Experience Enrichment - The Lamina

Lamina which is the Latin translation for blade aims to provide both an ergonomic and organic form to the humble scalpel. The target market for Lamina are designers both male and female aged 20+, who are interested in interesting forms and have their own workspace set up at their home or at their work where they are able to craft and model make.

Many scalpels in the market for crafting are either cylindrical like the famous Xacto knife or flat handled which are derived from their medical counterpart. Both these forms are very plain and basic. With this in mind the form of the Lamina blade has been designed to follow the function of the product. The curved handle and grooves give the user a more sense of control over the knife as it is well rested within the palm of the hand, the radius of the handle is big enough to compensate for small to large hands.

As scalpels are used a lot for precision cutting whether it is for stenciling or model making, a lot of pressure is put onto the fingers when cutting for a gradual period of time.

From personal experience a lot of pressure is put onto the fingers when cutting for a gradual period of time and due to the amount of precision needed when doing tasks such as model making or stenciling, finger pains and cramps become common. To fight this problem the Lamina’s handle is triangular to replicate the tripod grip to give a more relaxed grasp on the handle when doing precise work. Also a added santoprene grip is added to give extra support when gripping the scalpel.

The Lamina blade is organic in its shape with its long curves yet it has strong bold lines and edges. When placed into the stand it becomes a decoration piece and can be positioned in the workshop with pride. The handle is made from stainless steel which is contrasted by the black santroprene grip to give it a sleek sharp look.

Objectified

Good Design   -is innovative
                         -makes a product useful
                         -is aesthetic design
                         -will maek a product understandable
                         -is honest
                         -in unobstructable
                         -is long lived
                         -is consistant in every detail
                         -is environmentally friendly
                         -IS AS LITTLE DESIGN AS POSSIBLE

Watching Objectified has opened my eyes to the world of design. I have learnt a lot about what goes into making a product. I never realized how much design goes into making products from iPhones to toothpicks. Who would have thought that the little head of the japenese toothpick was used as a toothpick stand or as an indicator for it being used when snapped off, I always just though it was there to look pretty. It just goes to show you how much thought that has been put into making products of any magnitude.

I learnt that designing for the extremes are important i.e. children, athletes, the old n etc because when you design for the extremes the middle will just follow. Example, if you design a peeler for people with arthritis, this peeler will also be useful for everybody else as it will give them extra hand support when using the tool.
The video talks about how when things are clear and and understandable people react positively and this is true, from our design confusion project last week it’s clear that when something isn’t straight forward people get frustrated and annoyed. We are constantly designing in our minds when we look at objects and judge how flawed it is and how we could make it better.
I found out about analog designs, which means objects without mechanical or electrical parts like spoons and chairs, and with analog design form follows function but with the revolution of the microchip form started to stray away from function and it became more harder for designers to develop semantics into the product for users to know how to use it. Letting go of arbitrary shapes in a design and letting the form develop without getting design in the way makes the product feel inevitable and undersigned much like the iPhone. At first I thought how simple is the shape, is just a rectangle with a big screen, but much thought has been gone into it, where the buttons go, fillet edges, part lines etc.
This video has inspired me to become a good designer as I know now what it takes to be one.