Specific Solutions to Specific Problems
Our friend Jim asked us if we could help him repair his small reading lamp. The lamp itself was fine, but the plastic clipping mechanism at the base of the lamp had cracked. After asking to see where and how Jim was using the lamp, we realized that just repairing the lamp wouldn’t solve the problem. Jim was using the lamp for reading in bed and had it mounted over his headboard. The headboard was thick and had filleted edges, and so would eventually rotate out of alignment or simply pop off. We decided to create a custom mount that would fit snugly on the headboard and hold the light at a fixed angle (based on Jim’s posture while he’s reading in bed). It’s a specific solution to a specific problem.
We really enjoy working with folks who want help adapting household items to their specific needs. Fabricating a ‘component interface’ is usually the easy (and fun!) part. But fabrication is typically the last stage of the process. First we have to understand how our clients experience the problem they’re hoping to solve. That can be difficult, in part because most problems reflect how our clients are embodied in the world and the diversity of tools and resources they may need to navigate it. If we’re not careful, we can define the problem in general terms, missing subtle nuances in our clients’ actual use cases.
An example to help illustrate the point. One of our clients asked us to make a mobile phone holder. At first we thought he was trying to declutter his desk space. But after seeing him use the phone in context (we asked him to sit at the desk and make a phone call), it became clear that the real issue was more complicated. He couldn’t fully articulate his wrists in a way that would let him easily pick up the phone if it was lying flat on the desk; it was also hard for him to remove or insert the charging cable. The solution turned out to be simple (a desk-level, wall-mounted mobile phone bracket), once we understood the issue.
As always, please feel free to email us if you’d like a copy of the STL files we used for 3D printing!