As a rapidly generative disease, ALS products tend to focus on how to treat the sufferer as a patient. However, this constant focus on urgent health concerns or helping caregivers to provide better care means that common daily human needs often get overlooked. The human impulse for creativity is one of the first things to be neglected. However, the ability to continue to create and express is fundamental to the human spirit and can go a long way to helping the psychological wellbeing of those with ALS.
I sought to create a product that would allow those with ALS to continue to produce art and write through early to mid-stage ALS. If the patient retains even minimal muscle movement in the arm the pen makes it so that no grip is needed to control the engagment and disengagement of the stylus.
In addition, the use of Bluetooth and wireless charging means there is no need for fiddly cables. Orientation of the 3d print was used so that the supports can be used as a simple and aesthetically interesting stand made, reducing waste material as well.
Finally, the pen was designed to be attractive enough that even those without ALS would be curious to use it for their own creativity.
I sought to create a product that would allow those with ALS to continue to produce art and write through early to mid-stage ALS. If the patient retains even minimal muscle movement in the arm the pen makes it so that no grip is needed to control the engagment and disengagement of the stylus.
In addition, the use of Bluetooth and wireless charging means there is no need for fiddly cables. Orientation of the 3d print was used so that the supports can be used as a simple and aesthetically interesting stand made, reducing waste material as well.
Finally, the pen was designed to be attractive enough that even those without ALS would be curious to use it for their own creativity.
The original sketch model was an interesting shape but was a little unwieldy and required too much muscle movement. It also felt a bit too neutral and lacked life, though the curvature was interesting.
I decided to go in a more organic direction, following the shapes of animals as I like to combine my own interests into my designs. Eventually, I tried making them into different clay models to help use physical exploration to find the movement of least resistance.
This resulted in some interesting shapes, but eventually I settled on the horned cow due to comfort and its ability to stay affixed to the finger comfortably without grip. The small thimble version felt too fiddly and the other designs such as the eagle and polar bear felt too much like a mouse.
Finally I settled on the shape and tried variations in sculpt in blender so that I could 3D print. After trying different prototypes, I found this to be the best balance between balance and aesthetic.
Finally, I created a lasercut presentation box and leaflet to aid with presentation.
