DayLite, Kai Arcos

/portfolio

DAYLITE

The concept was born from the realisation that underground drivers often suffer from passive fatigue and temporary blindness due to sudden changes in light. In addition, many of them experience muscle deterioration and pain as a consequence of spending long hours sitting in an uncomfortable position.

We aimed to tackle these issues through the creation of a device that incorporates a number of stretching techniques to combat muscle atrophy and pain. The stretching charges up a light that can be used inside the driver’s cabin to minimise sudden changes in light.

PROJECT TYPE

MEng Design Engineering

SKILLS

Mechatronics, Product Design

Branding, Graphic Design

FIELDS

Design Engineering, Branding

Graphic Design

STATUS

Finished

2019

MY ROLE

Chief Creative Officer

As a CCO, I was in charge of graphical assets, presentation slides, product branding and packaging, etc. This role allowed me to practise my graphic design skills and my proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite.

As a team member, I was involved in test rig set-up, helped with the electronics configuration, carried out research and participated in the development of the device casing through ideation and sketching.

FEATURES AND RENDERS

USER RESEARCH

We carried out interviews with London Underground drivers from the start, gaining the insights that initiated the development of DayLite. From these insights, we decided to focus on the following:

Muscle deterioration

Limited movement within the cabin restricts healthy muscle stimulation.

Passive fatigue

Monotony combined with long hours imposes mental and physical fatigue.

Reduced vision

Shifting light levels cause eye strain and increased exhaustion.

Therefore, our design proposition was ‘utilizing the action of stretching and exercise to create ambient light to target sudden changes of light levels in a rewarding manner‘.

In additon to carrying out initial user research to come up with the concept, we met with the Chief of Disabilities at TFL once the prototype was finished to obtain feedback and validation.

Although he was convinced that the product could be used to improve the drivers’ wellbeing, he offered us some constructive criticism. This included revising the size of the device and the shape of the handles, as drivers would have to carry the product around.

Overall, he was impressed that we had taken their struggles into account and offered to organise further meetings, which was very exciting!

IDEATION SKETCHES

During our ideation, we all sketched and proposed different designs. After these ideation sessions, each of us came up with one refined individual concept. Various features of these individual proposals were combined to reach the final team proposal. Below are some of my ideation sketches, exploring casing, handles and internal components.

After we settled on the concept of DayLite (a two handle device with a stretching band and glow-like light effect), I was tasked with exploring different casing and handle designs. The challenges were making the device portable enough so that a driver would want to carry it around and designing the handles to be used by both hands and feet.

DAYLITE BRANDING

DayLite was born as a collaboration with Transport for London. Therefore, my goal was to capture the essence of the underground while effectively communicating that of our product. I gave DayLite a ‘tube line colour’, with product features in the packaging representing the stops in a tube ride towards keeping drivers physically active.

In addition to making the logo, I also produced a user guide that contains the main instructions for using the device.

PACKAGING

I was also in charge of the packaging, which I designed to be made from recycled and recyclable material. In addition, the packaging generates no plastic waste, as it is entirely made from cardboard and paper. Below are the final renders.

READ THE DOCUMENTATION

(Contains technical specifications, electronics set-up, design for injection moulding, technical drawings, etc.)

This project greatly improved my understanding of mechanics and electronics, but it also allowed me to further develop my graphic design skills. During the development of DayLite, I was able to work of many different aspects of design engineering, which I found to be a very rewarding experience. On top of that, communication between members of the team was key as we were tasked with different things that complemented each other.