Context & Conceptual Statement

This project is an annual event for the juniors in the industrial design program at OSU. They are responsible for producing 10 copies of a housewares product designed by them and the other member of their team to sell at a Winter Market. Our product was the Horizon Bag.

1. Research

We began our design process by performing ethnographic research. This proved to be challenging due to the Covid-19 pandemic and we had to resort to Zoom and other conferencing software for observation. My teammate and I investigated relaxation in the home with a target demographic of college aged kids.

2. Ideation & Research Interpretation

After completing our ethnographic research, we passed our findings off to our class and also gained access to research from our peers. By investigating our classmates and our own findings, we found that while relaxing, individuals often interact with an assortment of objects while sitting and these objects were typically just thrown about after use. We also found in our peer's research that our target demographic of college students ordered food on campus and would be forced to take it to go due to the pandemic. This leaves students with a to go container they had to carry around campus as they left dining halls. We decided to use these insights as guiding philosophies during ideation.

3. Refinement & Construction

Post initial ideation, we ended up going with a concept my partner had developed. I was really excited by her thoughts and got the opportunity to add to it. This is where we started to incorporate thoughts of stationary use rather than just a bag that holds to go containers for college students. We then went to work creating our bags that would eventually be sold at our Winter Market and other promotional material for our bags. We utilized canvas and recycled vinyl from signs to create our beautiful one-of-a-kind products.

4. Reflections

This project provided me with a great opportunity to work one on one with another designer to produce a product. It was an inspiring process to build on another's idea and start to see the blend between two different designer's work. This project has also inspired me to work more at soft good methods and soft good design philosophies.

Designer(s)

Blaine Hafen
Kate Belliveau

Role(s)

Industrial Designer

Date

August 2020 - November 2020

Duration

4 months

Skills & Software Used

Sketching, User Research, and Sewing

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