Post by samkwan29 on Dec 29, 2020 2:49:39 GMT -8
Hi everyone! Belated Merry Christmas!
My name is Sam, I am a master degree product design student from ECAL in Lausanne, Switzerland, and I am from Hong Kong.
I am currently doing a thesis project research about wheelchair design and would like to know what is missing / needed to improve in the modern design of manual wheelchairs. Hence, I am here to ask for your help in filling out the survey below regarding your thoughts on your wheelchairs. It should only take you a few minutes to complete it. I genuinely appreciate your time to complete the survey!
freeonlinesurveys.com/s/X9z3tZ6w
Your responses would be completely confidential.
Also, I would really like to invite wheelchair users who are interested in having an online interview/ discussion about this subject matter.
Below is an overview of my thesis project, with some sample questions.
Why
My research started from a simple question, why manual wheelchairs haven’t evolved that much? Throughout the years, we barely see huge innovation in the wheelchair industry, and most of the wheelchair nowadays still looks the same from the 1930s, which looks medical and undesirable.
What
A master degree product design student from ECAL. I am looking for short 10 minute online or phone interviews with individuals with a chronic walking disability who mainly use wheelchairs for mobility to better understand user needs and expectations upon future wheelchair designs so as to set up a design brief and guidelines for future wheelchair designers. I am also interested in interviewing caregivers, therapists and families.
Goals
To understand the wheelchair users’ needs and to get a holistic picture of what overlooked aspects of the manual wheelchairs should be reconsidered and redesigned.
Format
A short 5-15 minute interview. Interviews can be done over phone, or video chat and the schedule is up to the interviewee. No personal information will be published or shared. Any form of recording will be done only with the prior consent of the interviewee.
Interview Questions
- What brand and model is your wheelchair that you are currently using?
- Are you satisfied with the existing wheelchair options offered on the market?
- What aspect(s) of the wheelchair fail(s) to satisfy you? E.g. Amount of choice? Aesthetic? Customisability?
- Do you agree that medical-looking and undesirable wheelchair designs post negative effects on the mental health of wheelchair users? (As there is a stigma associated with assistive devices and users might lose control of portraying their self identity.)
- What is/are the common issue(s)/ problem(s) that you have always encountered while using your manual wheelchair that existing wheelchairs failed to solve (or forgot to solve)?
- If you are the designer of your own wheelchair, what aspect of your wheelchair would you improve in order to make your life easier and nicer? (e.g. More desirable looking? More “smart” in terms of usability?)
Thank you so much for your time and reading this.
My contact:
ming.kwan@ecal.ch
samkwan7q9@gmail.com
Read more: inspiredsciforum.com/thread/4605/master-student-looking-interview-wheelchair?page=1#ixzz6i0b0DA20