Purse Redesign
This is a 2-person project, part of a Human Factors course. The project's domain is women's purses, which are seen as having form without function. My teammate and I participated in both research and design.
In the research phase of the project, we sent out questionnaires, performed task analysis, and conducted a user study with 3 users under different settings, like catching a bus and reaching out for the bus pass in the purse. We discovered issues like having a lot of pockets and a dark interior.
Based on research, we redesigned the purse to have a main compartment and a smaller one. The smaller compartment is cone shaped so that small items fall down, and the user eventually knows where an item is based on its size. Each compartment has a different bright color, giving the user an affordance as to where the item is.
To fit big items like paper or an iPad, the purse has a third virtual compartment, which spans the width of the purse. That's because the smaller compartment doesn't take the full depth of the purse.
The project did not involve testing the product. Still, the ladies present in the class gave a thumbs-up, along with very helpful recommendations.