Industrial Design · Research & Strategy · Physical Prototyping

USC Iovine & Young Academy – Product Design, Materials Science Courses, 2021

Advised by: Grant Delgatty, Lisa Krohn, Adam Hughes

Exploring the co-existence of movement and seated posture for optimal creative output.

01 RESEARCH

Target users: makers, designers, and builders who sit in a workshop or studio.

Key pain points:

• Uncomfortable.

• Lack of support for the body.

• Restricts movement around the space.

• Not adaptable to different users.

  
  

Physical restriction and discomfort are inhibitors to getting into the creative zone. There's an opportunity for workshop seating that supports makers through extended periods of focused work, while empowering freedom of mobility — and while we're at it, portability, accessibility, and affordability are worth considering too.

02 IDEATION

How might we encourage movement while sitting? Seating that moves with the user's movements around the space.

How might we eliminate the negative health effects of long-term sitting? Built-in fidgeting or exercise for otherwise static body parts. Seating that molds to the user's body based on sitting position.

How might we invite someone to sit, but also encourage them to stand up? Seating bouncy enough to make standing easy. A softer material than typical lab stool metal.

03 SOLUTION

A stool that leans, rocks, and rotates with the body as it moves around a creative space. Its structure is a wooden frame that cradles an exercise ball. The seat accommodates fidgeting and posture shifts instead of restricting them, while the ball's bounce and softness make it easy to stand up rather than a habit to stay seated. This is a flat pack seat. The base has an cross junction that is materially minimal, yet stable enough to hold and distribute weight at rotated angles to support the maker's seated mobility.