Charette 1: Ivar Chair Redesign

After assembling the chair the team brainstormed on 2 points.....

1.Why the chair lacked personal attachment:

2.Why the chair might be discarded of lightly:


THEN: Some quick personal ideations focusing on these points respectively.....


Stain kit - enables the user to impart their own personality on to the product by mixing and applying their own colour.



Cork Cushion - provides comfort and wears to the user, creating an attachment to the product.



Disabled Chairs - allows the user to create a family of unique chairs, at the same time imparting a sense of memory on to them, with references to Victorian style, as well as giving the chairs a feel of greater quality because these forms are synonymous with fine craft/joinery.



Rocking Chair - An attachment to increase the physical pleasure from the chair moving from a generic to fun and more comfortable product.



Plywood Skeleton - an idea to have a covering that will give the flat shape some contour and flex. Inspired by taxi drivers bead seat coverings.

The team came back together for a final redesign.
The proposed solution will improve the attachment of the user to the chair by making it a more comfortable and stylish product. The chair back will utilise plywood for its form ability, strength and flex. In choosing plywood the team envisioned a chair with a sturdy and rigid framework in pine with the contrast of bent ply and its flowing visual form. The plywood would sit raised out from the pine infrastructure giving a floating, modern look. To attach the back rest the user will simply remove the bottom back strut and insert the fittings in their place.



REFLECTION

How do you feel about designing beyond the original product?

while there is a place for such a stripped back product, its also amazing how minor improvements can make such a difference to the product so that the user will enjoy the product and thus give the chair more value and longevity. I like the idea that you can impart a sense of memory or personality - any sense of value - to a product and achieve more than is expected of a generic product.

How did you feel about the collaborative problem-solving activity?

Working in a team is a great way to grab ideas from different perspectives and then get feedback on these ideas so as to keep outside the box but not too far outside the box while maintaining a fast and effective work flow.

If you were to design a piece of furniture from scratch, how would you do it differently?

In that situation i would seek to create a more seamless design. An attachment should look like it is supposed to be there but it is perhaps acceptable if the piece looks slightly disjointed.