Reflections

This project faced me with a number of unexpected challenges, most of which I handled with careful planning and experimentation. The parts of the project I met with this approach turned out very well, yet there remains a few aspects of my design process I could have done better by taking more time and giving it more focus.

Some of the better work I did for this project were the insights I took away from my research. I found out some very useful pieces of information from my interviews, all of which gave me a good look at the issues faced by guitar makers and players. In addition my sketch prototypes helped me to explore a variety of forms and materials for my product, helping me to make a more informed decision when choosing what the Attune prototype would look like. On top of this I am also very happy with the material experiments I carried out while making my last prototypes. Before I added any new features to the product I tested and refined them on scrap pieces of wood first, minimising any mistakes I may have made during the final build.

However in spite of this there are some things I could have done to better my design process in certain areas. For instance if I had conducted the guitarist interview directly after my luthier interview I could have directly compared the information I received early on, meaning I could have avoided focusing on an idea I would later change. In addition I could have developed some of my other initial prototypes further in 3D to see if any interesting ideas or interactions came out of it. However overall I am very happy with the way the prototype turned out and I will be careful to remember the lessons I learned from this project when working on future designs.