Art Portfolio: Conducting Surveys

 As I was unsure of the items that I am designing, I decided to conduct a survey and send it to multiple university students so they can make me understand what will be most useful to design. 

It is time to start sketching out and developing more of my ideas, therefore, I thought it was necessary to create a survey to guide me in which direction to go.

This is one of the many surveys I am completing. I did not ask many questions as this is a first survey to form my ideas. I will be adding more surveys along the way for people to review my initial ideas, development and process as I want to be in touch with my target market constantly.

I used google forms to create my own questions and then sent it to 8 people to get some answers. These were the questions: 

My first question included what is the main problem they face in their accommodation. Unsurprisingly, most people said that lack of space was the main issue. Most accommodations do not have the luxury to provide the students with sufficient storage which can lead to many other issues. Some answers in a question later made me realise that the main problem of space branches out to create even more problems. 

The lack of concentration, demotivation and not being organised can be a result of lack of space. Having everything scattered around the room and having a lot of trouble finding things can lead to stress.

This first question made me realise that storage should be my number one concern when designing. I will definitely plan to include as much storage as I can to try and make things more organised for them.

This question was shocking to me as I realised that the majority of people are very unsatisfied with the storage they are presented with. Only one person was satisfied with the storage they had. This is alarming as it shows that storage can definitely affect the productivity of someone. Speaking from personal experience, having a messy room can make me very unproductive. Therefore, I would like to add more storage to make sure that people can store things away and have a clean apartment to work in. Productivity is key in studies as a lot of studying occurs, therefore, I need to ensure that my products make them stay focused and productive. 

Surprisingly, no one had sufficient empty storage. Two people voted for 'not as much as I want to' which again goes to show that people do not have the ability to live comfortably in their own accommodation as they are storage deprived. Asking both these questions made me realise that people need at least 1-3 more cupboard of storage. I was told to look into 'Dizz concept' for such inspiration which was very helpful and I am planning on doing that in my next blog post. 

Asking these questions were very important to me as I was hesitant about creating multi-functional pieces of furniture. At first, I was definitely set on the idea of foldable products, however, I am more keen on creating multi-functional after looking at these results. The products will fold and unfold to form various spaces and transform to various products. 

I am very pleased that not only one person said that they do not like multi-functional furniture. Everyone agrees that they are effective which can be very beneficial to my project. 

Form vs function was a concept that always intrigued me.  Personally, I need to have both. I want to have products that are fully functional and also aesthetically pleasing. Five more people seem to be agreeing with me as they consider these equal. Having fully functional products will lead to less consumer frustration and people will be more satisfied. Having an aesthetically pleasing appearance will entice people to buy it and they will be more motivated and focused when working on it. Therefore, even though 3 people chose either only form or only function, I am definitely planning on adding them both equally in my design. 

As my products are multi-functional, it is vital for them to function correctly. Additionally, as I am aiming for university student, it is also vital for the appearance to look good.

Looking back at this question, I definitely should not have asked it. Some people may not envision cooler, more relaxed shades of purple and they assumed that it will be bright and distracting. They can interpret this the wrong way.

I did not dig deeper with this question for now as I am planning on creating samples of purple and then presenting them. This will give them a clear idea of the shades of purple that could potentially be included. I am not worried that some people chose 'no' or 'i would consider it' as I am sure that when they see the actual shades, their opinion might change. 

This was one of the most important questions in this survey as I was mostly interested in as a means of finally deciding what items I would like to include. It seems that the bin and the coffee table were the least favourable as they had no votes. 

Looking at the results, I should consider making: a chair, a lounge, a desk, a cupboard, shelves, stool and more storage. However, as I am only in need of 6 products, I will eliminate the stool as it is evident that storage is the main problem. I personally do not consider the stool vital as the chair can be utilised to complete the same function with the stool. 

This was a very informative question as it helped me understand what my target market is looking for. 

I also decided to ask people what they are looking for in a storage bundle. Most people responded with 'more storage' or 'something to keep me organised'. I expected these answers as they 

In my own design, I need to ensure that:

1) the colour of the designs will not be distracting to them so they can focus on their studies.

2) the finish of the product and the aesthetics of it will make them motivated to work.

3. they will provide them with sufficient storage to keep everything inside.

Maybe i could look into ways to help them stay organised. I could look into 'Marie Kondo' which is a Japanese organiser to figure out ways and techniques that I could implement in my design as a guide for them to stay organised. 

I decided to ask this question to see how much storage interferes with their studies. I could relate to the art people as I do not have sufficient storage either. Having to store sketchbooks and materials could be a hassle. Additionally, all the students that need to store box files and stationery need to be provided with a space large enough to fit everything.

For a testing exercise, I could perhaps use a book or a sketchbook and measure it to see how big it is in order to come up with the sizes of my designs. 

Even though the brief was clear to me at this point, I wanted to ask them what a successful storage-saving product bundle would be considered. Most people responded with sufficient storage. However, a response that stood out to me was 'The fact that I have no space makes me hesitant to buy many important things. I always have to think carefully of how big my purchase will be and this gives me additional stress. I need a large storage unit to make me feel more relaxed and organised'.

This response was very shocking and surprising to me as I never thought of this, even though I experienced it indirectly. The person points out that students have to face stress of their university work everyday and they do not need additional unnecessary space. People might stress over their messy rooms and not have the capability to buy many things as they do not have sufficient space. 

This comment was very eye opening and it definitely made me realise the importance of sufficient and effective space in my designs. 

Pricing is definitely a factor that I should consider closely. My main target market is university students. The majority of university students either depend on their parents or work to make some pocket money. This does not give them the luxury to spend a lot of money on this. Therefore, I need to be rational and find materials and processes that will lower the cost of this design.

Most people are willing to invest 150-300 pounds which I think is logical for this design. I will look at this closely in a later stage, however, I need to always keep in mind who my target market is as a means of making sure that it is accessible to most people. 

Even though this was a short first questionnaire, I am planning on diving more deeply into these questions once I start completing initial ideas. Additionally, when I do colour testing, I will ask more questions about the colour purple to gather thoughts on opinions. This was strictly for me to understand what products the majority of the people want. For each of those questions, I will ask more in depth-ones in a later stage. 

Conclusion:

Looking at both my initial sketches and the responses from these people, I am now sure of what I want to design. 

I would like to design one cupboard that transforms into shelves, a table and more storage (will decide if I will create a stool or more storage in my sketches). And I want to design a chair that transforms into a lounge and maybe a stool. For my cupboard design, I am planning on looking into 'Dizz Concept' in the next blog post to get inspiration from. 

I feel like this was helpful for me to understand what my target market is looking for in order to achieve maximum results. They gave me insightful answers that helped me look at things from a different perspective. I am definitely planning on doing more of these surveys in the near future.