In my class Design and engineering, we learned what inclusive design is and how we can make everyday tools efficient for everyone. Empathy is something that we, as humans, practice a lot when we socialize with others, but we don’t seem to do the same with other circumstances, like designing and engineering products for consumers. For our first action project, we worked in groups of two and redesigned a gardening tool with a more “inclusive design.”
The tool that we had to redesign is known as Fiskar Shears and is used to cut plant stems. They function like a pair of scissors, but on one blade, has a sharpened pattern that makes it cut better than a regular pair of scissors. This is really great for gardeners since plant stems can be thick, and can’t be cut easily with regular scissors.
The thing that concerns us is the strength needed to cut through stems. Many people don’t think about this because designers don’t consider what could be beneficial to everyone. I interviewed a gardener to see what struggles they face when gardening. My interviewee did not deal with any major problems, and mainly had simple annoyances that made their time gardening last longer. There was one thing that my interviewee told me after the interview: “It takes a lot of time to cut through some branches because after even a short time of cutting, my wrist and arm become tired.”
This has helped me to redesign Fiskar shears in a way that demands less strength from people, when they use them. The way our tool works is similar to a jack in the box. A spring between the handles of the Fiskar shears is compressed, and will spring with the push of a button. This force of the spring will cause the blades to close together. This will make trimming plant stems more efficient for not only seniors, but for everyone that gardens.
Compared to other products that add a material around the grip of the handle for comfort, and other products that create sharper blades to cut through stems easier, this product will add more force and strength. We have yet to create this tool and test out the difference and see if it will cut through stems better, but I believe in our design!
Down below is a slideshow of what our tool looks like. We’ve drawn a visual of how our tool is used, the dimensions of the tool, and the functions of it. Thank you for reading and viewing!
The tool that we had to redesign is known as Fiskar Shears and is used to cut plant stems. They function like a pair of scissors, but on one blade, has a sharpened pattern that makes it cut better than a regular pair of scissors. This is really great for gardeners since plant stems can be thick, and can’t be cut easily with regular scissors.
The thing that concerns us is the strength needed to cut through stems. Many people don’t think about this because designers don’t consider what could be beneficial to everyone. I interviewed a gardener to see what struggles they face when gardening. My interviewee did not deal with any major problems, and mainly had simple annoyances that made their time gardening last longer. There was one thing that my interviewee told me after the interview: “It takes a lot of time to cut through some branches because after even a short time of cutting, my wrist and arm become tired.”
This has helped me to redesign Fiskar shears in a way that demands less strength from people, when they use them. The way our tool works is similar to a jack in the box. A spring between the handles of the Fiskar shears is compressed, and will spring with the push of a button. This force of the spring will cause the blades to close together. This will make trimming plant stems more efficient for not only seniors, but for everyone that gardens.
Compared to other products that add a material around the grip of the handle for comfort, and other products that create sharper blades to cut through stems easier, this product will add more force and strength. We have yet to create this tool and test out the difference and see if it will cut through stems better, but I believe in our design!
Down below is a slideshow of what our tool looks like. We’ve drawn a visual of how our tool is used, the dimensions of the tool, and the functions of it. Thank you for reading and viewing!
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