GAME ON !!

PREPARATION

The Kamikaze Stingers team is hyped up and ready to tackle the design problems introduced by the represen-tatives from Hon furniture. Collect all ten!

LOGOIn order to fully immerse ourselves into the design weekend, creating the right mentality was a must. This weekend, we would all be Kamikaze, ready to sting at any moment.

PREPARATION

PREPARATION

RESEARCH

ACTORSDifferent type of users have different needs, different situations, different learning environments. These factors effectively deal with differ-ent types of educational furniture.

DAY-CARE

In day care, children learn through their own self-guided actions. They interact with the world around them, and as a result develop real world skills that will be fundamental in their future learning.

PRE-SCHOOL STUDENT

Pre-school students learn by doing; they have a small amount of motor control and like to ‘role play’. They like to ask a lot of questions, including ‘why’ and ‘how’. They should know basic concepts. Pre-school students need a posi-tive environment in order to reinforce basic, fundamental ideas.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Elementary school is the training ground in children they learn all the basics. They learn how to sit in their desks. They learn how to raise their hand. They learn all the real basics: cooperation, citizenship, and then all the basic academic skills.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Middle school differs from elementary school in a variety of different ways. They have multiple teachers over multiple pe-riods. Students are going to have to start budgeting their time, and learning basic time management skills in order to get their schoolwork done. Basically, they are given more responsibility.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT

High school students are in their later stages of intellectual development, and are taught skills that are supposed to develop their time management skills, study habits, ability to set attainable goals, concentra-tion, note-taking, organizational skills, motivation, and commitment.

COLLEGE

In college, students have developed their learning skills, have gotten a basic under-standing of functioning on their own in an academic environment, and are now ready to learn skills that are going to help them to get a job and make a living.

TEACHERS

Teachers need a lot of different skills in or-der to teach. They need a passion to teach, patience, good communication, need to be a problem solver, be supportive, a leader, and able to interact with all ages. They need adequate storage for their materials, as well as sufficient desk space.

PARENTS

Parents want the most for their children when it comes to an education. They want their children to have access to good teachers, material, environments, and life lessons. They want safety and discipline, as well as some choice as to how their child’s education is run and improved.

COLLEGECollege students are involve in many differ-ent study environments. Classroom, outdoor, cafeteria, etc. These students would use just any place that they can sit on to do their study-ing. Therefore, this is an opportunity to explore these behaviors and the surroundings.

Student oftenly have interaction to one another as well as with the teacher in a small classroom. To be able to move around the room and interact is an important aspect in the educational process.

Seating must be functional. Often, student would carry personal property around campus and into classroom, thus having furniture that serves this purpose is highly recomended.

College students would just study at anyplace they feel suitable. One of the most famous place is the lounge room. Lounge furnitures provide comfort and an informal atmosphere. Nevertheless, they don’t provide good, study ergo-nomics.

Cafeteria is highly designed with students all the time. College students find having food while study a convenient behavior.

When the weather is nice, it creates an interactive study en-vironment. Students can meet outside for quick meetings or group discussion.

An example of a solution to the students who are left handed. The solution does solve the problem, although there is room for development.

RESEARCH

Teachers in high schools are always facing “two desks” problem. They have to handle massive stuff between two desks.

When students have some group discussion, the desks will combine in a certain way which makes one of the students face different side with oth-ers. That does not make sense.

The janitor in the high school told us that it was not easy to flip over chairs onto the desks, especially for students.

This desk is for discussion be-tween teachers and students. There is round arc shape cut of the teacher’s position, but the arc is not so appropriate.

This special shape of desks makes desk combine various ways, which are suitable and easy to use.

Students will have these kind of discussion desks and chairs in the library, which are easy to move.

PRE-COLLEGEPre-college students are in their later stages of in-tellectual development, and are taught skills that are supposed to develop their time management skills, study habits, ability to set attainable goals, concentration, note-tak-ing, organizational skills, motivation, and commit-ment.

RESEARCH

This is a desk that can store newspa-pers on it. It has some rollers which can be used for hanging paper.

Here are colorful chairs for young chil-dren to play and learn. These chairs are vibrant, which can get the students’ attention.

This is a sand table which stores some moonsand in it. Children can pick some up from the storage box and play on the surface of the sand table.

Stacking Chair increase more space while not in use.

These chairs and desks are used for learn and play also.

The lego table increases inter-action between children and also help in developing creativ-ity.

OTHERSOutside school children can learn interaction skills when they are playing with toys. For example, they can act as doctors while they are playing with the hospi-tal toys. There are many different kinds of furni-ture for children here. All of them are colorful and help to improve the child’s ability to commu-nicate with other kids.

RESEARCH

DEVELOPMENT

There are strong relation-ship between growth and development. From the chart we can clearly see some example of their dif-ferences, their needs, etc.

KINDERGARTEN

- Fully aware of the surroundings

- Want to try everything

- Must have someone to look after them

- A lot of interaction with objects

- Sleep 10-12 hours

- Simple Thinking

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE SCHOOL

- Notice the surroundings

- questioning everything

- Independent from time to time

- Begin to interact with other kids

- Sleep 8-10 hours

- Questioning Thinking

HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE

- Understand the surroundings

- Try to understand everything

- More independent

- A lot of interaction with people

- Sleep 8-10 hours

- Rational Thinking

TEACHERS

- Understand the surroundings

- Wants to try everything

- Completely independent

- A lot of interaction with people

- Sleep 8-10 hours

- Complex Thinking

RESEARCH

SmartLink™ Teacher Station Collection: SmartLink™

List Price: $1,265.00 - $1,526.00

Highly mobile – can be used ascomputer station, workspace forassistants, student teachers or volunteers. Increased storage 3-inch smart grommets with wireway cover and integral cable and power management

SmartLink™ Student Desks Collection: SmartLink™ List Price: $506.00

Supports multiple learningstyles, right or left-handed,Adjustable height , Comfortedge on user side and soft radius with rounded cornerson all sides. Nylon swivel glides standard. Accepts felt glide caps

SmartLink™ Credenza Height Collection: SmartLink™

List Price: $734.00 - $1,424.00

Reconfigurable at any time within any classroom space Internal case accept a variety of storage accessories, includingtrays, shelves and coat rods.3”, 360-degree swivel casters allow storage units to be moved easily.

Collection: Flagship®

List Price: $577.00

Simple and personalized storage of multiple items.” Pantry-style” pull-out drawer provides simple access to stored items. Accessories are adjustable in 3” increments along back and sides of drawer for added flexibility.

Collection: 700 Lateral Files List Price: $509.00 - $1,795.00

Clean lines and two styles offull-width designer-style han-dles with magnetic label hold-ers. Suitable for all types of files, with letter or legal filing capa-bility. Features standard dual side locks for security.

Collection: 510 Series

List Price: $244.00 - $381.00

Best long-term archival filingstorage system available.High drawer sides hold hangingfolders without use of hangrails.Premium quality construction means strong, durable long-life cases. Interchangeable core.

SmartLink™ Student Desks Collection: SmartLink™ List Price: $794.00

Supports multiple learningstyles, right or left-handed,Adjustable height , Comfortedge on user side and soft radius with rounded cornerson all sides. Nylon swivel glides standard. Accepts felt glide caps

Collection: Olson Stacker®

List Price: $500.00 - $620.00 Elegant molded form Louveredback Integral handle Stacks upto 12 inches high.

RESEARCH

HON’s PRODUCTSResearch on Hon’s lines of product gives us a basic idea of the trend, style, and functionality of their furniture.

RESEARCH

MARKET

Existing products are one of the best indicators of what the consumer wants. Review and comments are valuable for identifying trends.

MARKET

Existed products are one of the best indicator of what the consumer wants. Review and comments are valuable for identifying trends.

RESEARCH

MARKET

Existed products are one of the best indicator of what the consumer wants. Review and comments are valuable for identifying trends.

RESEARCH

MATERIALSThere are many different types of materials that can be used in furniture. Hon uses a variety of different processes to create their furniture.

RESEARCH

INTERVIEWHaving interviews with users makes us really un-derstand the problems and what the consumer really wants from furni-ture.

Name: Vicky Ayres BensonOccupation: High school Art TeacherExperience: 15 + years teaching

What do you think about furniture in your classroom.?

“I do not personally like the chairs that are attached to seats (as in regular classrooms) since not all kids are the same size and comfortable sitting the same way, but I understand they might be more convenient than having separate seats and desks. In art rooms it is nice if the height of the stool is adjustable, but unfortunately they usually break. I would also rather have smaller tables I can group together or move apart than those big tables.”

“Overall, desks need to be movable so they can be arranged in a variety of configurations from small teams/pairs to forming a large circle to having everyone facing the same way. As most students carry large book bags there needs to be enough room under the seats to store them. If they are all placed in a central location there is a greater likely hood of steal-ing.”

Do you have any problems with your current storage?

“Good storage is a necessity in any room as well. Teachers need a variety of places to story things, including shelves/bookcases/file cabinets. Art rooms need flat storage for papers, but vertical slots are great for drawing boards and paintings. I like the lockers in the art room as well.”

How important is the room’s setting?

“The biggest factor is flexibility since we like to change things up from time to time. I know we can not all have large rooms, but it would be great to have the area for the desks be only a portion of the room and have additional areas for individual work, group activities and experimentation. Banks of computers or laptops for the class would be great.

Hands on areas with large tables for various media work that is separate from the “desk” area (like I have those big craft tables away from the regular tables) Students need a place to ex-plore on their own, do personal computer work, work together in groups and to work along with the teacher/take notes/watch presentations.”

RESEARCH

INTERVIEWHaving interviews with users makes us really un-derstand the problems and what the consumer really wants from furni-ture.

How do you have your classroom set up and what advantages and disadvantages do you face with it?

“I have my classroom oriented in a U shape so all the kids can see me, but often, I take my stu-dents in small groups to the back of the room where I have a big table. These sessions I find very help-ful for their learning. It’s hard arranging the classroom though, because their so small. The only writing space is at the front of the classroom, so I always have to keep desks facing that way.”

Where is your desk located and how cluttered is it?

“Well, I haven’t been teaching that long, but already I notice the need for storage space. File cabinets, shelving, the built in bookshelves are great, but I wish I had more. I would [to group the desks] if I had a more versatile space. My desk is at the front of the room, in the corner facing out. I find that I feel less boxed away, and the kids can see me as well as me seeing them. It builds trust, and I’m not suspicious, in the back of the room spying on them where they can’t see me. ”

What types of activities/techniques do you use to calm down children?

We use a variety of techniques to calm the children, which is very important. For a child to be able to learn, they must feel safe and comfortable; I’m referring to Maslo’s Hierarchy of needs: Body needs must be met before learning can begin. We utilize proprioceptive input, which is a sensory phenomenon, a method of calming that most people respond to. We facilitate these responses with the application of weighted items such as a vest or belt. Vestibular stimulation, which are slow, rocking movements while sitting are also calming. Correct seating and posture is also very important. Special needs children often need adaptive seating (seating that moves and adjusts) to position themselves for learning. The seat can change to the shape of the user, with chest and leg adjuster/restraints. One thing we must remember is that children with disabilities are learning the same communi-cation and life skills we all learn, just at a slower rate.

Name: Lindsay KobinOccupation: Elementary School TeacherExperience: 1 year of teaching

Name: Karen SchaumannOccupation: Occupational Therapist at Spe-cial Education SchoolExperience: 30 + years teaching

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

FORUMA to Z Teacher Stuff is an online forum for teach-ers across the world to communicate. We asked the teachers questions about their classroom environment and prob-lems they experience.

Where do you spend most of the time in your classrooms?

“As to the teacher’s desk, I’m rarely at it. I teach math and am always at the board. But each of our classrooms include a podium, and lots of teachers get a lot of use from them.”

What limitations do you find with your current school furniture?

“Design a chair that can hold a backpack! Our chairs have slightly rounded backs so the students’ bags slide off. Occasionally someone can get his or her bag to stay on the back of the chair but for the most part, kids have their bags on the floor by their feet. “ “A one-piece desk that’s equally comfortable for a righty or a lefty would be great. The lefties sometimes seem to have to curl themselves up into a ball to write.” “I have tables in my classroom, which is nice, but because they are big rectangles and I teach big kids, it is hard to configure them in different ways. Student desks in high school are a problem to those students who are really tall (right now my tallest student is 6’8”) and who are overweight. They just don’t fit into the small space. They also don’t work well when put together for group work.” “We keep this furniture forever and the legs become uneven and the tables move when the kids are writing.” “As an elementary teacher I would love to have student desks with legs that are easy to adjust so the height is a better match for individual students. I use nylon chair pouches for my students so they have additional storage for scissors, pens, pencils, etc. I wonder if a student chair could be manufactured with some type of mini-bin or vertical plastic pouch on the back? Of course, they would still need to be stackable.. just an idea.” “Having tables with easy to adjust leg length as in many places the floors are so uneven that the tables rock all the time.”

What do you not like about your desk space?

“My biggest problem around my desk area are WIRES!!! We have laptops with docking stations, internet wires, wires to connect to the server, wires to connect to my overhead LCD, wires to my DVD player, wires to my speakers, and lots more” “My teacher desk is fine on top - but the drawers would be great if they came with dividers that you could move around to meet you own needs in divvying up the space to keep things organized.” “My AV cart is too big, but in order to hold my doc cam, computer, and LCD projector and still have some space to write under the doc cam, it has to be kind of large.”

If you don’t have your own classroom, do you have a cart or something to hold your materials?

“This year I teach in 9 different rooms! Our building isn’t conducive to the use of a cart. I have to travel across a large open courtyard, and up stairs to get from my homeroom to my first geometry class (weather permitting. If it snows, the court yard closes, I go the long way and I’m late.) So I carry everything I need in my Vera Bradley tote.” “Yes I teach in 4 different rooms over the week but as there are stairs between each one and no lifts a cart is no good to me. “

IDEATIONEach member of the team sketched ideas they had on post-it notes. We then put the post-its on a bulletin board to pick the ones we wanted to take fur-ther into concepts.

IDEATION

IDEATIONEach member of the team sketched ideas they had on post-it notes. We then put the post-its on a bulletin board to pick the ones we wanted to take fur-ther into concepts.

IDEATION

IDEATIONEach member of the team sketched ideas they had on post-it notes. We then put the post-its on a bulletin board to pick the ones we wanted to take fur-ther into concepts.

IDEATION

REFINEMENTThe group took the ide-ation sketches that we thought were worth ex-ploring and refined them further to bring us closer to our final concepts.

REFINEMENT

REFINEMENTThe group took the ide-ation sketches that we thought were worth ex-ploring and refined them further to bring us closer to our final concepts.

REFINEMENT

MOCK-UPsMaking cardboard mod-els are very essentials in developing design. This helps us understand the form and design as well as leads us to better con-cepts.

MOCK-UPs

MOCK-UPsMaking cardboard mod-els are very essentials in developing design. This helps us understand the form and design as well as leads us to better con-cepts.

MOCK-UPs

MUSHROOM TABLEDougie is super excited. Today, He is first to class and is able to retrieve “Tommy the Parrot” from the Mushroom Table to complete his pirate outfit.

- Dougie is a four year old boy- Likes Toys- Good at Coloring- Is a pirate- Favorite food is pizza

CONCEPTS

GARBAGE GOBBLERNow, Its time for arts and crafts. Dougie sits down at Monster Table and pushes his scraps into the monster in the middle of the table.

CONCEPTS

LESS THAN 7 PIECESDougie then gets ready for story time. He grabs his Tri-Foam and plops down right in front, eager to see the pictures.

CONCEPTS

ROTO CUBEFinally, It’s time for lunch (pizza day!). Dougie flips his Roto-Chair over and scoots it over to group for lunch.

CONCEPTS

REMOVABLE PADSHe yawns as he grabs his reversible pad for nap time and grudgingly accepts he is actually tired.

Half for sitting

Full for sleeping

CONCEPTS

BUILD-A-CHAIR As Dougie wakes he wanders over to the Build-A-Chairs for free time and builds himself his captain’s quarters.

CONCEPTS

BOARD CUBBYStacy arrives to school ready for the day. She drops off her bag in the Rotating Cubby, but holds onto her new purse. The teacher rotates the cubby to show the assignments on the white board.

- Stacy is a 10 year old girl- Listens to boy bands- Favorite color is yellow- Loooves Silly Bands!- Is proud of her first purse

CONCEPTS

SWISS CHEESE CHAIRStacy lifts up her seat and pulls out her book report and drawings. She knows she’ll do well because she saved her last yellow report folder especially for today.

CONCEPTS

CORK BOARDWhen she hears the teacher call “Stacy” she hurries to the front of the room and sets up her drawings on the Presentation Cork Board before she begins to read her report.

CONCEPTS

UTILITY DESKWith her presentation out of the way she made her way to the Dry Erase Desk. As the teacher circled the room grading the classes’ work, she drew a check on Stacy’s desk.

CONCEPTS

Pull out cutting matt for crafts work

PORTable Next is drawing. Bob, her friend, snags her PORTable from the storage cabinet and sets it up for her.

CONCEPTS

FLIPPING CHAIRStacy finishes the day and flips her chair onto her desk to signify she is ready to go.

CONCEPTS

NOTCH CHAIRToday Kevin finishes his last day of regular classes. He grabs his bag as he leaves for his first final exam.

- Kevin is an 18 year old boy- Graduating High School and ready for College- Left handed- Plays soccer- Get’s A’s in English- Soon to be journalism major

CONCEPTS

EXPANDING DESKKevin finds his way to the gym where the Ex-panding Desks have been set up for testing.

CONCEPTS

POWERED UPFlash forward three months, Kevin is at his first writing class where the Outlet Desks are set-up and connected for individual writing and group sharing.

CONCEPTS

FLOWER TABLEAfter class, Kevin grabs his group assignment gets lunch with his partners at the Flower Tables.

CONCEPTS

ROCKING LOUNGE CHAIRKevin’s first writing exam is next week, eager to get studying with and on to soccer practice, he hit’s his favorite study spot: the Rocking Lounge Chair.

CONCEPTS

Swivel Desk

When the exam finally arrives, Kevin is prepared and knows it. He enters the room, swings the desk to the left and picks up his pencil.

CONCEPTS

rotates from left to right

PODIUM CARTMiss Elliott drops her coat off in the teachers’ lounge, grabs the Podium Cart for science and heads for 8th grade biology for lecture.

- Miss Elliott is 30 years old- Third year teaching- Teaches 6th and 8th grade science- Loves to be organized- Is a movie buff

CONCEPTS

OCTA GROUP DESKAfter lecture, Miss Elliott tells the students to rearrange their Octa-Group Desks from individual desks to group formation for lab.

CONCEPTS

DRY ERASE CABINETAs the kids are working, she writes the homework assignment on the Dry Erase Cabinet.

CONCEPTS

K-NEXMiss Elliott returns the podium part and grabs her personal mobile cart filled with graded papers, assignments and personal items. She docks the cart in the common docking area.

CONCEPTS

Personal Mobile Cart

MODULAR FILE CABShe pulls her exams for her 6th grade chemistry class from her section of the shared Modular File Cabinet, and gathers herself.

CONCEPTS

TESTING SCREENMiss Elliott posts the usual extra credit general knowledge movie question on the front board, hands out the exams, and raises the Testing Screens.

CONCEPTS

South Street SmokehouseMad MushroomPanda ExpressNoodles & Co. Boiler Market Hungry BoilerLittle Ceasar’sOlive GardenSilver DipperThai EssenceAJ BurgersSnow BearM&L BankSpurlocksRice CafeBasil ThaiWal - MartTaco BellPuccini’s Wendy’sHot BoxToppersHootersBruno’sLenny’sMarco’sArby’sCI CI’sKFC

SPECIAL THANKS TO

THE END