Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Devika Singh | devika711@gmail.com

Internet Appliance For Emerging Markets

Product Design | GDPD
Guide: Bhaskar MR Bhatt
Sponsor: Hewlett Packard Labs India, Bengaluru

Keywords
Shared family device
Personalization
Television
Internet

The project aims to enable millions of non-tech savvy users to utilize the potential of personal computing and web in their daily lives. The intent was to break away from the conventional PC model and design an internet appliance which sits in the living room and can be accessed using existing TV’s. I was required to understand living room environments and to design this product and its interface, keeping Indian sensibilities in mind.

The target segment here typically includes middle class families in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns in India, who have had limited exposure to the PC and internet.

The first phase was the market survey and user research, which included going to tier II and tier III towns and visiting middle class families to get an overall understanding of their living room setup and getting to know their perceptions. Different research methodologies were explored to probe into the personal and family computing needs; use of internet in entertainment, networking, business and other work purposes.
From the findings and analysis of the user study, different use-case scenarios were projected. These were taken forward during the ideation and scenario building phase, where numerous concepts were generated.
The main focus areas of the design were: Seamless integration of the two different media; within home portability to maximize use of the device and intuitive interaction using the remote.
The project has culminated into the design of a 1st generation shared Internet device for the entire family which uses TV as the main interface. A CAD model and physical prototype were developed for the same.

Over the span of this project, I have gained confidence and maturity as a designer to deal with situations that require effective and explicit communication of my ideas in a justifiable and convincing manner.