Tuela Smith
Industrial Design
Final year project
BackChat [Read more]
BackChat - a posture support for remote officer workers, that is inclusive to all and fits in a range of seating environments.
Here is the front and back of the 'BackChat'. An electronic posture support, when the cushions and mesh are placed on the rail together they create the natural curvature of the musculoskeletal system. The product has several 'sensor pods', which contain motion and pressure sensors to help detect the posture of the user, sending regular feedback, through vibration and an app to inform them of what they need to do.
The main challenges of this project were the user interaction and ergonomics of the product- as it was important that it was suited for the 5th to 95th percentile.
BackChat - assembled onto seating
Within people's homes, there is a range of seating variations, this was a challenge to make the product be able to fit onto any size and shape of seating. This design allows for this, with retractable 'hands' at the end of the vertical and horizontal 'arms', so that it fits snug around the seat. However, this is still something that I would like to develop further in the future to make it inclusive of seating curvatures.
BackChat - close up
The design was kept minimal to allow it to fit into a range of home environments. Each of the two cushion panels consists of a memory foam cushion with a leather cover and an indentation for the 'sensor pod' to fit. This slots onto a mesh back that gives a spring effect to minimize impact, this then sits onto the back panels that can slot onto the rail.
SkinHealth - building skin tracking into your daily moisituring routine.
A week-long live project. Focusing on the identification and prevention of skin cancer due to sun exposure. SkinHealth is a daily skin care device, that allows them to not only moisturise and protect their skin, but to observe, monitor, and educate themselves on their skin so they can consult health professionals remotely if required, hopefully improving early detection.
SkinHealth - the technology
Looking at technology up to 5 years time- using a high-resolution camera- with magnifier and cross polarised lighting,
to get the best crisp images possible of the user’s moles or lesions to monitor and detect changes daily. A small portable ultrasound is enabled through an app with the doctor’s permission who activates it. This gives images of the structure of the skin tissue, not only separating the lesions from the healthy parts but also their depth and size.
SkinHealth - refillable biodegradable pouches
SkinHealth with its built-in moisturiser bottle can be filled with refillable pouches that are biodegradable by simply unscrewing the head of the device, this design will help contribute to reducing the amount of plastic we use when purchasing cosmetic products.
Organigo - Yoghurt Pot
Organigo is a packaging design with the intent to help reduce the use of single-use plastic when it comes to food consumption. The design is made from carton board and can easily be disassembled into a flat pack for quick recyclability. It also helps with portion control and minimises waste by making them individual snack size pots, that split into two sections; the yoghurt and the snack to pour into it.
The Crown - Gin gift set
The Crown is a multifunctional luxury gin gift set. The design is manufactured from tin, enabling it to have multiple uses. It starts off as a gift set that can easily be transported with the use of the handle, and then into a drink stand when in use, with drinks holders, and a slot for the gin, flavours, ice pot and tongs to fit. When this use has been finished with it can be turned into a herb garden allowing herbs to be grown like mint to go into future drinks.
Tuela Smith
I enjoy delving deep to emphasize with users and define problems, big or small, to ideate and prototype sustainable solutions to help create a better future for the world around.
I have undertaken over the last year four projects, two are product designs that focused on posture support for the musculoskeletal system and a skincare device to help protect the skin from sun exposure and make identification quicker for earlier treatment. The latter two projects are packaging concepts, one for high-end gin and the other for sustainable carton board packaging that replaces single-use plastic.
My enthusiastic character, passion, and flair as a designer feature daily in my can-do approach A main strength of mine is exploring world problems, delving deep into day-to-day lives. I work with a hands-on approach, brainstorming and ideating to communicate ideas to others, whether this to clients or team members. I use foam prototyping to adjust and develop designs; I find sustainable design approaches and the direction of biomimicry an interesting path to continue to follow, as I feel as designers we have a responsibility to make sure what we design and put back into the environment has a positive impact on our future.
Final year project
BackChat
Awards
Gold Starpack Winner and World Starpack Honorary Mention (2019) from Graphic Packaging - 'Organigo' a two-compartment yoghurt pot 100% recyclable and made from carton board. With the aim to help contribute to the removal of single-use plastic from food packaging.
Starpack Honorary Mention (2020) from Graphic Packaging - 'The Crown' a multifunctional luxury gin gift set. The gift set has a handle to easily carry the product then turns into a drinks stand for when in use. Not only this but it then turns into a herb garden at the end of life, to grow herbs for more gins to come.