1d. Prototype Development

Prototyping has been an interesting experience in the way that it has shown me how to engage with creating ideas and developing them further. As I set out to develop a product for Perfect Babies TM, I was met with a few challenges. How would I approach brainstorming these ideas, especially when I felt so restricted in my ability to imagine the universe in this scenario? How could I develop a prototype which didn’t seem unoriginal? And how would I be able to create a product which not only served a function, but also had a refined feel to it?

As the process of brainstorming began, I tried to imagine what our hypothetical company would produce. In developing our scenario, it was evident that much like any company, the main objective of the company would be to make a profit. As such, I decided to look at how a Genetic Modification clinic could maximise profits. Some potential ideas that I developed included: An automatic birth giver, a gene identification kit, a gene evaluator and a birthing simulation machine.

In order to cull my ideas, I tried to evaluate the potential of each product and the viability it proposed to a company such as Perfect Babies TM. As for the automatic birth giver, it seemed to be a product that would fit quite well into a scenario focused on the beauty and wealth of its society; not many inhabitants would be eager to place their bodies at risk. However, a team member of mine had already begun developing a similar idea to this, so I decided not to pursue it. The gene evaluator and the birthing simulation machine were interesting ideas, but I was not sure as to how I would execute the creation of such prototypes. As such, the kit seemed like the most viable option to pursue; it was a prototype which could justify the commercialisation of genetic modification. The only issue at the time of conception was how I could keep the idea original.

My initial prototypes were simply packaging styles of the box in which I would place genetic testing material as seen below.

I began by looking at the way ancestry websites and genetic testing companies test the genes of their clients. What I then realised was that many companies already had genetic testing kits, and as such, I had to develop my idea further than simply have a testing kit. The only drawback to these kits were the extended waiting time required in the laboratory in order to develop a comprehensive result (MyHeritage, 2018). Many of these required swabs of the cheek or samples of urine or hair, but would need to be mailed back to the company in question. As such, I decided to create a prototype which would shorten this process.

My eventual design was an “Instant Genifier” or “Gene Identifier” which would require two inner cheek swabs of either side of which would be placed in a decontaminated testing capsule in the box. This would then analyse the data and produce a genetic report card, as seen below.