My gap
My design problem evolved based on my interviews. It is now:
In what way might I store my drawing pens on my desk, so that I can easily get the desired pen and easily take them with me to an another place
User needs
Below the list op the required user needs, arranged into hierarchy with one level of abstraction.
The pencilbox contains everything I need to draw (except for paper)
– The pencilbox has a place for an eraser
– The pencilbox has a place for a ruler
– The pencilbox has a place for pencils and markers
The pencilbox looks cool
! The pencilbox can be drawn or painted on by the artist him or herself
– The pencilbox can be closed when not in use on the desk so it looks tidy
– The pencilbox can be uniquely identified as mine
The pencilbox is portable
– The pencilbox goes wherever I go
– The pencilbox is not heavy
– The pencilbox can be carried in one hand
– The pencilbox can be hung on a shoulder
– The pencilbox can be easily placed in the desired furniture and taken out
– The pencilbox can be easily used outside
The pencilbox makes it easy to select the pencil needed
– The pencilbox can stand on two sides
– The pencilbox is see-through
– The pencilbox makes it easy to pull pencils out
– The pencilbox shows which colors or sizes the pencils are
The pencilbox protects my pencils and markers
– The pencilbox is made of strong materials
– The pencilbox contains a lid
! The pencilbox contains a removable lid
– The pencilbox keeps my stuff dry when in the rain
– The pencilbox protects my stuff from dirt and mud on the ground
The pencilbox can be easily placed on any desk
– The pencilbox is no larger than a normal filing system
– The pencilbox cannot fall over to one side
The pencilbox is useful and available for every artist
– The pencilbox’s depth can be changed
– The pencilbox can carry both long, short, thick or thin pencils/markers
– The pencilbox is affordable
– The pencilbox is available in different sizes
– The pencilbox is modular
The pencilbox is made of environmental friendly materials
Experience gathering the user needs
Although it was very difficult to find sufficient people to discuss the user needs with, I succeeded to get the required amount of user needs. I didn’t expect to find user needs I didn’t think of myself beforehand, but I did. Discussing my gap and my first design with others, gave me several new ways how to address the problem. It gave me energy and new ideas. I can’t wait to implement the new ideas. But that is probably up for next week :-).
Latent user needs
I identified the latent needs with an exclamation point in the list above.