The Modular Band Design Process

The Fixperts Group project required our group to find a Fixpartner and design and make a physical product that solved a niche problem that they had. We were required to interview them, research, design ideate, model, and physically make the final product before giving them the solution, while documenting the process for the film.

Fixpartner Interview Insights and Early Concepts

We interviewed our fixpartner we discovered they had ADHD and has sensory issues making alot of everyday tasks alot more difficult and stressful. From this we found 3 potential avenues we could go down: Something to help reduce stress when cooking improving their experience, a product to help them with washing up to target the sensory issues, a new type of sensory/fidget toy that was more discrete and did not make as much noise. We developed initial concepts and some models to show to our fixpartner to see which area she felt was the strongest for us to go down.

A handwritten mind map titled 'Ideas from interview' with various topics including sensors, textures, colors, and themes, written in different colors on white paper.
Hand-drawn diagram with various shapes, sketches of building blocks, and notes describing different components and instructions for assembling or creating a project.
A cardboard indoor soccer goal with small white soccer balls inside, placed on a light-colored wooden surface.
A cardboard stand holding a roll of white adhesive tape and a small pair of scissors.

Design Development

We meet back up with our fixpartner to showcase our concepts and decided to go along the fidget and sensory toy route as we felt we could personalise the design to suit our Fixpartner while also designing something that could be sold on the market. Furthermore, we decided to design a slap on bracelet that incorporates fidget/sensory items as a bracelet can be discreet and could incorporate multiple fidget parts. This process invloved more design sketches and alot of trial and error with models, which is where we came up with the idea of slide on modules that incorporated fidget/sensory toys that could interhcnaged on and off the slap band.

Hand-drawn diagram of a medication reminder device with labeled components, including a fitted element with a digital display, a silicone band, a snap bracelet design, and a watch face, along with illustrations of pills, a timer, and medication pills with instructions for use.
A strip of cardboard with small white objects resembling tiny mushrooms and a small square fabric piece, a yellow sticky note with '10' written on it, and a small yellow sticky note on a light-colored wooden surface.
A close-up of a green plastic object with small pieces of paper and other materials attached to it on a light wooden surface.
Wristwatch with a cardboard band decorated with colorful paper rectangles in green, pink, and gray, and white paper strips.

Final Model

We 3D printed various module sizes to test with our Fixpartner firstly to see which ones they felt were the most comfortable which was a square shaped one and two rectangular ones either side. From this we redesigned the modules and purchased various fidget items breaking them off and fitted them on our modules and slide them onto the slap band to test with ourselves and our fixpartner who loved the finished product, finding it comfortable, discrete and very helpful.

Three people showing their wrists, each wearing a different colored activity tracker or smartwatch on their left wrists, with one person also wearing a ring on their finger. They are seated at a white table.
A green skateboard with black attachments and a colorful woven sock in the middle.