top of page
Interviews
interview with Andrei
What do we want to know ?
What the discomfort of Andrei is
What is causing certain discomfort
What is/are specific need(s) of Andrei
If he has specific ideas about the product: does it have to fit in somewhere
specific, colors, size...)
What is our desired tangible outcome?
A document with summarized written answers to the main questions.
Sketches made during the interview.
Environment of the interview:
The UT, designlab
Roles:
Interviewer: Elisa and Jonas
Note taking: Elisa
Methods:
Create a document including all of our questions. Do the interview, take notes and
sketch.
Materials:
Paper, pen, consent form, computer, tape measure
​
Interview plan
1. Introduce ourselves
2. Ask if we can record the interview
3. Ask to sign the consent form.
4. Start with the questions for Andrei, he is priority.
5. Ask questions to his father Arie.
6. Ask if there are dimensions available of the wheelchair, otherwise if we could do some measurements.
Andrei's Questions List:
For the next question we would like to film your head movements. Is it okay if we film this? If not we will write and draw.
Could you move your head in all directions that you possibly can?
How important is it to you that the product that we design is aesthetically pleasing?
With that in mind, what are your favorite colors?
For the final product we ought to create a website in English with the design and investigation process of this project, will you also want it to be in Dutch?
Would you like weekly updates on how the process is going ?
Andrei will be answering the questions by looking at one of the hands that is held up for closed questions. For open questions he can write a short answer on his Tobi. But open questions are avoided as much as possible by asking open questions to his dad, and checking if Andrei agrees with his answer.
Arie's question list:
What are Andrei’s main interests ?
Why is Andrei interested in x (art) and how does he make it?
What is his daily routine? For example, what was yesterday like?
What type of support does he get on a daily basis ? (A person and a device?)
What in his daily routine does he specifically find issues with?
What movements can he make?
In which part of the chair is there space for the product?
Are there other functionalities that you think Andrei would like the button to have? We were thinking about a YES/NO button for example.
.png)
.png)
insights
The main insights gotten from the interview are a good view on Andrei’s daily life and how he spends his days. This is useful, so something can be designed that fits his lifestyle.
A lot of earlier projects are discussed during the interview giving us a good feeling of what is already done and how difficult it is. Bas, our technical person, states that for the project a prototype or idea is more than enough, because the technical team can continue working on the prototype to optimize it after module 7. They would rather have a good idea in an early phase than a perfectly worked out lesser idea, as it is all in favor of Andrei.
Regarding brainstorming and ideas, there are a lot of options discussed. Working with Arduinos and sensors on a breadboard is a good starting point to test the prototype within this project. The idea that a button enables the Tobi to turn on and slide it in front of Andrei using an extendable arm seemed most promising and necessary, and Andrei got very excited about this idea. This is because Andrei often feels like there is a wall between him and the world, since he always has a screen in front of him. He cannot turn on the screen himself, which makes him more dependent on others.
Another important need of Andrei is being able to change the position of the wheelchair a little bit himself when he is sitting somewhere, so he could for example turn to someone.
In conclusion, every way of making Andrei’s world bigger by adding a function to his wheelchair is appreciated. The group can start brainstorming, and after finding some different feasible ideas, Andrei can tell us what he would like best, so we can continue working that out and making a prototype for that idea.
interview with Johan Elbers
​
Johan Elbers, innovation manager at s’ Heeren Loo, designs products for specific users with disabilities. By meeting his clients, getting to know their lifestyles, families, friends and caretakers, he is able to solve problems and concerns with the power of design and innovation. When co-designing, the best advice he can give us is to learn about the user's daily lifestyle and goals, in addition to listening and interviewing their families and caretakers. And when doing so, inform them of the ethical dilemmas you as designers come across when designing their product to see what the families are willing to do. Always keep in mind when designing for people with disabilities that “There is no size that fits all”.
bottom of page