Design Challange & Concept Directions
Having completed all the research and interviews of Phase 1, the Group formulated a final Design Challenge, to help with the designing and 3 different Concept Directions eventually emerged.
Design Challange
Initially, after the first interview, the Group's idea was to try to focus on one specific activity that Anne does daily, that causes her trouble/wastes a lot of energy, and design something to facilitate this task. However, after the second interview and consultations among the group members and tutor, it was decided to focus more on the caseholder's lifestyle in general - by formulating a new Design Challange: "We want to design a product, that could help the casheolder avoid getting fatigued, by encouraging them to rest". The shift in focus was caused by a realization that by "zooming in" on one particular activity, no underlying problem would be solved - that is lack of taking breaks by Ann and her active lifestyle, but rather only symptoms of that. The Group hoped that by changing the focus, a challenge could be approached more thoroughly.
Concept Directions
The three Concept Directions were therefore decided to be pursued in the Ideation Phase of the Project, based on a final version of the Design Challange:
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Reminder: A sort of product (not necessarily fully physical) to help Anne remember to take regular breaks.
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Hip: Something to help her with the issues she experienced with recovering from Hip Replacement surgery. Here, it was important that the product would be also helpful once Anne is fully recovered.
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Mental: As Long Covid had a negative effect on the caseholder's mental health, this category was meant for ideas that could help her within that aspect.
However, coming up with a product that could be helpful within more than one category was most welcomed, that division helped the Group grasp some more focus.