Week 7: Sketch Prototypes and Developing Ideas

I have been giving some thought this week to the wider use my idea could potentially have, specifically with regard to how it creates communication between the luthier and the customer. I have had thoughts about making it a product that can help the luthier reach customers at greater distances and ensuring that they can explain what kind of a guitar they need without having to travel to meet them in person. This would involve them customising the product in some way but I have also had the thought that the luthier could be allowed to make their own changes to the product before they send it to the user. They could potentially adapt it to their own aesthetic and style and in doing so demonstrate their skill to the customer in a tangible way. This is only a vague thought at the moment and will come more into play further into the prototyping process but it may well be worth remembering.

In addition to this I have started to make a few of my ideas for the product into sketch prototypes. The one in the middle I was particularly happy with as using only a box with a hole cut into it and a rubber band I managed to create a makeshift string instrument! I also realised that by pushing a pencil underneath the band and moving it back and forth I could change the pitch that the box created, similar to how a fretboard works. I now have a way to make a scaled down and simplified version of a guitar which is easy to transport so if I have any further ideas in this vein I have a way to take them forward.