Ideation and Concept Definition.
This phase revolves around co-designing with the participant to further elaborate on her experiences and design a suitable and specific product.
Phase one provided the team with the necessary information to pursue with the designing process on a more practical level. Particularly, the last step of the User Journey map functioned as a bridge allowing a smooth transition from the research phase to the ideation phase. By providing the team a visualisation of the main struggle concerning the experience as a new mum back to work, the co-design session could be structured accordingly.
Phase two consisted of two co-design sessions with the participant and further ideation from the team itself. They consisted in exploring ideas and diverging in terms of solutions, and further on converging into one clear direction.
Figure 2.1: A visual representation of Maria's day and the pain points/ design opportunities
Preliminary Concepts
Using the pain points identified in the day maps, the group created four concepts to present to her in the first co-design session. These concepts were as follows:
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A modular home gym that involved the baby to help promote the user's active lifestyle.
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A modular bike bag system that could be used as a sanitary station for breastfeeding at work.
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A breastfeeding privacy screen for when pumping or feeding in public spaces.
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A Food scanner that would easily tell the user the information on certain foods and aid the user in creating home made meals for the child.
Figure 2.2: The groups four main concept directions that would be presented to the user in the co-design session.
Warm Up Task:
The first activity in these sessions acted as a warm-up to gauge and initialise the case owner’s creativity. This exercise drew inspiration from the study analysed in phase one by Rapisarda et al. (2023). and in this case, the team asked the case owner to describe some of her experiences as metaphors.
By sparking the conversation off with the discussion of metaphors and how they relate to certain pain points the group and the user could get information that could lead to more in-depth conversation. One of the most prolific examples of this exercise was the user stating that "Packing for work is like solving a puzzle," this broad statement could then prompt further discussion on each pain point.
The rest of the session was structured as a way to explore the selected points in additional detail. Although it was prior knowledge from the day maps that the participant struggled with the transportation of her belongings to work, the session was structured to still explore other points and varying solutions. However, as the session continued, the participant kept returning to her struggle with her bags. Because of the strong emphasis that she placed on this point, it was decided that this struggle would become the main design challenge. (Shown Below)
The information provided was simultaneously collected on a miro board in order to visualise what was discussed as efficiently as possible. Throughout the video call the group discussed different topics and activities with the client. The client was able to give her views and input on the specific subjects/activities we were discussing so we could narrow our field of design opportunity.
Figure 2.4: The multiple identified design directions were listed and the group and the user discussed each one. We asked the user to just throw thoughts out when asked about the topic.
Figure 2.5: Similar to the last task we discussed individual design directions and asked what the user's constraints would be, what she needed, what she did not need and would she consider using a product for that subject.
The final activity consisted in a proposal of some of the main ideas developed by the team in the early stage of the project to back up some brainstorming from the session. This activity was left as last in order to simply get the participant's feelings on what were some of the directions pursued from the team. Additionally, it has been left at last in order not to influence the participant by involuntarily narrowing the range of possible directions to explore during the codesign session.
The case owner immediately turned down the adaptable home gym as she already has a home gym. Regarding the food scanner, she liked the idea, however she stated that she did not see it as something she has a need for or would use. She elaborated that she is really look for a solution to her bag problem and that she sees it as something that would help other mothers too. For this reason, the concept direction leaning towards a carrier for her things was chosen.
Concept Proposal:
Brainstorming and Constraint definition:
"How can we improve the participant’s organizational, social and hygiene experience when it comes to breastfeeding and pumping in public spaces with a product that aligns with her views on long-term product use?"
Design Challenge
Figure 2.3: Metaphor association Miro board.
Figure 2.6: The concept proposal board with the client and the groups thoughts on each one.
"It is like solving a puzzle"
Co-Design Session 2
The second co-design session was conducted in-person. This session aimed to focus on the specific requests of the participant from the first session where she stated that she needs a better system to take her belongings with her to work that is optimized for pumping.
Figure 2.8: Group members in co design session 2.
Session 1 Findings
The co-design session opened a clear path on the direction to pursue. The solution to the challenge appeared to be a modular system which would meet the requirement of being designed for a specific user by discussing preferences, constraints and opportunities with the participant, as has been done during the second co-design session.
This concept helped to visualise the direction to pursue in the specific case of the team’s participant, by not diverging to one single solution yet but still allowing the group to pursue different directions and maintain freedom in terms of creativity, especially prior to the following co design session.
Figure 2.7 The rough concept that the group moved forward with.
Structure
This session was structured as follows:
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Analysis and Discussion of the participants belongings
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Brown paper brainstorming session and preliminary requirement definition
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Style collage discussion
In the previous co-design session the case owner was asked to bring her bags and belongings which she takes with to work. First, we asked her to unpack her bag and she placed all items on the table while explaining what she needed each item for (Figure 2.9.).
1. Analysis and Discussion of the participant's belongings:
Then, she was asked to demonstrate how she packs the bag (Figure 2.10). She noted that when the breast milk containers are empty, they can be stacked, allowing her to fit everything into her backpack. However, upon returning from work, the cups are full and she has to carry the bags separately.
Her mode of transport was also discussed and she explained how she carries her belongings on her bike (Figure 2.11). She expressed that it is not ideal since sometimes her bag falls slightly and she has to stop to readjust it.
Figure 2.11: The grey cooler bag is carried on the handlebars and the backpack is strapped around the bike seat.
The case owner was also asked whether she often forgot items and is looking for assistance with memory, however she stated that this was not a problem for her.
The only reason she has to leave something behind is from making a trade-off between items because of her limitations in space.
Figure 2.9: All of Maria's belongings she brigs with her on a working day laid out on the table.
Figure 2.10 Maria's packed work backpack.
Session 2 Findings
Prior to starting the session, the table was covered in brown paper so that we could write ideas and trace the participants belongings to get an accurate depiction of size. Some points that were focused on were the overall size she needed, which items she viewed as most important, and how space could be optimized.
2. Brown paper brainstorming session and preliminary requirement definition
At this point, it was realised that prior to motherhood, her current backpack had not been to much of a problem for her, however, now that she has to carry things to pump, it is too small. Additionally, the way which she transports her pumping things (in two separate bags) does not optimise space very well. So, it was decided to focus on a way to combine these two bags into one as she had also mentioned that when going to a restaurant, she also needs to bring these bags with her.
Preliminary Requirements Pumping Section
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Must be able to keep the milk cool
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Must be cleanable
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Must fit:
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Should look like a bag on its own (in the case of going to a restaurant).
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The milk containers should remain upright.
Figure 2.13: A floor plan that was made by tracing the items that are required to be in the compartment.
Figure 2.14: Throughout the session, as specific topics were discussed, key points were noted down, some of which formed preliminary requirements
3. Style Collages
At the end of the session, the case owner was presented with three style collages (Figure 2.15). Each collage was briefly discussed and she noted that she related more with a blend of the first two colleges, with her favourite colour being sage green.
From these style collages we were able to roughly define the user's style preferences. On top of the colours, shapes and form factor we discussed the possible materials of the bag and found the user prefers a product that is durable, environmentally conscious and modular.
Figure 2.12 : The end product of the table paper exercise.
The brown paper method allowed the group to get a real size representation of the design form on paper. The group and the user both placed the objects the user needed in her day and collaborated
- Shades of dark green, greys and slate colour palletes
- Wants a bag that looks both formal and stylish.
- Durable, adaptable and easily washable.
Preferences
Figure 2.15: The three style collages that we presented to Maria to figure out her style preference.
List of Requirements
A list of requirements was formulated following the co-design sessions in order to guide the group in the ideation stage. This table would be referenced throughout the process to insure the concepts are addressing a large amount of these requirements.
Figure 2.18: Table of requirements
Session 2 Summary
Figure 2.16: A storyboard showcasing the identified scenario of the participant at work
The group was able to collate a significant amount of information and momentum from the second co-design session. The group was first able to define everything that the user needed on a normal working day so the product could account for all of them. Additionally, the group was able to discuss with the user possible compartments that could house certain things she needs during the day. A breastfeeding bag was one of the main focuses with the size, layout and requirements all being recorded on paper. On top of the discussion with the user about her style preferences, the group had everything necessary to start ideating on a modular bag system that could account for her breast pumping needs. However, to further visualise our user's scenario when moving forward into the ideation phase the group decided to create a storyboard to help guide and specify our ideations (Figure 2.16)
Figure 2.17: The rough concept that the group moved forward with. This concept was realised during the ideation phase (see below).
Ideation
It was evident from the prior phases that Maria needs something to carry her things, however she also needs something that can adapt to different scenarios. The team’s ideation phase started by exploring different types of bags and backpacks.
Figure 2.19: A handful of the ideations that the group created. All of which aiming to solve the bag organisation issue that the user had and the ease of transportation of her pumping equipment.
The group came together to discuss all the concepts and decide which one would be most suitable for the user's needs, style preferences and overall portability.
It was challenging to ideate on backpacks since there is a great multitude already on the market, especially for maternity. However, the team started to focus more on modular systems and adaptability to develop a way in which Maria can configure her bag according to her needs.
Detailing
Once the general concept direction was chosen, various aspects of the product needed more attention. This mainly concerned aspects that were realised in the co-design sessions and preliminary list of requirements.
Bike Attachment:
A major requirement that the user specified was her ability to transport her bag on her bicycle for her commute. From this the group started to ideate further on this issue with multiple options being proposed (See Left)
Figure 2.19: A handful of the ideations that the addressed other possible design exteriors and shapes, however the same mother oriented bag concept applied.
Breast Pumping Bag:
The main component of the bag concept was the breast-pumping bag. This bag would contain everything the user needed for pumping in one bag system. The group spent alot of time on ideating what had to fit inside, the exterior design and how it integrated into a nag system. Some of the most promising ideations are above.
Other Bag designs: On of the two categories mentioned before the group continued to ideate on different exterior designs, interior solutions and possible mounting solutions throughout the process.
Figure 2.19: Ideations on the specific breast pumping section of the bag system with different exteriors, compartments and integrations being discussed.
Concept Direction
Figure 2.20: The final concept that the group would begin to prototype. (Note: the concept would be iterated on later however the base idea and form factor would remain the same.)
The final concept is a modular bag which fully adapts to the necessities of the team’s case owner. The bag presents several compartments which can be placed around based on the necessity of specific situations. The smaller compartments can be further used individually as shoulder bags for situations in which the whole backpack is not required.
Co-Design Session 1
The first session was conducted online due to the availability of both parties. In this session Miro was used as a tool to collect the points discussed in a visual and organised manner. The aim of this session was to further explore pain points and points to improve on from the day maps.
Day Map Findings
Purpose
Group Direction
After the user provided us with her filled-in day maps of both her working day and free day we were able to collate the findings into a graphic. Her pain points were identified, namely her struggles with organisation and hygiene concerns when pumping in public.
At this stage in the project, the group had created 4 solid directions that we could pursue further. These concepts all targeted different issues that the user discussed in the interview and more recently the day maps. (These concepts are seen below.)
