I created one prototype for each solution. For the blinds grabber, I used a toothbrush, polymorph for the hook, and foam core for the handle. For the paintbrush rack, I used a plastic tray from food packaging and polymorph to hold the brushes in place. These are very rough prototypes and definitely could use improvements in the next round.
Blinds Grabber
I originally made the hook of the blinds grabber too thick. It worked with some of the blinds (left), but it didn’t fit in the loop of the blinds in my room (right), so I had to reshape it. This design only works for blinds with loops and I realized that not all the blinds in my house have that. Some of them have a piece sticking out with no loop (like the picture on the right except closed) and the blinds in my basement don’t have an extra piece at all. So this design can’t be used for every single blind in my house, but it can be used for my room at least.
After reshaping the polymorph, I created the handle of the blinds grabber. I was planning on using cardboard for this part, but I remembered that foam-core board is easier to shape. The board I used is 76.2cm long and I used a little more than half of it. I measure 10cm for the width and 1cm for the lines that will help make the cylinder. It took a while to roll it up (and I remembered after all the rolling that I should’ve flattened the score marks), but after rolling I cut out circles for the end. Cutting the circle was a bit difficult, so they’re a bit lopsided. For one of the circles, I made a smaller circle so I could stick the toothbrush into it.
The prototype works, however there’s a lot of improvements needed. Firstly, I can’t use it with the basement curtains, which are pretty hard to reach because there’s a lot of obstacles between the blinds and me. Secondly, the hole where the toothbrush is got bigger the more I used it, so now the toothbrush falls in. Third, this prototype is not retractable like what I designed in my sketch. The handle of the prototype is also pretty thick, so I need to figure out how to make an even smaller cylinder.
Things to improve: grabber part, handle, and add retractability/save space function.
Some other ideas I had for this product was the claw like grabber with a hook as well. The difficulty of this idea is trying to make it open and close. Another idea I had was to use the gecko tape and make a wide base that can stick to the bottom of the blind. This issue with this idea is that I never used gecko tape, so I don’t know how sticky it is. Also, if I were to stick to the hook design, I was thinking of using a suction hook that you use for the wall instead of polymorph and a toothbrush.
Paintbrush Rack
This was originally a tray, but I cut it in half and stacked it on top to create this box-like prototype. I purposely didn’t line it up because the extra piece sticking out serves as a tray to catch the water droplets. Since it’s made of plastic, I don’t have to worry about the material disintegrating when it gets wet and it will be easier to clean the drips.
I made a few brush holders using polymorph so I could stick these onto the box and have the brushes rest in it. That way, the brush won’t roll around it I shake the table or accidentally hit it. I made them in different sizes because my brushes vary in thickness, so with the different sizes I can put different shaped brushes on the rack.
This rack can only hold 5 brushes, so I think I can shift it a little to make at least 6 or 7 brushes. This prototype is most similar to my box sketch. However, it does take up a lot of space so I think for my next prototype I’ll try another sketch or alter this one so it won’t be so big.
Things to improve on: number of brushes it holds, size/space it takes up.
Another idea that I just came up with is what if this product was both a water cup for the paintbrushes and a drying rack? So I’m going to sketch some new designs because this way I can combine the water cup with a drying rack and it might save more space or be more efficient when I’m painting.