A blog that documents the design and prototyping process of an all-in-one pet-grooming appliance.
The Challenge:
As a UX designer, my task is to design an all-in-one pet brush, nail filer, and pet massager for OXO. OXO is known for modernist and comfortable kitchen appliances, and they have decided to expand their business into new areas such as pet care products.
This ultimate, multi-functional pet-grooming appliance is going to have the following features:
- A brush component that allows for all-over fur brushing
- A comb for fine-grained de-matting and flea removal.
- A rotary tool that allows your pet’s nails/claws to be filed (can be turned on and off and choose from 3 speeds).
- A component that allows for a vibrating massage of your pet (can be turned on and off and choose from 3 speeds).
- A digital display allows you to choose and play 5 different soothing sounds to calm your pet while you groom her.
Ideation:
“We see the big picture and the small details and create tools that make everyday tasks better.” — OXO
OXO notices people’s daily activities, problems and pain-points, and aims to create tools that are simpler, easier, more thoughtfully designed. Their mission statement states that “we design our tools to fit nicely in your hand, and in your life.” My first approach to apply OXO’s design philosophy was to set the dimensions of this pet-grooming appliance. In order to adapt it to fit comfortably in everyone’s hand(all ages and genders), I set the longest dimension to no longer than 8 inches, and weight to within 1.5 lbs.
The next step was to conduct background research on pet care products. By studying the current pet-grooming appliances on the market and talking to my friends who have experiences with pets, I found the following problems:
- Most pet-grooming tools on the market only have one function.
- Almost all the electrical pet-grooming tools have cables and need to be plugged to a power source.
- Products like pet massagers and nail grinders are made for professional pet salons.
After conducting background research, I found a few inspirations online and sketched my ideas out.
I was then inspired by the iconic design of the Swiss Army Knife. The Swiss Army Knife is a great example of an all-in-one convenient tool, which includes a variety of functions. In particular, I wanted to engrave the tools at the shield side of the grooming tool, and if any of the features don’t fit into the shield side, I’m planning to make them modular — for example, users will be able to remove the nail filer and add the massager tool on. I also decided to make it “cordless”. This pet-grooming tool will be powered by batteries so that users will be able to groom their pets any time anywhere they want — for example, at dog parks.
Prototype:
I quickly transformed my idea into a low-fidelity prototype with the materials I found at home. The purpose of creating this paper prototype was to test out whether the “Swiss Army Knife” idea is feasible in a low cost and efficient way. When making the first modal, I focused on designing the handle, the comb and the brush.
Length: (180 mm /7.09 inches)
Width: (50 mm /1.97 inches)
Weight: 39 g/ 0.09 lbs
Materials list: recycled carboards, air clay, round-head fasteners, twist ties, hot glue and utility knife.
Designing the handle:
The first step was to set the appropriate length and width. In order to let the device fit comfortably in everyone’s hand, I set the length to be 7.09 inches and width to be 1.97 inches. The handle was built out of racetrack oval-shaped cardboard, and air clay. I first cut the cardboards into racetrack oval-shaped pieces and used hot glue to glue them together to make two outer layers(front and back) thicker. Then, I added air clay on top of the cardboard pieces, and added air clay on top to make the curved grip. This handle is specifically designed for hand comfort that fits in either your right or left hand.
Designing the comb:
The comb is made of cardboard and black twist ties. The process of creating the comb is like making a sandwich where the twist ties were cut into small pieces and placed in the middle of two pieces of cardboard.
Designing the Brush:
When designing the brush, I was inspired by a portable hairbrush by “Wet Brush”. The bristles will pop out once the user pushes the back of the brush. This design saves a lot of space and the bristles are well protected when the brush closed.
I tried to implement this idea into my prototype by using entirely cardboards. I have successfully created the outer structure of the brush, but failed to demonstrate how the bristles can pop out to open and push back in to close.
Finally, I dug small holes on each piece, and used two round-head fasteners to fasten them together.
Analysis:
Usability Test:
To test out the first prototype I created, I conducted a small usability test to evaluate my design ideas. I recruited 8 participants with different gender, age and pet experience, and asked them to complete 3 tasks after giving them a short introduction of this product. The tasks are:
- Hold this device in your right hand, then switch to your left hand.
- Pull out the comb and push it back
- Pull out the brush and push it back
Then, I asked them the following questions:
- Did you find any task particularly hard?
- On a scale of 1–5, please rate how comfortable is this handle. (1 being extremely uncomfortable, and 5 being extremely comfortable)
- Do you have any suggestions to improve this design?
What worked well:
- Users think the overall design idea is creative.
- The device overall is very intuitive; users didn’t need much instruction.
- Users mentioned the prototype is very light and compact.
What needed improvements:
- Most users didn’t understand how the brush works since there were no bristles on the prototype.
- This device is still a little big for some users since I didn’t take the thickness into account.
- Because the brush was thick, it is not fixed to the handle and tends to shake while the user pulls it out.
- The comb made of twist ties is too soft and it tends to deform over time.
What turned out to be effective:
- Users mentioned the overall design saves a lot of space and it’s a very convenient device.
- Users liked the curved grip design(grooves for fingers).
- The combination of air clay and cardboard worked really well.
Prototype (2nd Iteration):
Based on the feedback and findings, I created an iteration of the previous prototype. I made a few improvements and also added the nail filer and massager as two modules.
Length: (170 mm /6.7 inches)
Width: (45 mm /1.77 inches)
Weight: 127g/ 0.28 lbs
Materials list: recycled carboards, air clay, air-dry clay, disposable wood chopsticks, paper, solder, acrylic paint, hot glue and utility knife.
Refine the Handle:
One of my findings from the usability test is the size of the handle is still big for some users. I adjusted the dimensions of the handle to 6.7 inches long and 1.77 inches in width instead of 7.09 inches*1.97 inches. Hopefully, the new handle will fit more comfortably. Moreover, I used air-dry clay to mold the curved grip to give the model more weight, and air-dry clay sticks on cardboard than colored air clay. Then, I painted the handle to black to follow the OXO color scheme.
Refine the Comb:
The comb in the previous prototype was made by twist ties and tended to deform during the usability test. As a result, I switched to use solders to make the new comb since I have plenty of solder at home.
Refine the Brush:
As mentioned earlier, my first attempt to create the foldable pet brush was not successful. The main issue was that cardboards are too stiff to be pulled and pushed back and forth. I carefully studied the foldable brush from Wet Brush, and decided to use cardboard for the brush frame and bristles and use a piece of kraft paper for the back layer. Kraft paper is thinner than cardboard but can still hold the cardboard bristles in a good shape; it also helped to achieve the foldable feature(please see the gif below).
Designing the Nail Filer and Massager:
Because the nail filter and pet massager are relatively large/thick in size, I decided to make them modular. For example, users can attach the nail filer tool to the handle and remove it when finished. Both tools are made by cardboard and hot glue, and there are grooves at the bottom of each tool that can be plugged to the handle(see the video demo for details). The three massage spheres were made by air clay and glued by a hot glue gun.
Conclusion:
This is my first time designing pet products. I’m a dog person and always want to get a chance to design something for pets. I’m glad that this project provides me with a great opportunity.
This project was challenging but rewarding. To begin with, I got familiar with modelling and prototyping with low-cost materials around me and learned how low-fidelity prototypes can help designers to test out the feasibility of a design idea so efficiently.
Moreover, I have a strong interest in inclusive design. In the brainstorming process, I kept asking myself: how can I make it fit into everyone’s(all ages, genders and physical condition) hand comfortably? Should I use English words on the buttons or should I use icons? What color should it be? With these questions in mind, I kept refining my ideas and solutions to make it as inclusive as possible. In addition, in future iterations, I would like to take “accessibility” into account in order to empower users with special needs and adaptations.
