Nimbus Case Study

Nimbus Case Study

Challenge - Umbrellas do not provide a versatile proper weather protection for users unable to hold the umbrella.

My Role - Interaction lead, Research, Affinization, UX strategy, 3d modelling, Animation,
Storyboards

Team Members - Six

Project Time - Spring 2021

Quote: "We still have to hold this archaic and arguably fashionable device in one hand". Medium"

UX PROBLEM

1. What do people really need, that they don't have right now?

Strategy - Why's Ideation

  • Wheelchair users do not have adequate protection from rain and sun.
  • Our target audiences may have trembling hands and lack of grip strength umbrellas could be difficult to
    open and close
  • Can’t stop buying them because users could forget them somewhere
  • Hands get cold when you walk with an umbrella and its cold
  • Umbrellas are not windproof and break easily
  • They’re annoying to carry

2. What are the problems that they are facing, that they have no idea they’re facing?

Strategy - How Might We

  • How might we make the experience of harsh weather conditions with an umbrella effortless?
  • How might we redesign the umbrella to better fit the needs of people in wheelchairs?
  • How might we provide people who use powered wheelchairs a solution for full weather coverage?
  • How might we resolve the discomfort in a person’s day-to-day activities?
  • How might we create a device that protects the user from the rain and sun?
  • How might we design a new form of portable shelter from the elements?
  • How might we provide user the full directional control of the device’s motion though an intuitively placed
    joystick on wheelchair component?

How might we redesign the umbrella to better fit the needs of people in wheelchairs?

3. What are the problems that they are facing, that they have no idea they’re facing?

  • Lack of trust in solutions that do not provide ample coverage.
  • Lack of control of the situation.

4. How to show that the problem is not just a problem, but a necessity to be solved?

What user thinks he is buying versus what he is actually buying are two very different things. For example you think you’re buying an umbrella but at the end of the day you’re buying the satisfaction that you get after happily reaching home without getting wet in the rains and not having to make that effort to drying yourself. And then solving for that “one” necessity . The one necessity is the satisfaction and happiness that we want our user to feel after they use our product.

5. How to target that need?

  • Triggers (most receptive)
  • Stimulation
  • Fulfilling need
  • Providing Information (most receptive)
  • Evaluation

TARGET AUDIENCE

  • People who have physical disabilities
  • People that are confined to a wheelchair due to a disability
  • People who want to comfortably enjoy outside activities & hobbies

These solutions do not prioritize the comfort of not just wheel chair users but even majority users.

OPPORTUNITY AREA

What involves the target audience the most?

a. Stimulus

  • Conditioned stimulus
  • Unconditioned stimulus

b. Trigger causing sensations
c. Perception

What do we learn from these?

  • Forming simple association between our product and protection from rain
  • Observing our reactions (reactions we feel after being saved from the rain)
  • Storing those reactions of satisfaction, happiness and safety
  • User feels like he is getting rewarded
  • User is more likely to go with what got us rewards in future

INSIGHTS

  • Reacts to the user and shrinks accordingly
  • A shield that adjusts to wind direction and is attached to your shoulder and swivels
  • Umbrella that has the different levels that breaks and shifts to the side where the wind blows

SOLUTION

Nimbus is an effective hands-free solution for protection against the elements including rain and sun. The product provides the long-term wheelchair user with ample coverage by having the ability to adjust according to user’s control of each unique weather scenario.

a. IDEATION

These solutions do not prioritize the comfort of not just wheel chair users but even majority users.

b. LOFI

These solutions do not prioritize the comfort of not just wheel chair users but even majority users.

c. MIDFI

These solutions do not prioritize the comfort of not just wheel chair users but even majority users.

d. HIFI

These solutions do not prioritize the comfort of not just wheel chair users but even majority users.