Adam Baragwanath

Hello!My name is Adam Baragwanath and throughout this portfolio I hope to show you the value and skills I could provide for your company and explain a little about myself. I will do this firstly, by showing you my most recent project and then, by describing my personal design process step by step. I am a recent graduate of Leeds Beckett university with a first class honours in product design and bring with me a genuine enthusiasm and passion for the field. I believe the biggest trait I could bring to your advantage would be a strong work ethic that I strive to make undeniable. There may always be people with a better developed skill set than me but I love to learn new things and have a continual desire and commitment for up-skilling and self improvement. I always try to make each piece of work I do, the best I’ve ever done.

Adam Baragwanath“Swift” Payment Band

My most recent project is “Swift”. Swift is a contactless payment system developed as a digital replacement for cash. Money can be loaded on to the band through existing banking applications with phones computers or tablets, using a similar system to PayPal.

User security is a priority with details protected by the “tokenization” process. This offers a level of security beyond typical debit and credit cards as even merchants needn’t know your personal information. Losing a band becomes much like losing a wallet, with the added security of being able to call and cancel to secure your funds.

Once money is loaded on to the band users are able to do more than simply pay at contactless terminals. The Swift pay system has been developed to also allow users to check their balance and pass money between bands, regardless of a connection to a banking network. This provides the full fluid user experience of cash.

Designed to be worn on the inside of the wrist, the disappearing display and haptic feedback offer subtle practicality. This allows you to keep your balance private and provides personal feedback during transactions.

Adam Baragwanath

The band makes use of innovative hardware. The single action button and hidden capacitive touch sensors offer sophisticated control, meanwhile the induction coil facilitates QI wireless charging. The pop and screw clasp system is secure and decidedly simple, this allows for third party reproduction in a number of different styles.

Despite the fun I had designing Swift I believe the most interesting thing to come from this work was the discussions it sparked about a cashless society. How that idea could effect change, the ethical pros and cons, conspiracies of public control and the ideals of cryptocurrency... great fun!

During the development of this project, there has been a consistent focus on the user experience and interactions during use. Every function started with a study of how users interact with each other and the band to achieve intuitive control. This was then supported by a study comparing and contrasting the teachings of semantic, semiotic and interaction design theorists.

Working this project has given me the opportunity to increase the skill set I can provide. From the new ability to develop custom rendering textures to the strengthening of existing CAD and research techniques. Because of this and the university context, I see the project as a personal success.

“Swift” Payment Band

Adam BaragwanathResearchI occasionally like to begin projects with cold ideation to maintain unbiased creativity. The research phase however is where the process truly begins. I believe in being thorough. To me this means starting with reading everything available, from the library to the internet .I strongly feel however the best way to truly research a concept is by diving

in and experiencing the nuance of the issue at hand. Examples of this include growing my petunias, to learn about the growing process, or with a friend, building a biaxial rotomoulder to learn about rotational moulding. Finally I analyse my findings for valuable conclusions and try to present them efficiently.

Adam BaragwanathSketchingNext is communication of ideas and iterations. Speaks for it’s self really, but I particularly enjoy it and am always working to improve.

Adam BaragwanathModelling

Some times 2D work doesn’t send the complete message. The next phase of my design process is modelling. From hands on testing of a mechanism to working out proportions and confirming aesthetics, modelling is a must. Below are examples of quick models used to help develop the features

of my recent workspace design for “Crompton mouldings”. Although Final appearance models are useful I believe the most value comes from fast functional models to test and learn about the design. That way development can be fuelled.

Adam BaragwanathRenderingThe last step of my design process is production or more often rendering. I like to use of both polygon and surface CAD modelling depending on the project, then finish in Keyshot and Photoshop for touch ups. Who doesn’t like trying to fool people with visuals!? Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope to speak to you soon!