Brief
Find a partner with a specific need and design a low-cost innovative concept fix that will enable them to become more independent in that aspect. A brief in association with the Fixperts program.
Find a partner with a specific need and design a low-cost innovative concept fix that will enable them to become more independent in that aspect. A brief in association with the Fixperts program.
Nia
Nia has had a slow mental development and takes a while longer to learn things other children would for her age. she had missed all her milestones and still struggles with her speech and her motor skills. Part of this involves doing intricate things with her fingers like tying shoelaces, opening packets and pouring drinks.
initial sketches
Identifying A Solution
We decided that it would be most successful if we assisted Nia with her dexterity issues. We wanted to help Nia become more independent in pouring out liquids, so she can make her own cereal in the morning with the hope that she might grow out it and become fully independent.
We decided that it would be most successful if we assisted Nia with her dexterity issues. We wanted to help Nia become more independent in pouring out liquids, so she can make her own cereal in the morning with the hope that she might grow out it and become fully independent.
development sketches
We also looked at different ways to attatch the funnel to the bottle/cap
Final Design
We created a funnel type accessory to go on top of bottles of squash or milk that will slow down the flow of the liquid coming out of the bottle. This gives Nia more control over what she is pouring and allowing more time to stop pouring to account for her delay.
There are small indentations in the inner wall of accessory so that the funnel can fit comfortably and water tight over a variety of bottles without having to worry about the difference in thread sizes.
We created a funnel type accessory to go on top of bottles of squash or milk that will slow down the flow of the liquid coming out of the bottle. This gives Nia more control over what she is pouring and allowing more time to stop pouring to account for her delay.
There are small indentations in the inner wall of accessory so that the funnel can fit comfortably and water tight over a variety of bottles without having to worry about the difference in thread sizes.
instructional storyboard
Watch Our Journey
FOLLOW UP
During the Fixperts project, when analysing Nia completing simple tasks, l noticed that she pours drinks both to the left and the right hand side. However, I’m aware that most people use only their dominant hand to pour drinks. I asked her mum if she noticed this; Nia is ambidextrous but mainly uses her left hand to hold pens and pencils etc.
Looking into this further by observing how Nia holds a pen, She tends to use her left hand as her dominant but has several hand positions when drawing.
I wanted to create a pencil grip where Nia wouldn’t need to fully wrap her fingers around but give, her better control over what she is doing. Nia cannot write complete words yet, but she often enjoys mark making. It would be important to get Nia into drawing with one hand position, so she can work on just one and improving from there. I believe that in making this experience easier for her, itw would highly benefit her physical development as well as her imagination and creative skills.