Testing: Measurements

After my cardboard testing, I wanted to try out one more testing to ensure that I am completely confident about this design moving forward.

In last terms project, I decided to test out how big the surface of  my table was to see if it is convenient for the user. Referring to the people that gave me feedback, some are art students and need a lot of space for materials.

From my own experience, the width of the table provided at my accommodation was not big enough to fit my A3 sketchpad. I had to constantly rotate it while working on it which was frustrating and created unnecessary mistakes.

I decided to sketch out a 76x76cm which will be the size of the table once it is unfolded. I then proceeded on placing the items I usually have on my own desk.  I tried to place a few different items to see how it would look:

The first step was to use a ruler and measure 76x76cm and mark it using tape. This will create the surface area of the table once unfolded. When folded, it will be 76x38cm. 

The first item I wanted to place on was an A3 sketchbook open. I wanted to ensure that it would fit perfectly in order to make sure that art students have a spacious desk. 

One thing that made me realise how important desk size is was this experience. I am currently looking for a house to move in next year with some of my friends from the same course. While looking at houses, the main element we were looking for is big desks as we are all art students. That was a pivotal moment that made me understand that the desk needs to be large.

However, it needs to be large within certain limits to ensure that it can still fit within small apartments.

I am glad to see that the A3 sketchbook fits and has space around it too. 

I also like that the desk is square as it allows for people to place things like laptops in the back. One thing I noticed with my long rectangular desk at home is that my laptop is sometimes in the way of drawing or sketching. Therefore I have to move it constantly. However, with a square design, you can have the sketchbook as displayed in the picture and then place the laptop further back. This will ensure that nothing gets in the way. 

Then, I wanted to test out the size with the things I normally have on my desk. My sketchbook, laptop, A3 page and my iPad. The laptop is displayed in an angular direction which means that it takes up more space that necessary. Even with the laptop taking up more space, it is clear that all the items fit well within the size, allowing the user to be comfortable without overcrowding his desk.

This was a great experiment to show that many items can fit within the desk. It is spacious enough allowing many products to co-exist without limitations. 

One of the people in my feedback mentioned that they are a business student with a lot of box files. I wanted to create a combination on the desk and include a notepad, multiple box files, a book and a laptop.

As seen, everything once again fits perfectly without being too squished or messy. Everything has enough space around it and it looks comfortable and inviting.

Conclusion: I think this was a very beneficial experience. It is easy to create measurements without taking into consideration important factors. However, I wanted to ensure maximum user comfortability and this was a vital step in my design. It might have been a bit late to the process as it would have been really hard to restart if the measurements were not ideal. However, thankfully the measurements are perfect and can accommodate everyone's needs. I really like the square design and I think it was a good choice to place a variety of items on for different fields. This made me realise that my design can be utilised by anyone which increases my target market. I am very happy with this test and I think that it was successfully completed.

I am planning on completely finalising my research this week in order to proceed to software designing next week as the deadline is approaching fast.