JOHNNY HUMPHRIES_ User Centred Designer PORTFOLIO_
Hi, I’m Johnny.
CONTENTS_
CityPin
Toastee
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J
S HAVE
Digital Renders
About Me
CityPin
PERSONA_ There is currently a surplus of apps available on the market for cycling, running and walking enthusiasts, such as the Nike+ app and Strava to name just a few. None of these, however, offer the opportunity to create events or routes that multiple users can choose to attend together, allowing them to network and socialise. There is a great number of young professionals and graduates moving to large cities in home countries or abroad, where they become alienated by their surrounding environment, with little or no connections in the local area and a lack of knowledge of the city they live in. As a result, the idea for CityPin came about; an app that would allow users to create ‘pins’ and join onto other users’ ‘pins’, where routes could be selected based on location as well as user-definded preferences, using smart city data to satisy these, such as using smart-street-lamp data to assess pedestrian footfall and street noise, GPS hotspotting and social media geotagging to work out tourist attractions and where events may or may not be occurring. After some primary research was conducted on young professionals living in ‘unfamiliar urban environments’, a persona was produced which the app was based on. This is Chris; a 21 year old graphic designer living in Nottingham. He’s just moved into the area from London and has no connections in the area. He’s a keen runner and cyclist and is looking to network and make new friends through his love of running/cycling and explore the city, seeing what it has to offer.
SOLUTION_
CityPin is the smartphone app solution to young professionals and adults living in unfamiliar city environments. The app uses smart-city data to create user controlled routes for walking, running and cycling, and creates these routes as events called pins.
The app uses smart city data such as smart street lamps to detect pedestrian footfall and therefore crowdedness, pressure sensetive road surfaces to measure traffic levels, and social media GPS heatmapping to assess tourist hotspots and attractions;
Other app users can then join on to the pre-existing pins as a way to network and socialise with like-minded individuals.
This data is then combined with the users own choice of route preferences such as ‘quiet route’, ‘avoid roads’, and ‘less uphill climbs’ to produce a route to fit.
WIREFRAME_
Sketch wireframes were initially used to model the layout of each screen and the global navigation interface. Paper prototypes were used for initial testing, followed by a simulation of the screenflow on the mobile ‘Pop’ app by Marvel. This provided useful insights into potential pain points and opportunities within the app, which were amended for the Sketch prototype, and in turn, the final app prototype produced in Axure RP 8.
SITEMAP_ This simple sitemap outlines CityPin’s unique user journey, from the login screen to choosing either direction A, choosing an existing pin by navigating a map which shows pre-existing pins, with colour indicating difficulty, and then confirming the route choice and viewing all current pins, to option B which involves making their own pin.
When a user generates their own pin, they choose to either create a cycling, running or walking pin, and are then able to select the desired difficulty, and choose preferences by selecting the picture buttons. The app then generates a suitable list of routes, of which one can then be chosen and made public.
CONCEPT_
Part of the hassle of a surf trip is waking up, having to scower through multiple surf forecasts, weather forecasts and wind forecasts to assess which beach will have the best break, and if there’s even point in heading out in the first place. Crest removes the need for this, gathering information from several online forecasts, summarising the data through one simple indication; Colour. If the alarm goes off on the bedside device, and a green light is illuminating the desk, there is a good forecast. Amber for average, and red for poor.
Favourite spots can be added using the digital interface, and Crest will only recommend forecasts based on those favourites. The device is then split, with the interface half taken onboard the surfboard, doubling up as an on-water safety device, warning the user of low tide times, weather warnings, as well as being capable of transmitting an emergency SOS signal to the local coastguard if activated. It’s simple to use, and will vastly increase the safety of surfers and windsurfers alike, helping make surfing a more fun and safe activity.
INTERFACE_ Triangular buttons indicating warning function
Utility/function buttons ‘i’ and ‘favourite’ shaped identically to indicate similar use
Simple left and right arrows, and large centre confirm button
Spread evenly around screen to prevent crossing over of hands and mispressing buttons.
Screenflow shown below outlines a primary user journey through the app, navigating the various option screens and functions of the app, setting an alarm and receiving warnings via the device. The primary function of this device comes through using the centre confirm and left/right keys, occassionally requiring some use of function buttons.
STORYBOARD_
1_
1. The Crest alarm goes off, and the table surface is illuminated either green, amber or red to indicate a great, neutral or bad forecast at the favourite spots.
2_
2. The device screen can me navigated to find a forecast most suitable for the individual, adding and removing favourites to their bank as they go. 3. The on-water section of the device is removed from the Crest hub, and automatically switched into standby mode. 4. The device is then connected to the front of the surfboard using a slide-in clip secured base which attached directly to a mount on the board, when it is then switched into active mode.
4_
5. In an amergency situation, the device’s SOS can be activated by holding both ‘SOS’ buttons, calling the local coastguard. 6. If only basic information is required, the ‘info’ button can be pressed to view current forecast and weather for the next few hours. Prompt mode can also be switched on by pressing ‘info’ again, which means when there is a weather/tide warning, the alarm will sound, the base will flash and the information will be shown on-screen.
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3_ 6_
Toastee
IDEATION_
Some development of the initial ideas, focusing on the pivoting toaster body on a sepearate base idea,
The aim of this product was to improve the compactness of a kitchen toaster for student accommodation, by creating a collapseable or slim-design toaster which would also enhance the toasting experience, providing some form of novelty or interest to a traditionally routine excercise. Various ideas and concepts were considered to begin with, particularly focusing on creating a new an unseen way of toasting bread. These ideas were then developed to try and minimise the space that this new design would take up.
Final design for the student toaster, with a rotating top half toaster body that it rotated to a slight angle when toasting and set upright for compact storage. The bread is fed into the toaster and rollers pass the bread through, with a slider to choose the degree of heat inside the toaster.
CONCEPT_
Shown, are the final renders for the Toastee compact student kitchen toaster; to the right the unique folding mechanism of the toaster is shown. Toastee combines the requirement for compact storage in small, student accommodation kitchens, with the novelty of using a unique, never before seen toaster design. The bread is loaded onto the stainless steel loading rack, with rollers inside the toaster body passing the bread through at a set speed. The heat internsity of the heating filaments inside the toaster can be controlled using the slider on top of the device, positioned next to the on/off button. A plate should then be positioned at the exit end of the toaster, ready to receive the toasted slice as it leaves the toaster.
CUTAWAY_ Some final exploded view renders of the finished toaster, as well as an internal cutaway render displaying the internal components of the toaster and how they fit inside the main body.
On/off button and heat control slider
Heating filaments lying across top and bottom of inside of body
PCB cover and PCB unit, fitting inside small holding space inside toaster body
Heating filaments shown in position, running through lengthway rails inside the main body.
Heating filaments positioned just above and below the rollers, spread equally across the length of the toaster main body, for even toasting Stainless steel bread loading rack
Male/Female shoulder joint for connection between base and toaster body
Rollers required to pull bread through the toaster body at a set speed, on top and bottom of main body.
J
S HAVE
BRIEF_
This project was done in conjunction with the Loughborough University Design Week; the brief was to design a device that used more than one ‘Hinge or Live Hinges’, for student accommodation that was capable of compact storage. It had to enhance the experience of student living and required a certain level of novelty or luxury when being used. The device could be made using only polypropylene PP and had to be produced out of one sheet of the same material
The chosen direction was in the domain of bathroom and toiletry products, as a pain point highlighted in some early user task analysis was the limited sink space given to students living in halls of residence, particularly in shared bathroom facilities. This lead to the realisation that a major issue with these sinks was the poor plumbing and old pipes/sinks in halls, and the fact that when shaving, hair creates a mess around the sink which not only blocks the sink but is unpleasant for the next use/other users.
IDEATION_ After deciding to create a product that would help keep the sink area clean when shaving, and also prevent the sink from blocking, the concept for a hair ‘catcher’ was developed, with the idea to put a small drip-filter at the bottom which would catch the hairs from the shaving user, while allowing water to flow through. The razor could then be tapped out into the device, and the device removed after use for tipping into the bin, keeping the sink clean and preventing blocking.
Early Sketch Ideas
Attachment Solutions
In terms of storage of the device, different ideas were explored such as the hooking of the device over a towel rail or clothes hook. In the end, the towel rail hooked was settled on as these were very common in student bathrooms and this element would also double up as the fixing point around the base of the sink when the device was in use.
Universal Design
Collapsibility
Final Design
SOLUTION_
J
S HAVE
J:Shave is about making the process of shaving, beard trimming & grooming a more hassle-free process. As a consequence of poor plumbing in student accommodation and halls of residence at universities, hair collects in the plugholes of sinks and blocks the sink, as well as creating a great mess around the sink area.
J:Shave is a cheap, simple, collapseable hair catcher which you tap your razor into when rinsing under the tap whilst shaving, funneling the hairs into a catch at the bottom which can be emptied after user by unhooking the device from the tape base, and tapping into the bin. The device is then folded up to a 9mm thick surface, that can hang from any hook or towel rail. Simple, easy to use and works with any sink or tap base. J:Shave.
Digital Renders
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/Fitted Cross Country Ski-Boot //Rugged timber desk lamp concept ///Plantpot and drip tray idea
ABOUT ME_ Hey there, I’m Johnny. A versatile, intuitive and confident User Centred Designer, currently in my second year of studies at Loughborough University Design School. I attained a 2:1 in my first year of studies, and I am seeking a 3 month summer internship at an industrial design consultancy in the UK to further my understanding and interest in the industry, and develop my digital and analogue design skills.
Aside from my studies, I am a keen watersports enthusiast, and fully qualified windsurfing instructor with experience teaching adults and children in the UK and abroad. I have been a member of my university hall committee for 2 years and participate in multiple sports including Rugby and training with the Sailing & Windsurfing team.
I am excited to see what I can offer, and how I can further my design skills in this ever-developing industry.
Feel free to contact me on any of the below,
[email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/johnhumphries38 +44 (0) 7497 428580
THANK YOU_ ©John Humphries 2019