Design innovation of Nail cutter

This was a project for improving the design for a Nail cutter. The project was done by me and my  group under the course Design Thinking. Although this was a simple design problem it helps me to  understand the concepts of design thinking. The challenge was to modify the design of a nail cutter.  After a lot of discussion we came up that the challenge with the current nail cutter was its design, an  incomplete design due to which the nails fly and may hurt someone’s eye. We do not allow children  to use nail cutter by themselves as we know they might cut their skin or nails might fly and hurt their  eyes. The first tool used was Visualization and Reverse engineering. We disintegrated the current  cylindrical nail cutter to understand its mechanism.

Application     Empathize- A nail cutter is a simple machine that has 3 parts. The main body, the upper part and the  midlle part ehich hold the other two parts. The nail cutter can be used only when the lid combined  with both the upper and lower part of it. We take a survey from some stakeholders of nail cutters  from different age group example- parents, old people, children.     Define- Customer faces problem due to lack of cover on the side parts of the nail cutter due to which  nails might hurt our eyes. Also excess nails get cut with skin due to its sharp front blades. Also it gets  difficult for older people to see how much nails are being cut.    Ideate- After a lot of discussion and brainstorming we came up these ideas:

1. Adding an additional part to a nail cutter to ensure that skin does not get cut.  2. Being made of plastic it will be cheap and anyone can use it without harming themselves.

3. Also we thought of adding a small magnifying glass on top so that it becomes easy for older

people to use it.

4. All the parts which are newly added can be disintegrated if someone wants to.

5. Below is the prototype we made:

Prototype- We made a prototype using clay, and cardboard to show the design of the new addition  made to nail cutter.    Test- We show the prototype to the same stakeholders and take a survey again. The response was  positive.     Insight and Approach   This project was a simple design innovation problem in daily use products but this helps me to see a  product differently and sensing its accessibility and usability to every stakeholder and in my opinion,  design thinking deals about what are the basic differences between beautifully designed and useless  aesthetics products. I’m very impressed by the book The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.  According to Don Norman, there two important criteria for design thinking- ‘Discoverability (user can  figure out how to perform using that design) and Understanding (user understands the benefits of  using that product)’. This simple project helps me to understand the concept of Goal, Plan, Specify,  Perform, Perceive, Interpret, and Compare. I also use this approach to make the design of the nail  cutter better. In my opinion, every design is good if it is a user-centered idea, its value, and its need.


Design innovation of Nail cutter This was a project for improving the design for a Nail cutter . The project was done by me and my group under the course Design Thinking . Although this was a simple design problem it helps me to understand the concepts of design thinking . The challenge was to modify the design of a nail cutter . After a lot of discussion we came up that the challenge with the current nail cutter was its design , an incomplete design due to which the nails fly and may hurt someone ’s eye . We do not allow children to use nail cutter by themselves as we know they might cut their skin or nails might fly and hurt their eyes . The first tool used was Visualization and Reverse engineering . We disintegrated the current cylindrical nail cutter to understand its mechanism . Application Empathize- A nail cutter is a simple machine that has 3 parts . The main body , the upper part and the midlle part ehich hold the other two parts . The nail cutter can be used only when the lid combined with both the upper and lower part of it . We take a survey from some stakeholders of nail cutters from different age group example- parents , old people , children . Define- Customer faces problem due to lack of cover on the side parts of the nail cutter due to which nails might hurt our eyes . Also excess nails get cut with skin due to its sharp front blades . Also it gets difficult for older people to see how much nails are being cut . Ideate- After a lot of discussion and brainstorming we came up these ideas : 1 . Adding an additional part to a nail cutter to ensure that skin does not get cut . 2 . Being made of plastic it will be cheap and anyone can use it without harming themselves . 3 . Also we thought of adding a small magnifying glass on top so that it becomes easy for older people to use it . 4 . All the parts which are newly added can be disintegrated if someone wants to . 5 . Below is the prototype we made : Prototype- We made a prototype using clay , and cardboard to show the design of the new addition made to nail cutter . Test- We show the prototype to the same stakeholders and take a survey again . The response was positive . Insight and Approach This project was a simple design innovation problem in daily use products but this helps me to see a product differently and sensing its accessibility and usability to every stakeholder and in my opinion , design thinking deals about what are the basic differences between beautifully designed and useless aesthetics products . I ’m very impressed by the book The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman . According to Don Norman , there two important criteria for design thinking- ‘ Discoverability ( user can figure out how to perform using that design ) and Understanding ( user understands the benefits of using that product ) ’ . This simple project helps me to understand the concept of Goal , Plan , Specify , Perform , Perceive , Interpret , and Compare . I also use this approach to make the design of the nail cutter better . In my opinion , every design is good if it is a user - centered idea , its value , and its need .