Thank you, ralphzoontjens!
Your feedback is much appreciated and illuminating. Some of it addresses issues that I’m aware myself but have been unsure how to address optimally. For example including the right amount of process and methodology without making the portfolio too longwinded. It’s good to hear that there’s room to include more of that so that I can explain my design choices better.
Could you elaborate a bit more on why you think the aesthetic of the lamp isn’t very fitting for home interiors? It was one of my goals to move away from the medical aesthetic often used for SAD lamps and to create something that integrates better with a range of home interior styles. If I’ve failed to achieve that I’d love to understand better why and how.
I am aware that the underlying factors influencing SAD can be quite complex, ranging from psychological wellbeing, and all that that entails, to things like diet and exercise. Yet light therapy has proven itself to be one of the best interventions according to a great deal of scientific research as well as the most influential underlying causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is the reason I specified light therapy in my brief as it was felt by me and my mentor that the scope of the project would become too large if I tried to address all the other factors influencing SAD. However, I agree that perhaps I should try to communicate all of this in my portfolio better and give the reader some idea of the complexity of the issue.
I very much agree with your comments on the glasses. The assignment itself was somewhat unstructured, which is reflected in the lack of a clear brief but I’ll do my best to try to tighten that up. I have myself wondered if I should redesign the final form while keeping the idea of an adjustable nose bridge.
The PP light was my first design assignment on the course and at the time I did feel like I could do with more time to explore and refine the form. I suppose I have the chance to do that now.
The laptop sleeve was a 2 month project, my best guess is that I put in between 20 - 30 hours to come up with the concept and maybe that much again just for the sewing. It was suggested I should put it on Kickstarter. I need to figure out what kind of industrial process could replace the manual sewing that I did but my first priority has been my portfolio and getting an internship so the project’s been on the backburner.