Nerys Williams

 

My project explored the theme of comfort and culminated in the creation of a 3D product which was designed to attach to an office chair in order to alleviate times of discomfort and promote comfort. The product’s components include a foot pump and an inflatable pillow held in place at the hollow of the back by a chair cover. The pillow is pumped up when the anxious user fidgets by bopping their leg up and down and the inflated pillow corrects their posture. Thus, the improved posture is generated through the anxiousness and the user looks calm and confident to colleagues even though experiencing discomfort. This facade of confidence is important as it bestows privacy upon the user, enables them to pretend to feel confident, take stock and to get their mojo back. 

 

Having explored familiarity and behavioural responses of comfort I found the importance of fidgeting: it provides a repetitive action that lots of people subconsciously seek comfort in, whether through anxiously spinning their ring round their finger or bopping their leg up and down. Familiarity provides comfort due to the mere exposure effect which is the more you are exposed to a thing the more likely you are to have a preference to it hence behavioural patterns provide comfort. 

Being in a loose cover pocket, the exact pillow location, behind the hollow of the back, can be adjusted by the user for maximum comfort benefit.

 

In the user’s moment of distress, the product provides mental comfort in knowing posture correction has concealed their private discomfort plus physical comfort in the rhythmic pillow inflation. The product alleviates personal discomfort and promotes maximum user comfort