Laura Lighty Portfolio

Industrial Design

LAURA LIGHTY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Breast Cancer Patient Positioning Project

Creux End Table

Magni-Cuff: The Client Project

Records for Life Competition

Louie’s: Children’s Candy

MRI/HIFU System:Breast Cancer Patient Positioning Project

1 out of 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer over her lifetime in the United States.

Breast-ConservingImage-guided focused

ultrasound ablation

Two options for breast cancer treatment...

Radical MastectomyInvasive Breast Amputation

...But one is better.

What is MRI-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound?

MRI/HIFU is a way to treat breast tumors non-ivasively. The MRI is used to locate the tumors within the patient. Ultrasound is used to eliminate the tumors - when ultrasound beams are focused, the body converts them into heat, resulting in the damage and elimination of cancerous cells.

Patient comes in initially, has an exam and discovers she has one or more breast tumors.1 3

2 She is brought in to the MRI. To complete the procedure, she lies on the MRI bed face-down, with two holes for the breasts. The device has to be placed in a fixed postion, and an initial MRI for the tumors is taken.

The results from the MRI are given to people who program the MRI-HIFU to target the ultrasound beams in the specific spots where the tumors are.

4 Patient is brought back in for the treatment, which is completed in a similar manner as the initial MRI. Treatment can take up to one to two hours.

Treatment Steps

University of Utah MRI/ HIFU Prototype

Who am I working with?The University of Utah has been developing an MRI- specific HIFU device. I was invited to participate in this project with the University of Utah under the guidance of a mechanical engineer and an imaging research advisor, who I Skyped with weekly.

Is this a patient-centered design?

Not yet...U of U’s Current Prototype

DESIGN BRIEF:

1. Devolop the ergonomics and patient navigation of the table for the breast specific HIFU device.

2. Create the ideal surface and system to be potentially adapted and used for multiple imaging devices, includng MRI and CT scans.

The HIFU Device ExperimentUniversity of Utah’s Mock-Up

My Mock-Up

Without Foam With 1” Foam

The Three Different Body Positions

Flat Arms Position

Stretched Arms Position

I found three different participants to photograph on my current mock-up to see how much breast exposure each one allowed. The most comfortable and effective position was the twisted torso position. I incorporated this finding into my design.

Twisted Torso Position

While drawings were a great way to initially ideate concepts, it quickly became clear that I needed to work in full-scale in order to continue designing effectively. Participant testing was a critical step in moving forward.

From Sketching to Full-Scale

Participants that I filmed on the mock-up began to compain of too deep of a curve, and experienced tension and pain within their shoulder blades and upper back, due to the position of their shoulders. I realized their arms being pinned back was also the cause of this tension.

Full-scale foam prototyping

Surface PrototypeThis prototype focused on the surface for the participant in terms of ergonomics. The participant uses the arch to get into the tilted torso position, and is then able to rest in that position for the remainder of the treatment.

Taking what I learned from the plywood model and foam model, I began to design for a head rest on either side and allow for the patient to rest their hands comfortably, rather than pinned behind them (as shown in the highlighted photos).

Final Foam Model (uncovered)This model was created solely to test surface ergonomics with participants.

3/4 View

raised head rest allows patient to lay comfortably for two hour procedure

Aesthetic Development

I used Illustrator as a tool to create proportionally accurate shapes, while still exploring the system’s overall form.

The large radius of curves in the form instill a sense of safety and comfort. They are

more inviting than sharper edges.

= selected design

Color Selections & Divisions

This specific combination of colors is chosen, because it’s calming cool colors and the fact it is gender neutral.

This style of color divisions was selected because it reiterated the “roundness” of the silhouette and therefore the sense of safety and comfort.

Final Concept

Carbon fiber structure

Memory gel foam

Outer vinyl covering

Materials

Hand grip allows patient initial support when

getting on device

Head rests on either side

Area for breasts

Top View

Patient is able to alternate between either breast position

A Minimal End TableCREUX:

Beginning Ideation SketchesI was inspired by the idea of transformation - that my furniture piece had to transition either through movement or through aesthetics. I gravitated towards the idea of scaling up ceramic vessels to end-table size.

Inspiration/ Mood Board

Sketch Evolution...I began to refine my design, and realized I no longer needed the base to ground the vessel form. Getting rid of the base allowed the vessel to become the dominant form.

Potential Material Combinations Legs Sleeve Flat Top

Spun aluminum Glass

Spun aluminum Walnut woodWalnut wood

Maple wood

Maple wood White-painted spun aluminum Walnut wood/ Walnut burl

Potential Material Combinations

chosen material choices

25” 25”

Front View Side View

Technical DimensionsTop View

18”

Prototype Production

Glass top rests in the sleeve

Top View

Carved leg supports the hollow metal

sleeve

Final DesignCreux in French means hollow. The hollow aluminum sleeve takes inspiration from ceramic vessels. The user is drawn to look through the piece from the top of the glass, through the sleeve to the details below. The table plays with the idea that the table could hold something, but is unable to due to its hollow form.

Model in SolidWorks

Final Physical Prototype

The Magnetized Work CuffMagni-Cuff:

Getting to know Jay

Find a prospective client. Interview them, get to know his/ her routine, lifestyle, etc. Design a product that will improve his/her life.

JAY ESTEVENSAge: 50Gender: MaleEthnicity: DominicanJob: Pratt Building ManagerCurrent Residence: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

- Has a wife, daughter and dog named Paco- Moved from Dominican Republic to New York at age 11- Enjoying life is a priority for him- Soon to be a grandfather

I observed Jay throughout a day of work, and recorded observations through video and photos.

I noticed the poor quality of Jay’s work gloves, as well as the fact that he had no place to put smaller items, like nails, when he was working. Jay received cuts on his wrists from sharp metal while changing the ceiling lights. I decided to design around these problems.

Becoming Jay’s Shadow

Glove or Cuff?After sketching and modeling out three basic directions, I chose to develop the cuff for three reasons - it allowed Jay to keep buying his favorite cheap gloves, it protected the part of his wrist that was vulnerable and it was an element that was easily removable. I wanted to design magnetic and storage elements that allowed Jay to reach his nails more easily.

A cuff element that can be added onto the glove to protect lower wrist area, can be easily removed and could house smaller items like nails.

An addition to the glove that acts as a lengthener.

A whole new glove made of better materials and offers more protection.

ObservationsI observed Jay throughout a day of work, and recorded observations through video and photos. There were three main issues that I immediately noticed:

ORGANIZATION

While fixing something, Jay had nowhere to house small items like nails. Storage was needed.

SAFETY

Jay dangerously placed nails in his mouth to hold them while working, and received cuts in areas like his wrist where his working gloves offered no protection.

QUALITY

Jay’s current working gloves were cheap and falling apart. Their life-span was short.

I chose to develop the cuff for three reasons - it protected the the vulnerable part of his wrist, it was easily removable, and it allowed Jay to keep buying his favorite cheap gloves. Storage could be added to the design, including a place to house small items while Jay was working.

A cuff element that can be added onto the glove to protect lower wrist area, can be easily removed and could house smaller items like nails.

An addition to the glove that acts as a lengthener.A whole new glove made of better materials and offers more protection.

Ideation and Prototyping

21 3

A POCKET TO HOUSESMALLER ITEMS

WHEN NOT IN USE

MAGNETIC PART TO HOLD NAILS/ SCREWS

IN PLACE WHILE IN USE

Records for Life:Reimagining the Child Health Record

A group project by Laura Lighty, Hailey O’Connor and Erica Schroeder.

What is the Records for Life competition?

DESIGN BRIEF:

1. Design for portability to and from doctor’s office.

2. Ease of adding new information.

3. Clarity of use.

4. Designed for those who are illiterate.

5. Clear when the next vaccination date is.

For the Bill & Melinda Gates Records for Life competition, the brief was to design a child’s health and vaccination record for developing countries that solved many of these issues:

Current health records from a variety of countries, many of which are unclear, and confusing to use. They are not designed for the illiterate user. It is not clear when the next vaccination date occurs.

THE TEAM

Hailey - Industrial DesignerSan Francisco, California

Laura - Industrial Designer Brooklyn, New York

Erica - International Development Manhattan, New York

Our team worked together via Skype from East coast to West coast. We critiqued our prototypes weekly with each other, working towards the final prototype.

Working From Afar...

concept ideationgraphic designproduct design

concept ideationgraphic designproduct designfinal prototype production

concept ideationmain researcherexperience with developing countriesfinal submitter

Early Prototypes

Child’s Unique Identification

Child’s Name

Child’s Date Of Birth

Mother’s Name

Father’s Name

Address

Notes: (change in address, etc.)

+

HEALTH & VACCINATION RECORDS General Information

BRING THIS DOCUMENT WHEN YOU VISIT THE DOCTOR

HEALTH & VACCINATION RECORDS - Vaccination Chart

6 WEEKS

BIRTHOPV1

Penta1 PCV1 OPV2 RV1

BCG

ADDITIONAL INFO:

HepB

DATE GIVEN:

10 WEEKSPenta2 PCV2 OPV3 RV2

DATE GIVEN:

Place Next Vaccination

StickerHERE

DATE GIVEN:

(more vaccination info on back)

HEALTH & VACCINATION RECORDS - Vaccination Chart (Cont.)

9-12 MONTHS

MR1

ADDITIONAL INFO:

DATE GIVEN:

MR2DATE GIVEN:

14 WEEKSPenta3 PCV3 OPV4 RV3

DATE GIVEN:

15-18 MONTHS

MR1

MR2

HEALTH AND VACINATION RECORDS - Vaccination Chart Additional Information

Final Design

Front Side Back Side

AT THE DOCTOR’S

CHILD’S ID NUMBERA unique ID (government issued numerical

identifier or a biometrically linked bar code, etc.) can be prominently displayed.

AGE FOR EACH VACCINEAge that each vaccine is recommended to

be given is clearly labeled.

VACCINES SIMPLIFIEDFor illiterate users, vaccine names can be

very daunting. Our card simplifies this into both a recognizable color and animal.

ADDITIONAL INFOSpace for additional info is provided for

each visit. There is also ample space on the back for any additional info needed.

A critical point of many current health record designs is identifying the date of the next vaccination appointment. Our team came up with a way to make it easy, noticeable, and unmistakeable - all done with a NEXT VISIT TO THE DOCTOR’S sticker. The doctor only needs to reapply the sticker after each appointment.

Vaccination Stickers

(Note: The illustration pictured is an example of the type of education illustrations that could be included in the

design. We do not claim credit for the illustration itself.)

Along with our team’s vaccination records design, additional pages can be added based on a specific community’s needs. This could include educational components and additional pages for recording health information, like growth charts.

Additional Info & Educational Sections

AT HOME

METAL RINGMetal ring is used to attach all pages, making it easy to add more pages as needed. The metal ring also allows the user to hang the record in

one’s home so it is visible.

ICONS FOR GENERAL INFOTop portion of the first page is dedicated to

patient’s general info. Each icon helps illiterate users identify their child’s

home information.

PORTABLE SIZEOur layout was designed to fit a standard

8.5” x 11” sheet of paper, allowing our concept to be folded easily into an 8.5” x 5.5” card. This made it a manageable

size for portability.

NEXT VACCINATIONLarge area for Next Vaccination. This

ensures that only one date is prominently displayed at any given time.

As a team, I am proud we made it to the top 40 out of 300+ applicants in the Records for Life Competition! While we didn’t make it to the top ten entries, I learned so much about collaborating and designing long distance, as well as desiging for developing countries.

We Made It!

Louie’sChildren’s Candy

What if we designed for enrichment, not disability?When looking to design for the visually impaired, I found that most products were designed for aid, not enrichment. I wanted to create a product or experience for children that was fun, and encouraged social exchange between both blind and sighted children.

DESIGN BRIEF:

1. Design to enrich life.

2. Encourage social exchanges.

3. Educate and raise awareness of Braille.

4. Inclusive to both blind and sighted children.

“You have a renewed meaning of the word SEE...”

“Everyone shares what they are eating [verbally] with another and, you learn more about their home life as they talk waiting for the bell for playtime outside.”

Research & Brainstorming

Ticha, Zimbabweteaches blind children

I was able to find and interview a few people using Skype and Facebook.

Francisco, Berlinblind since he was 18, owner of a tea shop

“You grow to know them, love them and become one of them. You become blind and also enjoy it.”

“When people asked me, ‘How is it to be blind?’, it made me into something special, and not in a nice way. It separated me from everyone else.”

“I think it’s important to have something that makes an image of value, not disability.”

Everyone loves candy......And experiencing food with others. The concept of candy fit these design constaints perfectly. Candy is a universally-shared treat, and because of this, encourages social exchanges. If I inscribed the flavor of each candy in braille, it would also increase the awareness of Braille as well.

First quick 3D sketch of concept

candy-making failures& experiments

hand-sketching

40 3D-printed testable prototypes molded candy prototypes

Meet Louie’s

Models in SolidWorks, Rhino & KeyShot

Candy for both blind and sighted children alike

Why white?

apple peach lime grape

As sighted people, before we taste, we typically identify the flavors of candy by its color (by sight). Louie’s flavors are identified not by color, but by the Braille descriptions on their top surfaces. Without color as a guide, sighted children are challenged to learn Braille on the candy to identify the flavor.

1 2

The child identifies the candy ridges to orient the Braille correctly.

Ridged side to correctlyorient Braille

Braille inscribed as the candy flavor

The child feels the Braille and identifies the flavor.

Enjoy!

I had the honor of working as an exhibit preparatory intern with the Natural History Museum of Utah the summer before the museum opened in November of 2011. I handled delicate artifacts, created and painted object mounts, and installed exhibits. Ralph Appelbaum and Associates were the exhibit designers.

Pictured above are mounts I soldered, painted and installed.

Mountmaking at the Natural History Museum of Utah

Case I helped design, mount, and install.Base mounts I installed.Wheeling out fossil mounts for installation

The back of a mount that I painted

THANK YOU!

LAURA LIGHTYlaura.k.lighty@gmail.com+1 (801) 718 6405