Shimmy Tie — Abdalla's Portfolio

Shimmy Tie

I engineered a device to allow people with hemiplegia, a form of paralysis that affects half the body, to tie their hair on their own. This was especially challenging because our group had little experience with tying our own hair, so we learned to lean into the experiences of the user and let them drive us through the design process.

This project was a part of coursework at Northwestern and our Client was the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a research hospital in Chicago.

Shimmy Tie

Over several iterations, our project transformed from our initial vision into something that the clients created themselves through their feedback. Properly conducting user observation involved asking the right questions and knowing when to sit back and observe. We visited the lab with four or five different prototypes, and left with one that got the job done.

This project illustrated the importance of user testing and taking input from the patients at the AbilityLab. We let research and user observation take the front seat to arrive at a product that fit their needs and not our assumptions.

Mobile Office

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