VERSA-TOWER
Tower. Chair. Table
A piece of furniture that grow with children from the time they are toddlers until they have children of their own. Realized in 3 different natural wood tones ensure the timelessness of Versa Tower, making it an elegant piece of furniture that can be passed down for generations.
SKILLS PRESENTED: Continuous User Research/ Hand Sketching / Digital Sketching / Model Building / CAD / 3D Rendering
TOOLS USED: SolidWorks / Rhino/ Keyshot / Photoshop / InDesign / Illustrator
RESEARCH
User Interviews
"I have such limited floor
space in the kitchen, I don’t
want another bulky item
disrupting the flow."
Information Visualization
Product Opportunity Gaps
additional functions of the kitchen tower serve different parts of life, regardless of age
PROCESS
MInd Mapping
Ideation Sketching
key take aways from this model: add safety bar (behind lower back), flipping is confusing articulate the steps instead of the base, keep wide base consistent (chair looks unstable)
Revised Versions of Stages
Stage 1 Kitchen Tower
Age 3-6
Elevates child to counter height
Stage 2 Chair
Age 6-10
Top step becomes cushion
Stage 3 Table
Ages 10+
Bottom step becomes table top
MANUFACTURING
Parts and Dimensions
height 35in.
width of top 15in.
width of base 18in.
depth 13in.
when in use, the table top extends over the edges of the body 1.5in. in all directions
1. top
2. pin
3. safety bar
4. Top step
4a. (underside of top step) seat cushion upholstered with impregnated canvas for durability
5. bottom step
5a. (underside of bottom step) table top, step with groove to place on top
6. body
7. base
7a. visual of 3D Wall Italia material the body is CNC'd from as well as the ideal color variation of the product
Product Features:
Versa Tower comes in a flatpack box with little assembly required and only one common household tool (hammer) to insert the pin into place.
RESEARCH
Role Play Research
I had the opportunity to bake with one of my interviewee’s children as well as her niece and nephew.
Through this experience, I was able to understand the experience of cooking with children from the parent’s perspective. I also provided a user diary to the parents and checked in with them weekly for 4 months to get feedback from my user.
Observational Study with Preschoolers
I had the opportunity to set up an observational study in a preschool class of 4-6 year olds. I simulated common kitchen tasks: cutting and mixing at 3 different heights: standard 36in. kitchen counter (left), 24in. preschool table (top), and the floor (bottom).
The heights were based off of where parents told me they tend to set up their children when they cook with them.
The objective was to understand the level of fine motor skills and physical accommodations children in this age range make.
Rough Modeling
---remove base, flip body over, attach base to
---the 'top'
----re-attach base to bottom, flip unit over
key take aways from this model: add safety bar (behind lower back), flipping is confusing articulate the steps instead of the base, keep wide base consistent (chair looks unstable)
Market Analysis
- uncomfortable chair
- expensive ($320)
- visually uninteresting
- does not have safety bar
- expensive ($300)
- bulky
- does not grow with child
- expensive ($130)
