one may see, think, hear, and feel through observations made in their everyday lives. After observing my own environment through the perspectives of pet owners, I reflected on issues commonly held by these individuals. Some of the observations I made consisted of the feelings of anxiety felt by dogs when separated from their owner or when experiencing loud and unfamiliar environments.
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Murph also introduced the idea of concept maps, which allow the brain to visually express its ideas by continuously adding all thoughts to the map. Since I specially have a dog, the issues I explored were related to struggles that dogs and dog owners may have. I began to sketch and write observations I have made concerning this topic. The observations I made include common pet issues such as separation anxiety, fear of loud noises, scratching furniture, and difficulty with trimming nails. I also began brainstorming possible solutions to these issues.
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When considering the issue of separation anxiety and the fear of loud noises, I started sketching ideas of the creation of a dog bed, which would help to eliminate these issues. This process of observing issues in my community and creating innovative ideas to help solve the issues or make them better helped me to begin planning and creating ideas for my final project.
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Process |
I began to sketch the different ideas I had concerning issues pet communities had in regards to pet care. While I originally began to sketch ideas for a product that would combat the issue of pets scratching furniture and getting sharp objects stuck in their paws, I noticed a specific issue my dog experiences that I wanted to explore. Specifically with my dog, there is an issue around cutting his nails, as he moves around a lot, making it difficult to trim his nails. I also observed that it would be really helpful if there were some way to keep his paws still while trimming his nails, or if there were a way to trim many of his nails at once.
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I then began to elaborate on this idea through more sketching. I created an idea for a product similar to Resco's nail clippers. Implementing similar ideas of cutting pet's nails. I envisioned a product which would cut many nails on a pet's paw at once, as I remembered that my dog does not like the feeling of getting his nails cut, making it a difficult task to cut each individual nail without him moving. This process helped me to understand another concept Murph presented called a point of view statement, acknowledging the feelings other have leading to a necessity for an issue.
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Point of view statement: I met a family with a dog, who I noticed does not enjoy getting his nails cut, moving every time a person tries to cut his nails. It would change things if a nail clipper for dogs was able to hold the dog's paw steady while also trimming the nails, with more nails being trimmed at once.
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Experimentation |
Another concept that Murph mentioned is the idea of viewer completion. This refers to a viewers ability to observe a design and have a sense of an idea of what is going to be created. As my previous prototype was constructed of electrical tape meant to symbolize the whole nail clipper along with the blades of the pet nail clipper, an aspect of viewer completion would be difficult to interpret. I also wanted the handle of the pet nail clipper to be less square, as it is difficult to grip the handles on the prototype.
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To ensure the appearance of the blade part of a pet nail clipper as more realistic than the prototype, I decided to use a different material than electrical tape to occupy the space where the blades reside. As an alternate material to the electrical tape, I bent pieces of paperclips to create the illusion of a metal blade. I also created the handles of the clippers as more wide and rounded rather than flattened.
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Another aspect of viewer completion is understanding the proposed functions of a product. I wanted to specifically demonstrate the purpose of the pet nail clipper by ensuring others know what the purpose of the product is. To further illustrate this, I also added an image of a paw print to the piece in which dogs are meant to rest their paws.
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Critique |
Similarities:
The use of my product as compared to Resco's product has the same general use. My prototype is similar to the company's work, as both creations have the intended use of clipping pet's nails. Aspects of my work are also similar to Resco's work, as my prototype implements the cutting method similar to their scissors clipper. Differences: While my piece is a prototype, the products created by Resco are functional. The given mediums are also slightly different, as the Resco company works with rubber and metalworking, which I substituted for electrical tape and masking tape. My paw clipper also calls for the use of cutting multiple nails at once, while the Resco company focuses on solely one. |
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Reflection |
Having been first introduced to industrial design, I have realized that the visual way in which people express themselves or their issues is valuable and common among industrial designers. I have also explored the process by which industrial design ideas are created with the use of empathy and concept maps. For this project, I was inspired by a company called Resco, which creates nail clippers for smaller and larger pets. My product is similar to Resco products, as my product is a representation of the company's work. This project has helped me consider my planning stages for other projects, as the teachings from Murph have elaborated on creative thinking, concept-development, and brainstorming creative processes.
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ACT Questions |
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration has helped me view conceptual ideas of industrial design. With my inspiration of Murph, I was taught creative processes while I learned about techniques implemented as well. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? when a family has a dog or a pet, that dog needs proper pet care, which includes feeding and nail trimming. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration? Being an industrial designer requires the expression of ideas and simplistic thoughts. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?. The issue of the cutting of dog nails contributes to the central idea in my research. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? I inferred that many different accompanied go through processes to achieve an end product. |
Citations (MLA) |
“Larry Murphy.” Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, 27 Feb. 2020, https://www.miad.edu/faculty/larry-murphy.
“Resco Pet Products - Pet Nail Clippers.” Rescopetproducts, https://www.rescopetproducts.com/nail-clippers. |