- Design process -

English for Designers

U9718033 潘郁茹

By increasing the ergonomic performance of classroom furniture, KI hopes to reduce the "fidget factor" and increase students' ability to learn.

Ergonomic (n.)人體工學Fidget (n.)煩燥不安

While ergonomics were a key goal of this line, functionality was equally important-the furniture had to be strong enough to withstand the rough usage it was bound to receive while lightweight enough to be moved easily, even by children.

Bound (及 )限制

Initial sketches included a wide array of ideas for chair and legconfigurations. Making the seat and back out of one large piece of plastic turned out to be less cost-effective than separating the two parts. Bending the legs so they crossed under the seat and screwing the shell directly onto the frame proved weaker as well as less distinctive than other solutions.

Configurations (n.)結構Screwing (v.)鎖螺絲

Early in the process, marketing requested that the design team add the option of a personal bin -a book box that slid out of the desk so students could easily access their own supplies. Design took this idea a few steps further by imagining a lid for the box so that it could serve as a lap desk as well.Lid (n.)蓋

In the end, the lap desk concept wasn't pursued, but the storage bin was. The drawer holding the book box can also serve as a keyboard tray, further improving the functionality of the desk. The addition of built-in wrist rests and field-installable mouse pads adds both functionality and ergonomics to the desk.

Tray (n.)盤 ;碟 ;缸Wrist (n.)手腕 ;腕關節

Among their recommendations was to modify the front curve of the desk to fit the curvature of the body. Says Rutter, "It's a lot more sympathetic and inviting for the child to get into their work and get into it in a comfortable way."

Recommendations (n.)建議Curvature (n.)彎曲度Sympathetic (a.)合諧的

The team also recommended modifying the waterfall edge on the front of the seat; increasing the radius of the edge to make it softer would reduce pressure on legs, keeping them from falling asleep. Likewise, the edge in the book box was eased for greater comfort when a keyboard was in use.

Radius (n.)半徑

Metaphase passed these recommendations along to the design and engineering team, marking up prototypes and passing along drawing files showing cross sections of the chair. Engineering then modified the molding tools and produced a new prototype for Metaphase to evaluate.

Metaphase (n.)轉變階段

Throughout the process, the furniture underwent KI's rigorous safety testing. When the furniture was close to production, prototypes were beta-tested in classrooms near the company's headquarters in Wisconsin. KI got feedback on the furniture from students and staff, and the schools got a discount on the furniture.

Rigorous (a.)嚴密的Headquarters (n.)總部

During manufacture, KI discovered that high-quality, cost-effective manufacturing was more difficult to source than expected. The team invested in an expensive bending machine, but it required a lot of fine-tuning before it would produce what the team envisioned.

Envision (及 )預想

The team's attention to detail has paid off. As Rutter says, "It's all these little details that really convert the experience from just another chair into, 'Wow, I really like this, this is nice stuff,' which has resulted in astronomical sales for KI in this category."

Convert (及 )改變

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