DESIGN - magnaGlide
for northwestern’s design thinking & communication class, my team of 4 was assigned to a client at evanston’s adult bridges transition center, jessica.
jessica has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy— a condition that causes muscle stiffness, fatigue, and limited range of motion. jessica uses a wheelchair for daily activities, and her hands remain tightly gripped most of the time. with a passion for painting, jessica hoped to be able to paint over larger areas with more independence and less fatigue.
research & observation
we started our design process by observing jessica’s current grip on her paintbrush and comfortable range of motion for painting (shown on the right). we also researched the pros and cons of existing products.
mockups & user testing
based on our research, we created some quick mockups and brought them in for testing with jessica:
gooseneck slantboard - allowed for easy movement of canvas space, but proved to be too flimsy during testing.
sliding slantboard - while we intended to increase range of motion via pulling strings that move the canvas, we noticed that jessica could easily move the canvas with her paintbrush instead. she smiled a lot more when using this mockup compared to the goosneck mockup.
armrest - intended to give jessica more comfort and support while painting, but we saw during testing that the large size and stiffness of the springs actually made it harder for her to move her arm comfortably and freely.
velcro/magnetic bracelet - allowed jessica to hold the paintbrush without someone else inserting it into her hand. the velcro required a very specific alignment that was difficult for jessica to achieve, but the magnets were easier. we also tested a slap bracelet, which jessica was able to put on almost completely independently.
construction
we decided to create a multi-component solution and began construction on each part— the sliding slantboard, magnetic paintbrush stand, and magnetic bracelet holder.assembling slantboard frame with acrylic, metal, and L-brackets
milling indents for neodymium magnets in paintbrush holder
attaching magnets to paintbrush handles, using thread to weaken magnetic force for easy detachment
final product
after 9 weeks of work, we presented our final product to jessica!