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| P R O J E C T S |
Self
Initiated Project - Sleep Scentsor Development Work ( Documentary Film Presentation can be seen here [7min] ) This project has the support of various experts, including Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, who have all suggested that I take it forward and seek further investment in the design, which may require a patent. Because of this, the project may have to be temporarily removed from this site. |
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| Designing Out Waste (RSA) | ||||||
| Wir Hier - Services (RSA) | ||||||
| > Sleep Scentsor - Insomnia | ||||||
| Classroom of the Future | ||||||
| Dissertation - Well-Being | ||||||
| Enable - Mobile Phone | ||||||
| S K I L L S | ||||||
| A B O U T M E |  |
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I began the project by looking at how design could directly influence a person's well-being having been inspired by research for my dissertation. I then used interviews, user probes and literary research to gather information. From there I began to look at stress as this is regarded to be one of the main causes of mental ill-health in the UK. "Latest research shows 64% of the UK workforce are suffering workplace stress" Source: International Stress Management Association UK |
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I studied and tested existing products and methods that are intended to relieve stress and aid relaxation, but the vast majority had no discernable effect and a couple created higher levels of stress in the volunteers I worked with during the research. |  |
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| For the next stage of research I conducted a focus group on the causes and effects of stress with the help of Patricia Elliot, chief executive of the Thetes Group. It was during this meeting that we identified the issue of insomnia, which affected the majority of people who came to the meeting. After more focused research regarding insomnia and having contacted relevant experts in the field I went back to the group with some concepts to inspire a debate about how one could best attempt to address the issue. |  |
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Our discussions relating to nightly routines gave us the idea of looking at the psychological concept of classical conditioning first developed by Ivan Pavlov as a sleeping aid for people suffering from insomnia. I then carried out more literary research and then contacted various conditioning experts and sleep researchers, including Lauren M Marchetti, from Glasgow University and Peter J Rogers, of the Department of Experimental Psychology at Bristol University, to gain their professional opinions regarding the idea. | |||||
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| Feedback
from both the experts and user group were very positive so I selected
this concept for further development. |
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| The next stage was testing various materials / sizes / fabrics and forms to see which were the most comfortable to wear overnight and then to return to the others with the sketch models for both the device itself and the spray to get their opinions. |  |
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| After refining the details of the design I created a 3D model and used the CNC machine to create masters for molding the silicone. The final designs are shown below. I also did a costing analysis and together with a few members of the group and a GP worked out how the device could be leased to patients through the NHS and what factors were most important to the users regarding this. To see the full presentation documentary, which goes through a user journey as an example please click here. |  |
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