Worksite documentation:
I visited a seamstress to observe her at work, as well as the various tools that she needed for her creative profession. She has her own workspace that is the size of two sewing machine-tables. Two different types of sewing machines are needed because there is two main type of sewing stitches needed to create an article of clothing. At her workspace, we also has an entire wall-shelf decorated with threads of different colours and sizes. This is to ensure that she can colour match the thread to the various coloured clothing that customers bring in.
Pain Points:
She requires many different types of tools, which are kept all over her workplace. In the profession of sewing, there are also many tools that are small in size. So she has to be very careful where she keeps her tools, so that she does not misplace and cannot find anything.
From the various tools that she shared me, I wanted to create a device that incorporated as many of them as possible, and I came up with the assistant glove.
The tools incorporated included: a pin cushion, drawing chalk, scissors, a retractable straight ruler, a measuring tape, and a needle threading tool.
Initially, I thought that maybe it could work. After I created the model of the device, I realised that it was just a creative concept, but not functional. I put on the glove and tried to use them as if I were a seamstress, and thought that they were impractical, and would not work well when put into use.
This assignment made me realise how important making models and prototypes were. It is not enough to think of an idea, but building the actual idea will help you see if the idea is actually functional.
A better device would actually be a vest that gives them organization and easy access to their many tools! Sometimes thinking of a fancy idea may not be the best thing, but just a simple object that assists them in their daily activities is the sufficient enough.