umBRELLA
March -- June 2021
Last year, my Design Methodologies course focused on the holistic design and system engineering process. The professor broke the class into 4-person groups to practice the ideation phase and instructed us to redesign an everyday item. We decided on an umbrella since there has been little variation in its' design in the past century. While the project ended after ideation, I created a CAD model of our design and practiced making realistic product representations using Keyshot.
Observation
With limited access to stakeholders, we decided to use the Post-It note process to gather requirements. Every classmate received 5 Post-It notes and was instructed to write or sketch anything they wished an umbrella could do.
After collecting the notes, we distilled the most common needs into functional and non-functional requirements. Many of the notes indicated a demand for a more intelligent, portable umbrella that could keep the user dry AND safe.
Ideation
Since a weaponized umbrella is a bad idea for several reasons, we brainstormed designs that focused on providing a safer, preventative experience. Most of the notes suggested that users wanted an umbrella that provided illumination. Since that would require energy, we considered potential possibilities to take advantage of the power consumption. Many of the notes suggested including GPS, phone calls, and weather forecasts, but implementing these required some form of input from the user. We had to balance this input with portability, a top functional requirement.
Taking inspiration from the original iPod, I sketched a glass scroll wheel with a circular screen underneath that would sit on top of the umbrella handle. To prevent unwanted feedback, the wheel would not be touch-sensitive; instead, users could use their thumb to scroll the glass wheel left or right and press down for selection. Users could now easily see incoming notifications mirrored from their phones with just one hand.
Our final design remained portable and included the scroll wheel, an LED light around the brim, a flashlight in the base.
Model Representation
With the project complete, I decided to try out Sharpr3D to create a CAD umbrella model. I imported the model components into Keyshot 10 and added color, texture, and lighting to create a realistic visual. I used Illustrator to create a simple scroll wheel app illustration and added emissive illumination to provide an OLED effect. While I had to switch gears to focus on thesis writing, I plan to go back and create a short animation in the new Keyshot 11.
