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Product Design
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dhaumya@iitb.ac.in, dme.sav@gmail.com |
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Mobile Phone for Rural Area: Saaz
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Guide Bhaskar MR Bhatt |
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Sponsonr LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.
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The brief of my diploma project was to design a mobile phone by identifying user needs and aspirations of the rural Indian consumers which forms one of the largest potential markets. More than two-third of India’s population and almost 12% of the world population lives in rural areas. ‘Saaz’ the mobile phone is designed to address the needs and aspirations of the Indian rural folk keeping in mind their diverse socio-economic, environmental and physical heterogeneity. My design concept revolves around the importance of sound in Indian culture, the need for protection and longevity of the product, and above all, simplicity of use for a segment which has limited exposure to technology. The product is expected to cost between Rs. 2,000-2,500/ which is the fastest growing price segment of mobile phones in India.
My diploma project involved extensive ethnographic user-research to understand rural lifestyle, cultural values, usability issues, style preferences and aspirations. Several field visits were conducted and user studies were carried out to get insights about the rural lifestyle and the impact of mobile phones in the rural context. Problems commonly faced by the rural citizen were documented in detail. Based on the outcome, scenarios were built to get design directions and possible opportunities for design intervention. Different solutions were developed through ideation and refinement.
Some of the unique features of this mobile phone are screen guard made of high-density polypropylene (PP) which also acts as an acoustic sound reverberator when moved up, extended battery life and multipurpose charging devices, mobile broadcasting, etc.
This project has immensely helped me in realizing my weaknesses and areas which I need to improve. I also learnt that product design has more to do with understanding people than understanding products. |
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