MARKET RESEARCH - FIRST HAND

WHEN DESIGNING A PRODUCT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE EXISTING MARKET. WHY MAKE A PRODUCT THAT GETS LOST AMONGST THE REST OF THE WORLD? THAT DOES NOT MEET A NECESSARY NEED?

 

One of the first things we did was to go out into the world around us and look at existing examples of chairs.

We went around the university, library, and student union to take some photos of existing chairs. Both the library and the student union have been very recently filled with a large variety of brand new furniture, so we knew that there was going to be a lot of opportunity for first hand research in these areas.

We found a wide range of chairs all with different features, from brightly coloured patterns to included mini desks. Yet what seemed to strike us was that not all of these chairs fully fit their purpose. The agreed opinion of the chairs in the library for example, was that they had been chosen because they looked modern, and hence in keeping with the refurbishment of the building. 

Despite the library fundamentally being a place for thinking, we only found one, maybe two examples of a chair designed to encourage the process of thought. We felt like we had hit on something here.

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Below is a gallery featuring photos taken of chairs on our trip around the buildings.

A semi-circular enclosure designed for groups

The stands of these chairs have a nice wrap around feature which is also sturdy.

These chairs were designed with stacking in mind, perhaps more so than continued comfort.

These bar stools are designed for only short term use, becoming very uncomfortable very fast.

These café chairs are intended for longer use, with softer, padded upholstery.

The wooden build of these chairs was fairly uncomfortable, especially on the back.

This style of chair was amongst the most comfortable that was sat on.

The aesthetics of this chair are enticing, encouraging you to use it.

This was a clever tiered design, three of these were positioned in the library entrance.

These seats were more uncomfortable than they appeared, providing little back support.

Although a clever idea, there simply isn't enough room on the desk.

This chair actually appears quite ergonomic, it would be interesting to investigate the effects on posture.

One of the sofas in the library, it was surprisingly comfortable and the pattern was appreciated.

This sofa fit well into it's environment, there was actually a student asleep on one of these.

One of the larger examples, this sofa is designed for groups.

This chair encases the user in privacy, although does not provide much head room for taller people.

The design of this chair makes it nice to work in, it dulls down all sound to create a quiet environment.

From behind, the chair looks almost like an egg.