The bristles

are a major design element. Most people in the survey choose them as one of the most important features.

Weight Analysis

This is important to measure how much material is being wasted. the heaviest weighed 45 grams the lightest 14grams.

I studied old toothbrushes

and found that people brush too hard, and in this case should replace their brush sooner.

my toothbrush wastes very little material

the weight is only 12.92 grams

Solidworks process

The solid works process was easy, because my design had so many constraints, here is my initial concept.

prop for surveys

This is the board I used for my surveys, started with 15 toothbrushes, narrowed it down to 10.

dissection

this is one of the toothbrush I cut in half, learning allot from the dissection

Toothbrush survey Data Visualizations of Least Favorite Toothbrush

This clearly shows the least favorite toothbrush and gives an interactive interface to look at comments.
http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/visualizations/least-favorite-toothbrush-and-note

pretty cool.

thanks for coming down to union square everyone : D

The surveys are going well

the toothbrush in 1953

The handle design was driven
by style rather than ergonomics

new note method

Processing 18 books in one month can be challenging, so I have started using a new note method. Essentially I highlight the 3 most important points per page, and give them keywords on a tabbed system for quick future access.

I am finding that Donald Norman has some redundant information in his second book, which is disappointing, he even uses some of the same photos and graphics, his conceptual model graphic is embellished slightly with gradients which makes it worse...

Not all of his points are valid either... He claims that the floppy disc is great design, because indentations and cutouts don't allow for the improper insertion into the slot.

I would argue that this design is in fact a failure, because the user doesn't automatically know which direction the disk goes, in fact it is usually the case that the user inserts it multiple times, each time getting denied the full insertion and by trial and error the correct orientation is finally achieved. A simple large arrow on all floppy discs could have remedied this confusion with early adopters of this technology.

The CD on the other hand, is far superior because it can be inserted in any direction, and most users insert it with the label facing up, because it is the natural way people operate.

I do however, recomend both of these books to product designers, because he does have many valid arguements, which I will detail later in my final report. Some key points are as follows:

The importance of user testing

Compex Interfaces

Natural Mapping

Tactile Feedback

Design by Comitte

The role of Emotions

Pert Chart

timeline

An overview of the next 3 months

Research

My reading is going to span ergonomics, design innovation, emotional design, process, evaluations of current toothbrush designs and orthodontic study.

Getting great research results from microfilm

Researching great projects

While researching great product design for inspiration, I wanted to share a few links for all of you

VisCom Majors:
http://annualdesignreview.id-mag.com/category-winners/graphics/


Product Majors:
http://annualdesignreview.id-mag.com/category-winners/consumer-products/

The rules of design

it must be emotional
have a story
be based on its utility
be reduced to the simplest form, without compromising the aesthetic intentions
be innovative in material use or conceptual meaning

Just wanted to let everyone know, I have officially changed the name of my blog to make it more relevant,

thanks,

seth

Disposable toothbrushes, questioning material, origins and lifespan.

What is the ideal material a toothbrush should be made of?
What is the origin of the toothbrush?
How long do people actually keep their toothbrush?