LightABLE
Product Design
LightABLE is a product that was developed to help people with motor skill disibilities, and with joint trouble in their hands, be able to light a gas stove. As the most widely used cooking method in India, gas lighters and match-sticks are the only way these are lit by the majority. LightABLE was an attempt to make this essenatial task inclusive, therefore opening up kitchens to differently abled.
Research:
The background research for this product, involved with shadowing a paraplegic person, and watching his movements in the kitchen. Once there was a direction in place, I broadened the research base, to include people suffering from more common motor ability imparing conditions, such as arthiritis. The solution could also be something that would appeal toa wider audience, thus making the product accessible without making it seem like something different.
This lighter which is most commonly used in India today, require the user to:
- Hold the lighter in one hand
- Be able to perform the pinch grip
- Balance the lighter and get it to strike, at the same time
These activities require the person wanting to light the gas, to perform them simultaneously. Making it difficult for anyone with motor disabilities or retardation to light a gas stove with ease.
More than ideating through sketching, this project involved making a lot of quick models and testing usage with people. Role playing was a technique I constatntly used in order to test the product.
(images of testing, and WIP)
The outcome at the end of this project is still a work in progress, as it is not yet something that can be mass-produced, and thus cannot compete with the common gas stove lighters on the market, in terms of price-point.
