In January 2023, my Sophomore Studio challenged me to create a distinctive designer chair focused on a specific setting and capable of supporting at least 250 pounds. Over the course of two months, I embarked on a journey of precise Ergonomic research, thoughtful material selection, and meticulous craftsmanship to create the next best dining room chair. The result is the A27 Wahrheit —a living design crafted only with tubular steel, tough cow leather, and locally sourced bamboo; a unique blend of functionality, and aesthetic appeal.
Design
Process:
1.
Initial Research
2.
Design Objectives
3.
Ergonomic Testing
4.
Ideation
5.
Material Research
6.
Concepting and Iteration
7.
Construction
8.
Final Design
Initial Research
What does the chair industry look like today?
8th
Atlanta ranked 8th in the world for the most congested city in the world.
70.8 hrs
Atlanta drivers and travelers typically spend 70.8 hours congested in traffic every year.
From liminal to memorable space, simply put, urban mobility is the movement of individuals and groups throughout the urban landscape. From taking the metro to the airport, traversing the Beltline from Ponce City Market to Krog District, or riding electric scooters to and from class, urban mobility is simply how we get around. Our goal, is to discover the essence of urban mobility and consider the future.
Design Objectives
So, what am I setting out to create?
To address this question comprehensively, I pulled apart my research to determine the proper criteria to achieve a unique and novel design. The project's initial prompt presented me with a broad scope, which necessitated the need for clarity in defining my design's boundaries. At this stage of the design process in an accelerated project, it becomes crucial to establish a clear project scope to determine which aspects of the design should be taken into account and which ones should be excluded from consideration.
1. The design must hold someone up.
2. The design should look cohesive in material and form.
3. The design could be elegantly made from bamboo.
4. The design must utilize tested ergonomic measurements.
5. The design should fit in a modern chic dining display.
6. The design could be eco-friendly.
To achieve the design goals, I will prioritize structural integrity to ensure the chair can support up to 250 pounds, adhering to tested ergonomic measurements for comfort. Material selection will focus on creating a cohesive and elegant appearance, exploring the possibility of eco-friendly bamboo construction that aligns with modern chic dining aesthetics. Through careful consideration of form and functionality, the resulting design will harmonize with both style and practicality, meeting all specified criteria.
Ergonomic Testing
What should a dining chair feel like?
19
Analogous Observations
15 +
Ergo-box Test Subjects
30 +
Test variations
In the process of crafting my chair design, I employed an Ergonomic Test rig, known as the Ergo Box, to systematically evaluate diverse measurements with various test subjects. To ensure precision, a table at the standard height of a kitchen table was integrated to gather authentic feedback for the user's intended activities. Following each test and simulation, I engaged participants in discussions, prompting them to identify pain points and offer suggestions based on their individual body types. This iterative approach allowed me to analyze and synthesize the data, leading to the identification of the most optimal measurements catering to the general population.
17.5"
Seat Height
18"
Seat Depth
18"
Seat Width
98°
Back Angle
20"
Back Height
The insights gathered from extensive ergonomic testing guided the final dimensions of the A27 Wahrheit Dining Room Chair. With a seat height of 17.5 inches and a generous seat depth of 18 inches, the chair ensures both comfort and proper support. The back angle at 98 degrees and a back height of 20 inches promote an ergonomic posture, enhancing the overall user experience. Additionally, a thoughtfully designed seat width of 18 inches strikes the perfect balance between snugness and freedom of movement.
Ideation
Envisioning a modern bamboo dining chair
Armed with insights gathered from our user research and a well-defined problem space, we began the ideation phase for concepts aimed at addressing the existing challenges in urban mobility. Each team member embarked on a creative endeavor, sketching a total of 100 thumbnail sketches, each serving as a rapid and rudimentary representation of an idea. In this process, our primary emphasis was on generating a multitude of ideas, prioritizing quantity over the meticulous quality of the sketches. At the end, we ended up with a collection of 400 thumbnail sketches. From this diverse pool of concepts, we meticulously evaluated and selected the most promising 20 ideas for further development. These 20 concepts emerged as potential candidates for shaping our final concept, offering a wide range of possibilities to explore and refine in our pursuit of innovative solutions for urban mobility challenges.
Initial Concept & Features
Turbine Facade
The turbine facade will be attached to the exterior of the parking structure, supporting a portion, if not all, of the energy needed to make the building operate sustainably. This feature ties back to the research insight, highlighting the need for sustainability in the building as well as smart and efficient use of space.
1.
The auto-valet parking structure in Urban Capillary enables users to avoid worrying about finding a parking spot in the middle of the city, as well as the security of their vehicle. Users simply need to drive into a parking bay, and the auto-valet parking structure will transport the vehicle into the system. This feature significantly reduces the time required for drivers to park their cars, thereby giving back valuable time to the users.
2.
Automated Valet System
The bike-sharing system in the Capillary offers users a seamless transition from one mode of transportation to another. Users can park their vehicle and then get a bike to ride into the city, all within the same building and ecosystem. This feature allows users to reclaim lost time during travel, offering them a more streamlined traveling experience.
Bike Swap System
3.
The outdoor green spaces allow travelers to pause and enjoy the urban landscape. People can use these spaces in different ways that suit their needs, from having a picnic on the grass to drawing graffiti in designated areas. The ways in which urban travelers can personalize the space and make it uniquely theirs are endless.
Multi-Use Outdoor Spaces
4.
Material Research
How can this actually be done?
In pursuit of my design goals, a key focus was the integration of sustainable elements into a sleek and modern aesthetic. Early in the process, I was captivated by bamboo as the primary material, recognizing the challenge of crafting a contemporary piece from this resilient yet natural resource. While my initial ambitions were bold, they required refinement, yet I remained committed to echoing Walter Gropius's Material Truth, infusing a sense of honesty and authenticity into the design's materiality.
"Material should be used in the most ‘honest’ way possible. In this way the nature of the material should not be modified in any way. For example, supportive materials such as steel should be exposed rather than hidden within the form of the furniture or building".
-Walter Gropius, Influential Bauhaus Professor
The goal for our participants was simple: to park their car and leave the parking structure through the pedestrian exit. The driver should drive his car into “Bay 8,” leave his car, then go out to the kiosk outside to complete the car parking procedures. That is the happy path and, just as expected, none of the participants performed the happy path.
To ensure our concept is as good as we envision it, testing is necessary to confirm that users will interact with the artifacts in the way we anticipate. A major feature we focused on and wanted to test is the Auto-Valet Parking System. As the main entrance point into the Urban Capillary, it's crucial that the user experience—from exiting the highway to entering the Capillary and parking their vehicle—is seamless. For testing our design, we adopted a rapid iterative approach, conducting as many tests as possible until reaching a clear saturation of common results. Then, we revised our test design based on the insights from this saturation and continued testing with the new design until reaching another saturation. This testing methodology allows us to remain lean while maintaining the flexibility to catch test design failures early in the process and to discover key insights about our concepts.
0%
Completion Rate
“I thought it would take my car... you said it was automatic valet. Right?”
User Quote
To address the issues that we found, we have updated the kiosk placement for better way-finding communication. Instead of having the kiosk on the outside of the parking bay, we put them towards the inside and at the same side of the driver’s seat. This placement clearly indicates the intent of the parking procedure where the driver needs to drive into the pay to interact with the kiosk.
What we found is that none of the users chose to drive directly into the parking bay; instead, they drove towards the kiosk outside the bay and interacted with it without leaving their cars. It turns out there is an existing mental model where people prefer to interact with the kiosk before believing they are allowed to park. The placement of the kiosk and signage is paramount in achieving the intended happy path. Previous mental models overruled our intended outcome.
Mental models for car parking structures were challenged while testing automated valet parking.
The current mental models of users differ from how we envision our concept being used. The novelty of the concept should not be entirely unfamiliar to the audience. We need to refine our concepts so that they leverage existing mental models, guiding users naturally and intuitively through the overall journey.
Insight #2
Some users considered safety and security of their car as a bonus but some also worried about how the system would ‘treat’ the car.
One unexpected insight from our participants is their appreciation for the security aspect of our concept. They find the idea of driving into a parking garage, where no one else can access their car afterwards, very compelling. However, they also expressed concerns about potential damage to their car by the auto-valet system. This apprehension stems from a lack of understanding of how the auto-valet parking system operates. Better communication is necessary to alleviate users' concerns regarding the parking structure.
Insight #1
Concepting and Iteration
Diving deep into mode of transportation switch
Another feature closely associated with our Urban Capillary is the CapCard ecosystem. Users can utilize the CapCard at various touchpoints during their urban travel experience. It enables them to park their vehicle, rent a bike, access the subway, and more, all with a simple tap. Users have the option of obtaining a physical card for their wallet or integrating the CapCard natively into digital wallets like Apple Wallet. Therefore, it is crucial to validate whether our envisioned interaction, particularly the transition from one mode of transportation to another, is seamless.
Research Question
How do users understand the CapCard ecosystem and apply it to switch between different modes of transportation?
Hypothesis
The CapCard ecosystem makes urban traveler’s experience more streamlined.
Findings Affinity Map
Insight #1
Kiosk labeling and first screen helped people understand whether or not the kiosk services applied to them
Adding a “help desk” sign to the kiosk helped users identify the interaction point. The majority of participants chose not to interact with the help kiosk and instead walked straight to the bike. This signage proved successful, as users indicated that they didn't need help, so it was natural for them to tap the CapCard and check out a bike.
Insight #2
Auditory cues can ease cognitive load and provide feedback to increase the user’s understanding of what’s going on significantly.
The majority of participants had difficulty understanding whether their bike had been successfully locked, despite clear indications on the bike's UI confirming that it was locked. We found that there are simply too many distractions at the moment when a user tries to lock their bike. As a result, the user's attention shifts from the screen to the bike's wheel and the station's locking mechanism.
Insight #3
Users have no problem understanding the pass ecosystem. With better context clues and graphics we can increase this understanding as well.
All our participants understood that the same CapCard used for parking their vehicle should also be used to rent a bike. People had no trouble comprehending the overall CapCard Ecosystem. However, we still see opportunities for improvement, such as redesigning the card itself to better communicate the ecosystem.
Construction
Introducing the Urban Capillary
Final Design