SURFERS - The New School Portfolio

GET A GRIP

SURFERSPARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL - PRODUCT DESIGN

JOSEPH LIMMICHAEL PHILLIPSDANIELA DEL RIOBEE FREITAS

- Project Statement.............................................................................................

- Timeline.............................................................................................................

- Research

Market Analyis..........................................................................................

Comparative Analysis...............................................................................

Comparative Sizing Analysis....................................................................

- Survey................................................................................................................

Survey Summary......................................................................................

- Friction Points..................................................................................................

- Muscle Tension.................................................................................................

- Design opportunities........................................................................................

- Process Sketches.............................................................................................

- Materials Tree..................................................................................................

- Design Advantages...........................................................................................

- Prototypes.........................................................................................................

- Materials................................................................................................

- Material Tree.....................................................................................................

- End Product.......................................................................................................

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CONTENTS

The SURFERS craft scissors are designed for right handed users. They provide more surface area to the hand for better force distribution and minimize tension during long periods of use.

PROJECT STATEMENT

1

T I M E L I N E O F S C I S S O R S

ca. 100 CEShears did not appear in Egyptian wall paintings or carvings until the Roman period. They first appear in a wall relief which shows about 40 different medical instruments.

Romans, Egyptians and Greeks used shears and scissors for cutting wool. Romans also used shears for trimming hedges as well as cutting human hair.

Shears seen in the Greek myth of “fates”, show as snipping hair.

5th centuryEarly written references to pivoted scissors was made by the scribe Isadore of Seville who describes them as tools of the barber and tailor.

1761large-scale production of scissors begins. Robert Hinchliffe of Sheffield was the first to manufacture scissors in cast steel.

1649Fiskars ironworks founded, Finland.

1967Fiskars revolutionizes home scissors, now more comfortable, light weight, and in the iconorange color.

19th centuryMany hand-forged scissors were produced with ornamental handles. Styles simplified for mechanical production.

ca. 300 BCEEnglish Archeologist Sir Flinders Petrie credits the Romans to have invented the shears.

CRAFT

$25

ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS

8.5” OVERALL

STAINLESS STEEL, PLASTIC

RIGHT

GOOD

3

FISKARS EASY ACTION MICROTIP

$11.99

CRAFT

6” OVERALL, 1 3/4” BLADE

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION AWARD

STAINLESS STEEL, PLASTIC

AMBI

GOOD

5

FISKARS EASY ACTION

CRAFT

$29.99

10” OVERALL

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION AWARD

STAINLESS STEEL, PLASTIC

AMBI

GOOD

5

$$$

PURPOSE

COMFORT/SHORT

COMFORT/LONG (1-5)

MATERIAL

ORIENTATION

SIZE

UNIQUENESS

CLAUSS THREAD SNIPS

THREAD

$16.06

4½” OVERALL

HOOKS IN FINGER FOR QUICK USE

STAINLESS STEEL

RIGHT

GOOD

NOT INTENDED FOR LONG USE

$$$

PURPOSE

COMFORT/SHORT

COMFORT/LONG (1-5)

MATERIAL

ORIENTATION

SIZE

UNIQUENESS

GINGHER

FABRIC

$34.59

8” OVERALL

STAINLESS STEEL

AMBI

FAIR

2

“SOFTGRIP” HANDLE, NON-STICK BLADES

FISKARS NON-STICK TITANIUM

CRAFT

$12.99

8” OVERALL

TITANIUM STAINLESS-STEEL, PLASTIC

AMBI

GOOD

3

MILES FORGE GROOMING SCISSORS

HAIR

$11.19

7” OVERALL

STAINLESS STEEL

AMBI

FAIR

3

WÜSTHOF KITCHEN MULTIPURPOSE SHEARS

KITCHEN

$79.95

8” OVERALL

STAINLESS STEEL

AMBI

GOOD

2

MULTIPURPOSE

MARKET ANALYSIS

COMPARATIVE ANALYSISCOSMETIC SCISSORS TEND TO BE SMALLER,

WITH EQUAL SIZE FINGER HOLES. SOME WITH

A TAB FOR THE PINKY FINGER TO REST. THESE

ARE IDEAL FOR QUICK, ACCURATE CUTS.

CRAFT, KITCHEN AND FABRIC SCISSARS

TYPICALLY HAVE LARGER FINGER SPACE AND

AN ATTEMPT AT ERGONOMIC SHAPE. THIER

LONGER BLADES MAKE THEM MORE VERSITILE

AS ALL-PURPOSE TOOLS. WE NOTED THE OVER

DISCOMFORT OF MATERIAL THROUGHOUT.

0

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4

6

8

10

1

3

5

7

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COMPARATIVE SIZING ANALYSIS

- The scissors shown above display difference sizes of grips and blades.

- The scissors with larger surface area on the grip are good for users with arthritis because the force is distributed throughout the handle.

- Length of the blade is relative to how much the hand must open and close, which may cause discomfort after longer use.

MARKET SURVEY ANALYSIS

In our market survey, besides collecting scissors we had

at home, we also took into account other models we had been

in contact with.

The three first ones have a spring-action design:

- The Clauss Thread Snips are worn on one of the fingers

while sowing to make it easier to cut the extra thread. The

spring makes cutting faster and the hook on the finger much

more comfortable.

- The two Fiskars Easy Action won the Arthritis Foundation

Award. According to their website, Fiskars Easy Action“gently

opens blades after each cut to reduce hand strain”. They are

very comfortable for long periods of cutting and minimize a lot

the fatigue caused on the hand. We noticed that with the non-

spring scissors we achieved the most comfort with a design

that wrapped the thumb’s phalange and base comfortably like

the Zwilling J.A. Henckels scissors and the titanium Fiskars,

which also had a soft handle that felt more comfortable on

the hands. In addition, Fiskars also has titanium-enhanced

stainless-steel non-stick blades, making them stronger and

alowing you to cut sticky surfaces without ruining the blades.

- The Wusthof Kitchen Shears have secondary functions

that do not alter the original form of the scissors: bottle

opener and nutcracker.

Differing from the Wusthof Kitchen Shears, the blades on

the Gingher scissors are attached together at an angle

below the handle level. This feature is ideal for cutting fabric

or other flexible materials.

The noticeable characteristic on the grooming

scissors is the handle, fit for two fingers rather than the

whole hand. This is due to characteristics of the hair and

how easy it is to cut.

Another point we observed was the inclusion of left-

handed people. Most of the scissors were ambidextrous,

but the comfortable ones on the right hand were not

comfortable on the left hand. The Zwilling J.A. Henckels

was uncomfortable on the left hand that even though it did

cut paper in the left hand (instead of just folding it), the grip

was too awkward to be considered ambidextrous. Moreover,

all of them had the blades on the right hand position, which

makes it more difficult to cut on the left hand since you are

not really able to see the material you are cutting.

SURVEY OF “BUCK” USERS

2

PEOPLE SURVEYED 35

100%

1. Is the grip of most scissors proportional to you hand?

2. Do you find the grip of most scissors comfortable?

3. Would you like a softer grip?

5. Would you like your scissors to have a second function?

4. Do you own a pair of scissors?

Craft

Kitchen

Fabric

Other

yesno

62.5%

62.5%

33.3%

37.5%

37.5%

66.6%

87.5% 12.5%

95.8% 4.2%

75%

4%

16%

29%

BUCK USER SUMMARY

WITH THE SUVEY QUESTIONS WE WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE AMONG VARIOUS USERS WHAT TYPE OF

SCISSORS MOST PEOPLE HAVE; RESULTS SAID CRAFT AND KITCHEN SCISSORS WERE THE MOST POPULAR.

THIS HELPED US DECIDE WHAT TYPE WE WANTED TO REDESIGN THE GRIP FOR.

REGARDING THE COMFORT OF THE GRIP A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE SAID REGULAR SCISSORS HAD

UNCOMFORTABLE GRIPS. IN MOST CASES WHEN WE PRESENTED THE BUCK AND EXPLAINED THE NEW

FEATURES, A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF USERS AGREED THAT THE ADJUSTMENTS WE HAD MADE HELPED

IMPROVE THE COMFORT ON THE HAND. WHILE THE SHAPE OF THE GRIP WAS IMPORTANT 87.5% OF

PEOPLE AGREED THAT THE TEXTURE OF THE GRIP WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM AND WANTED A SOFTER, AND

SMOOTHER GRIP TO EASE THE FRICTION AND PAIN CAUSE BY HARD MATERIALS.

WE KNOW THAT ALL HANDS ARE DIFFERENT IN SIZE, MOST PEOPLE SAID THAT THEIR HANDS ARE USUALLY

NOT PROPORTIONAL TO THE GRIP OF SCISSORS. FROM THIS WE CAN DETERMINE THAT THE AVERAGE HAND

SIZE HAS CHANGED THROUGH TIME AND THE SIZE OF THE GRIPS ON SCISSORS HAS NOT BEEN ADJUSTED

ADEQUATELY.

FRICTION POINTSSTRESS POINTS ON THE HANDS ARE NOT

IMMEDIATE AT THE BEGGING OF USAGE, THEY

ARE IN FACT PROGRESSIVE. WITH TIME FRICTION

PONTS ALSO START TO APPEAR IN THE AREAS

WHERE THE GRIPS ARE NOT WELL ADJUSTED TO

THE SHAPE OF THE HAND AS THE MATERIAL OF

THE HANDLE RUBS AGAINST THE SKIN.

MUSCLE TENSIONWHILE TRYING MANY SCISSORS WE FOUND OUT THAT IF THE HANDLE IS NOT

WELL ADJUSTED TO THE NATURAL GRIP OF HANDS, THEN THE MUSCLES GET

TIRED BECAUSE THE ARE BEING CONTRACTED IN A DIRECTION THAT IS NOT

NATURAL THUS CAUSING TENSION AND PAIN.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES

SPRING ASSISTED RELEASEFOR EASE OF USE

IMPROVE MATERIAL COMFORT

FINGER GRIP REQUIRES IMPROVED PROPORTION

FOCUSING FINGER POSITIONTO OPTIMIZE STRENGTH

CURRENT SCISSORS LACK SURFACE AREAAS SUPPORT

PROCESS SKETCHES

ADDED VOLUME FOR PALM SUPPORT

ARTICULATED GRIP

PROCESS SKETCHES

INDEX FINGER FOR LEVERAGE

UNIFORM SHAPE

DEVELOPMENT / MODELS

PACKAGINGBOLTSBLADEHANDLE

ABS Plastic / Silicon

Injection Molding

Iron Ore Mining

Packing

Transport

Use

RecyclingDisposal

Assembly of Scissors

Stainless Steal Iron Timber Harvest

PET Production

Petroleum Extraction

Thermoforming

Cardboard Production

Packaging Production

Petroleum Extraction

FISKARS PREMIERE 8"MATERIALS TREE

SILICON

ABS PLASTIC

STEEL BOLT

PET PLASTIC

CARDBOARDBACKING

120mm130mm250mm

92mm

85mm

27mm

37mm

23mm

SIDE ELEVATIONBACK ELEVATION

SIDE ELEVATION

TOP VIEW

BOTTOM VIEW

SURFERS SCISSORS12/10/2014ERIKA DOERING0,5MM=1MM

INCREASED HANDLESURFACE

SURFER SCISSORS

ARTICULATED INDEX GRIP

INCREASED FINGER / PALMSUPPORT

SURFER SCISSORS