This report contains the entire process of the graduation project of the Industrial Design Engineering master, Integrated Product Design at the TU Delft. This project is a cooperation between me, Emmylou Hoppe, and the company CrossGuard and the TU Delft. The goal of this project
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This report contains the entire process of the graduation project of the Industrial Design Engineering master, Integrated Product Design at the TU Delft. This project is a cooperation between me, Emmylou Hoppe, and the company CrossGuard and the TU Delft. The goal of this project was to gain knowledge about current shin protection in use during field hockey and apply this together with design and production techniques used at CrossGuard. The result is a superior ergonomic redesign of the current shin guards including a new part: the knee pad.The report has six phases; the introduction is a dive into the assignment and its context; the analysis is a closer look at the sport, its players and the market; the design brief in which all the data is interpreted and translated into usable criteria for the design; the synthesis is a combination of the ideation and conceptualisation phase in which the conclusions are applied in a design; the embodiment explores the chosen concept and details all aspects of the concept; and finally the reflection looks back at the process, progress and goals set in the beginning. During the introduction, the focus was on exploring the scope of the project. Finding a good place to begin and exploring the context of the assignment. At the end, specific project and personal goals were set and a planning was formulated to guide the process towards success.The analysis phase consisted of research into all aspects of the project. The goal was to be able to answer most of the research questions at the end of it. First the leg physicality was researched, finding weak spots and studying the geometry using 3d scanning. Secondly the target group was set and researched, using questionnaires and interviews. This concluded in a clear vision of what the consumer wants. The interaction with the current products and the current products themselves were benchmarked based on predefined aspects and tested for their efficiency in those aspects. Lastly the current sizing system was researched and a new sizing system was advised based on gained insights of the physiology and 3d scans.To conclude the analysis phase and to provide a guideline for the project the design brief was formulated using a vision: The shin guard should feel like a indestructible second skin. Protecting the sensitive areas, while not obstructing any movement nor causing any discomfort. And a challenge: To design a shin guard that provides the highest possible protection for the lower leg with modular options for specific situations, without compromising comfort nor maneuverability. In the design brief the criteria to validate the product are also set out, together with trends in this specific scope that can inform design decisions.The synthesis phase is the combination of the ideation and conceptualisation phase in which the found data will be applied towards a shin guard redesign. Rapid prototyping techniques to iterate between working on paper and having a physical prototype to try out were valuable to the success of this project. It allowed the combining of separately used solutions from different applications towards a single concept in the end. The final concept was chosen from a set of three, with a different focus point which their designs build on.The final phase in the design was the embodiment of the chosen concept into a product, the Ergo Pro shin & knee guard, looking at production techniques, material solutions and building a functioning prototype were central to this chapter. To validate the success of the Ergo Pro, it was benchmarked against existing solutions, tested with a regular player and an interview with an expert user was performed. The conclusions and improvement points were written down. A small roadmap for the company on how to introduce this product into the current market marks the end of this project.The reflection looks back at the process and the success of the final product, seeing if there are aspects that need more attention or if mistakes were made. Any other notes about the project will be made here as well.In the end the prototype testing validated the concept and the Ergo Pro shin & knee guard is a feasible product, which meets the goals and criteria set in the earlier chapters.