Redesign: Final Submission

In many cultures it’s traditional for everyone young and old to enjoy wine with dinner. The dinners are long gatherings of friends and family. One aspect of dining is the user’s experience with the dinnerware, yet wine glasses are not suited for everyone. Adult users suffering from arthritis or other grasping issues interested me most. According to the Arthritis Foundation in 2006 almost 1 out of 5 adults were afflicted with arthritis or constant joint pain. A wineglass that caters to this group allows them to experience the personal and eventful setting of this simple life pleasure.

Wine glasses are often picked up and placed down during the dining experience, not consistently held. Therefore, I designed a snap on handle for the stem to insert fingers through and help to keep the glass in hand to not spill over. The product contains a translucent extruded flexible PVC material that is lined with a fluted rubber sleeve to wrap around the stem. The flutes create a sturdy adhesion. The rubber lining is glued to the inside of the snap on. The handle is made of acrylic.

Redesign 2nd Revision

In many cultures it’s traditional for everyone young and old to enjoy wine with dinner. The dinners are long gatherings of friends and family. One aspect of dining is the user’s experience with the dinnerware, yet wine glasses are not suited for everyone. Adult users suffering from arthritis or other grasping issues interested me most. According to the Arthritis Foundation in 2006 almost 1 out of 5 adults were afflicted with arthritis or constant joint pain. A wineglass that caters to this group allows them to experience the personal and eventful setting of this simple life pleasure.

I turned to existing drinking vessels, and reviewed the current market of dinnerware for this population. I investigated designing a stem-less wineglass. I found that locating a finger hole around the glass perimeter was insufficient for hand placement. Resting the base of the glass in the palm of the hand with a side finger hole worked best. However, wine glasses are often picked up and placed down during the dining experience, not consistently held. Therefore, I integrated a finger hole at the top of the stem to insert a finger through and help to keep the glass in hand to not spill over.

Redesign Competition Product Proposal

A recent radio topic sparked my interest in the redesign for wine glasses. On the radio show it was noted how in other countries it is traditional for children to have wine during family dinners. I thought back on this when trying to decide what product should I redesign. It occurred to me that wine glasses are not suited for everyone’s use. When I started listing all possible users, the one that caught my interest the most was the older population because of issues with arthritis. This then moved me to thinking about not just them, but also anyone with the condition or having little capability of grasping objects. These users should be entitled to the small pleasure of drinking from the glasses.

During my design generation I formulated ideas for the product. I turned to existing products that are used for drinking. The typical solution for a cup is a handle. They are large, so someone may insert four fingers through to lift. Aesthetically this did not appeal to me for this project. Instead, I chose to integrate finger holes into the glass for the thumb and middle finger, so that the user will be able to place fingers through and lift the glass to drink.

Project Topic

The goal of my final project is to present beneficial and realistic solutions for displaying textile textured surfaces. The focus will be on the shaping and forming of patterns and texture through the use of sewing techniques. The designs I develop hands-on will translate to a 3D rendering platform for not only furniture design but also UPHOLSTERY DESIGN. The research will revolve around photorealistic rendering, animation, or artistic rendering.

CAD programs such as 3ds max and Rhino would be appropriate for this research exploration. 3ds max renders highly detailed textures along with providing the ability to include animation. Thus, designs that included a fluid high piled textile surface have the capability of being animated.

For example: