In 2014, during the first half of our second year we got an assignment through school to design and produce a playground set (prototype) for the "Ontdekfabriek" (The Discover-factory) in Eindhoven. We had to work in cooperation with mechanical engineering students in groups of four (Two industrial design students and two from mechanical engineering).
The "Ontdekfabriek" is a place where kids can come over and learn about certain aspects of technology and physics. In their workshop they have different games and contraptions which are all there to teach you something. Their question to us was if we could create a fun playset for kids which teaches you something as well.
I personally had great fun creating this product with the group I worked with, even tho we had some disagreements because of the differences in the ways we tackle a project. We had this huge argument because the mechanical engineers wanted to paint the whole metal part of the swing a metallic blue. Eventually they budged because they realized me and my classmate were responsible for the design part of the project. Besides this we did learn a lot from each other. Not just on the subject-matter of engineering but also on the dynamics of working in a group of people with different opinions.
During this project we were also asked to set up a small fictional company. A lot of this was up to the industrial designers because we had to think of a name and a logo for instance. We also had to put up a stand which was decorated in such a sense that it was immediately recognizable as a stand from our "company". I now regret losing the pictures, those would've been perfect to put up on this site. But to paint you a picture anyway, we put several tables next to each other, draped it with a big white table cloth with the "Get Technic" logo on it and placed two monitors on top which showed the PowerPoint we made of the process of creating the "TecSwing". Next to this table we had two big colorful balloon-pillars and a "Philips Living Colors" lamp on either side. We were really proud of our stand since we were the only group who actually put that much work into it.
During the showcase of our prototype we also handed out these folders which contain some extra information on out fictional company and our product:
If you have any questions about this product or just want to give me some feedback, please leave a comment below.