In 2016 astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko spent almost year on the International Space Station to study the affects on humans of living in space. With the development of privatized space travel and additional missions planned from various space agencies, there is no shortage of challenges to bring humankind to “the final frontier".

As an initial project in the theme Design for Local Variables on the Design Products programme, guest scientists and engineers from ESA and NASA were peppered with questions over Skype and in-person interviews. Our goal was to identify constraints, develop a design brief, and deliver a concept that addressed the challenges uncovered in the discovery process.

Working with a few other students from around the world, we identified constraints around psychological health and decided to address the emotional side of space travel, using the analogy of long distance relationships, we settled on the goal of designing an object to enhance the connection for people that are apart.

While we started the project in outer space the challenge became much more earth-bound. Borrowing ideas from therapeutic tactile massages, Pavlovian conditioning, and sexual health, the project set out to create an object and a fictional training program to counter poor psychological health which can compromise mission success.

Our response was to create a conditioned relationship between space travelers and their planetary partners so that while off-world astronauts can release of hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin to improve their moods and the ability to focus.

Since the concept suggests that the tool would be used by partners to associate positive emotional states with the massage tool, one of the challenges was avoiding the creation of a fetishized object while creating an intimate. The process of the project included conducting texture analysis, form studies, user interviews, store visits and user testing.

Our proposed use case of the massage tool would begin back on earth as an intimate training program between partners. The idea is that emotional states are tied to the act of receiving a massage. Once the space traveler is off-planet, he or she can use the massage tool as a way of stimulating the brain to produce mood altering hormones in a natural way as a method of maintaining emotional equilibrium and avoiding to compromise the mission.

DEVELOPING AN CONCEPT

In contrast to toys that are only suitable for certain ages and then no longer of interest, the starting point for this toy was the idea of a toy maintaining the interest a child into adolescence and perhaps even adulthood. My hypothesis was that this could be accomplished by enabling the user to discover new ways of playing as time went on.

My process for developing this concept began by intersecting the developmental psychology research of Jean Piaget with a generative design process shared by Victor Papanek.

In the Pre-operational Stage of Development, a child learns it can pull apart and put shapes back together. This was the starting point for the ideation process and after sketching different ideas, the most promising one was selected for prototyping. Translating the sketch into a physical form made it clear that the original shape was unnecessarily complicated. To preserve the modular intent and ensure the greatest amount of uniformity, the design was simplified into the wood shapes shown here.

Testing the initial designs at a local daycare center revealed that the psychology behind the product was successful and I was able to document children discovering negative space, spontaneously collaborating, and collectively imagining boats, castles, and rocket-ships with the exclamation “Guys we can built anything!”. To my delight at the end of the afternoon, the head teacher asked to purchase a set of shapes. Unaware of the challenges involved in bring a product to market, I hastily said yes!

LAUNCHING A PRODUCT

Early tests demonstrated that this product was highly engaging and could help children discover spatial and visual thinking and practice collaboration. Self-funding production from a summer job I was able to deliver on my promise when I returned to school in the autumn and it was the first product I successfully sold!

However the entrepreneurial journey was just beginning and I learned how compared to designing a product - manufacturing, branding, packaging, and getting the product into stores and schools are a completely different set of challenges. I learned about the risk involved with new ventures and how production costs, quality control, shipping expenses, storage, display area, packaging instructions, consumer expectations and other details all influence whether a product is purchased by a retail store.

Embracing a beginner mindset I staged pop-up events called CanU Play Days throughout NYC to create word-of-mouth marketing and to promote the product. It was during one of these events, that a chance encounter introduced me to a public school interested in acquiring my product which was now called CanU.

Gradually as the project developed I also experimented with changing material and scale. Inspired by its floating properties as a lifeguard, I created a new series of prototypes in polyethylene foam that was soft and could float.

Working for a toy company which licenses product ideas from inventors, I was hired to develop their acquisition that was branded as Codee. Each set begins as a strand of cubes attached with a ball and socket. It is arranged by twisting and turning each piece and gradually a form is created. Despite the possibilities of the product there was a need for their company to demonstrate what could be created with it. I was brought in to apply my imagination in order to enhance the existing play pattern and make the product more appealing.

To accomplish this I approached the project categorically At first I explored the theme of animals and created creatures ranging from sharks to gorillas, and kangaroos. Since the Olympics were happening that summer, I designed a series of athletic activities ranging from fencing to tennis and weight lifting. As each category was explored it became an increasing challenge to overcome creative roadblocks and simplify the design. Ultimately the final categories I developed for Codee were science-fiction and fantasy.

Most impact however was the introduction of modularity into their play system. Simplifying the square of 64 cubes into two 32 sections enabled the build time of each character to go down and increase the number of possible characters, by focusing on the body, limbs, or head, the constraints freed up my imagination from being limited by one piece and enabled customization.

Ultimately this resulted in buildable characters featuring interchangeable pieces. For example these robots share a common square shape that allows children to easily make their own custom creations.

In addition to developing the product styling, my role also included designing accessories for injection molding. It was an enlightening experience to see how products are brought to market and I learned that while design is a core component, it must work with all aspects of a business to successful.

I was approached to create a proof-of-concept picture frame that could fit many different sized photos. After conducting a patent search and not finding any prior inventions, I began developing potential solutions that were later refined with 3D models and prototypes.

After evaluating various solutions, a modular concept with snap-fit components and neodymium magnets was selected for further development.

Each magnet uses a pull force of 2.5 lbs. to keep each piece attached while the two layers of plastic sandwich photos and artwork in between.

In prototyping the concept I learned that there needs to be a careful process for adhering the magnets to each piece.