We did it! The last and final step of the school year! BlueSky was definitely a crazy night to remember.
Again, focusing on the LAUNCH Cycle, the Spring Exhibition gave us all the chance to design and create something that solves a problem we are interested in. Once again, I chose dance. As a dancer, you can really see all the flaws in everything from the products to the politics. However, there isn’t much I can do for politics so let’s take a look st a common problem. Slipping when dancing on pointe.
When your whole body weight is standing on nothing but your longest toe, there’s a good chance you’ll fall. Especially when the platform you’re balancing on is really no bigger than a coin.
Dancers also practice for hours on end and many don’t have access to proper flooring at home. There are many solutions already created to stop a dancer from slipping, however, many require liquid which actually warps the form of the shoe or otherwise causes stains and marks accords the floor.
Below is a little fun animated video as a review of the LAUNCH Cycle. While we did study this last year, the cycle is the basic creative process when creating something. Therefore, why not revisit it?
Now knowing the LAUNCH Cycle, we can take a look at how I incorporated it into my project, starting with the L Stage: Look, Listen & Learn. This being mainly my pre research such as observing. This is how I discovered the slipping problem. I also discovered the importance of proper dance flooring. This took me into the A Stage: Ask Questions.
In the A Stage, I interviewed some of my dance friends to get an idea of their perspective on the problem. I created a little questionnaire chart showing each of their answers.
Moving into the U Stage where I began to understand the info I collected and analyze the problem. I started writing down all my research from the use of floorings, friction and pointe shoes. From there, I Navigated my research by grouping them into groups based on where and how I got the info as well as what the research is on.
Finally, it was time to Create. I drew up a design plan on what my basic product would look like. From there, I tested multiple different types of materials such as marley and rubber before finding the perfect fit for my product and a dancer’s needs.
On the night of the exhibition, I worked with my room team: Jackson, Holly, Felix, Liam and Grace to create a forest themed room. We get that this idea worked best for the themes of our projects. I bet we looked like a pack of ants scurrying around trying to get everything done on such a time crunch.
The Project was a great journey and I’m so happy I was able to create a product that works and matches the need of dancers. If I had to go back and revise something, I probably would have created a few more prototypes just to try out some more materials as you never know what’s out there.