University College Northampton

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2001_02 Entry for RSA Student Design Awards.

Project_New Design For Old.

This simple but unique design is dedicated to providing effective manoeuvrability and control whilst cooking in the kitchen thus, creating a safer environment to work. I designed with an emphasis on comfort, ease of use, enhancing people’s lives of all ages and abilities. A ‘non-slip’ rubber grip feature has been added to ensure a more comfortable experience.
This handle also offers a high standard in performance even when the handle is greasy, wet or slippery in any way possible. Its designed to look great, feel great and is overall, willing to offer new possibilities.

Pic's 3-4

2002 Project_Touch My Bits!

Text messaging is a brilliant, simple and effective form of communication from one person to another, but sadly is only available by using a ‘screen’ on mobile telephones. This is one area I wanted to change producing a product different from any other within this context, creating a cheap means of communication.

Originally for the blind, I created a unique hand held, screen free device for text messaging. This will then be connected to a ‘wireless’ earpiece using radio frequency ‘Bluetooth’.

When receiving a ‘text’, the device will alert you (by beeping the user through the earpiece or by vibrating if the devices are in the users pocket) and speak the message in the privacy of the ear. And when sending a ‘text’, using a keypad similar to a mobile telephone, will speak the words the user has typed in.

The device will be used, using one hand only typing, creating a discrete means of communication. My main factors considered when designing was to prevent rudeness, breaking free from loud, unexpected beeping from other mobile telephones, and the unsociable world that ‘mobiles’ create.

Pic's 5,6 & 7

2002_03 Entry for RSA Student Design Awards.

Project_Less Crime through Design_Mind Your Backpacks.

My aim was to design a daypack with the aim to prevent crime as much as possible thus creating peace of mind for the user when travelling away from home to unfamiliar or even familiar places.

Thieves’ motives and strategy’s were very important factors to consider when designing in making the product ‘require more effort and less rewarding’ to target.

I intended to design for the average London day trekker travelling to and from work, college and university using London’s ‘high risk’ underground facility. I also thought carefully about designing with ‘the tourist’ in mind, as they are very vulnerable within the company of different cultures.

Pic's 8,9 & 10

2003 Final Major Project.

Odyssey_My Adventurous Journey.

Eating and dining out has become increasingly popular recently due to the fun and enjoyable atmospheres that restaurants create. This is especially visible within the American style diners. For example, T.G.I. Friday’s portraying their very unique culture.

But my main concern was to focus around the order taking within the restaurant. Helping to provide a new way to take the customers orders efficiently thus creating better customer service all round.

My idea involved the waiter or waitress to use an electronic order taking device rather than a pad and pen to take customers orders whilst at the table. Then, once the order is complete, a send button could be pressed and the order sent automatically through a wireless signal of some sort to a main computer station. This then routes the order to the appropriate printers within the restaurant for the waitstaff to process. Food to the kitchen drinks to the bar and so on.

In using a process such as this, means each order is sent instantly to the main computer printers, so the waitstaff can step directly to the next table and take another order, or clean tables of dirty plates and glasses. This also means that the waitstaff will no longer have to ‘bombard’ the kitchen with several orders at once thus causing mayhem. It will smooth out the busy peak times that T.G.I. Friday’s encounters.

My findings led me to design a wide variety of interesting concepts, exploring with new materials and brought me to the conclusion that not just T.G.I. Friday’s, but possibly other restaurants are in need of a new and improved system with an attempt to solve order taking problems.

Craig Montgomery

University College Northampton