Homework Assignment 2.1 - Design Problem Definition

Refining my gap project using "the 5 whys" methodology to break down the problem to its most general element (listed from most to least general):

In what way might I...

...protect the health and safety of my fellow LARPers?
...reduce risk of dehydration and food contamination while "adventuring" in the field?
...create a means to carry adequate water and utensils that fits the aesthetic of the LARP?
...ensure that water & utensils can be carried comfortably and hands-free for an extended period of time?
*...construct a convincingly medieval-looking ergonomic backpack for carrying a day's worth (1 gallon) of water & eating utensils?

Homework Assignment 1.4 - Design For You

For my gap, I've chosen to design a convincingly medieval-looking ergonomic backpack for carrying a day's worth of water & eating utensils.

My sketch (same disclaimer/apology as for assignment 1.3):

The initial prototype build (front, side and back views):

Homework Assignment 1.3 - Visual Expression 1: The Basics

My sketch of a chair:

Crafted using the majestic MS Paint...  I'm rather rushed today, and won't be able to do anything on the weekend, so I chose the medium with the best speed:quality ratio, rather than straight-up quality... I shall atone by doing proper renderings as the course moves forward.

Homework Assignment 1.2 - Find the Gap

Product gaps that I have experienced, gap I've chosen for my product choice bolded & italicized:

1. An authentic-looking early period corset (~16th century) that is flexible enough so safely fence in.
2. A quick and easy way to clear (and unclear) an exercise space the in living room.
3. A convincingly medieval-looking ergonomic backpack for carrying a day's worth of water & eating utensils.
4. A better way to keep track of business income & expenses.
5. A way to add a second level to my pet rabbits' enclosure.
6. A system to store supplies for my hobbies that makes it easy for me to pack & bring them to events away from the house.
7. A method for making lightweight, affordable, self-lit signage to bring to events.
8. A more space-efficient way to store sewing supplies and patterns.
9. A collapsible wooden garment rack for vending at events.
10. A convenient shelving system for my pantry.

Looking at this list, it becomes clear that I have some serious problems with organization and housekeeping...

Homework Assignment 1.1 - Good Design

My example of an awesome household artifact: the Kitchen Aid pasta roller/cutter attachment (image sourced from www.luxuryhousingtrends.com via Google Image search).

This nearly magical device takes the previously tedious hours-long process of rolling and cutting a batch of homemade pasta and turns it into a handful of minutes, where you pretty much just feed the dough through a few times and watch it come out as noodles at the end.  It gives the ability to make healthy, homemade pasta - flavor tailored to perfectly match complement my sauce - without sacrificing my whole day.

And now time to complicate things...

I've been a very bad blogger lately... really, in general I haven't gotten much done lately.  Between a bit of post-first-vending-gig funk (mostly consisting of not knowing which project to work on next, and thereby working on nothing, followed by guilt for not doing anything), and a just horrible stomach bug to start off April, there just hasn't been much to post about.

That's changing soon, however!  I decided I missed being a student, and that I really need some more design training to really make this "having a design business" thing work, so using the magic of the internet (specifically, Coursera) I've signed up for a University of Pennsylvania class called Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society.  One of the course components is creating a website or blog to chronicle the design project you've picked for the the course, and you're allowed to use a preexisting site if you have one... which, since chronicling my projects is sort of the whole point of this blog, works perfectly.  The first couple weeks of posts will probably be a little strange, because they're very foundational blips of design process and also will be horribly out of context for you (some posts I may unpack a little, but a lot of the assignments have word limits, so if I want to go in-depth I'll need a second post), and I'll have to do a couple of weird layout/organization things to the blog for the 8-week duration of the course. 

So, yeah, brace yourself to be a bit confused, but I should have regular (like, multiple times per week) posts with some cool pictures coming... pretty much now.  I'm hoping to turn the Adventurer's Day Pack I posted about on Tumbr a while back into my project, although I'm waiting for the course staff to get back to me on that, since I have about a week's head start (in terms of course structure, at least).  There are a couple other possibilities, like a LARP-safe 16th century style corset (although that may be a bit more time-consuming than ideal for an 8-week course), or maybe some sort of organizer for LARP/sewing/everything stuff.

Oh!  I did this weeks ago, but forgot to put up the link here... my Etsy shop is stocked!  With pretty pictures and everything!