TYPE

Personal projectdsvrjegigjregfg dkjkdd d .  dfkff f Product design

DURATION

09/2017-10/2017

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

In order to inherit Chinese culture and let more people enjoy the charm of soft calligraphy, I made improvements to the brush to design a writing brush that is convenient for people to use in their daily life.  It not only can be used in daily writing records, but also easy to add ink, easy to carry, it accords with the habit of a writing pen, and has a simple and unique appearance.

Background

Calligraphy, as a treasure of Chinese cultures, represents not only a way of writing, but also the pursuit of beauty and emotional expression for writers, scholars, and calligraphers.

According to data, people spend less and less time using the writing brush and the concerns about calligraphy have reduced increasingly. For the sake of the continuity of Chinese traditional culture, I have conducted a detailed study on writing brushes.

In the survey, I have found that the utilization rate of writing brushes in Japan was much higher than that in China. By analyzing the reasons, I tried to find out the breakthrough for inheriting the soft brush calligraphy culture.

Self-experience

I have started the practice of soft brush calligraphy so as to experience the feeling of using writing brushes. But I have found that there were a lot of inconveniences when using a writing brush.

Too many items

It is troublesome to washing writing brushes.

Dipping and scraping in the ink constantly.

The tip of the brush opens fork.

The ink is not sufficient.

Withdraw the stroke back before finishing.

Incorrect holding way

INTERVIEW

Date: 4th, September

Address: bar counters and sofas

Group: those who have never studied calligraphy, beginners and those who have studied calligraphy nearly for ten years

Ages:20~50 years old

Interview topic:

people's attitude of calligraphy as well as the need and concerns about writing tools.

Collected information:

Most people have had contact with soft brush calligraphy, but they have not insisted on practicing. Many of them have been limited as they have not had the required environment and sufficient space to practice soft brush calligraphy. For those who have never studied it, many of them have not tried it as writing brushes cannot be used in daily life.

Experience Map

Based on my own experience and the feelings of other people interviewed for using writing brushes, I have summarized all the procedures before, in and after writing as well as the feelings after completion. I have made the user experience map to show the problems.

Persona

Based on the group positioning and product positioning, I have adopted a persona to simulate two figures so as to confirm the target users.

 Design Orientation

Based on problems showed before, I have found out the target group and positioning of the product.

Ergonomics

Shape

Generally, pens that are long, balanced, and thick are considered more ergonomic because they are easier to physically grasp.

Weight

A pen should be light enough to hold comfortably, but heavy enough so that it doesn’t require too much pressure to write.

Grip

A good grip can help alleviate finger discomfort, especially during long writing sessions.

As the ultra-light clay has plasticity, I have stuck it to the writing brush. And then I have recorded the marks left on the clay in the process of using the pen with my hand so as to get the force position, size, and area.

Stress test of the brush holder.

I have stuck it to the brush holder. Then I have recorded the marks left on the clay after putting the brush on it, so as to get the force position, size, and area.

Sketches

If I mention the soft brush calligraphy, the most famous calligrapher in China I thought firstly is Wangxizhi. In his works, The Orchid Pavilion is the most popular. In it, he wrote twenty same words Zhi and each of the word Zhi has a different shape. I have selected twenty “Zhi” as my own source of inspiration to create some sketches. From the 8 different sketches, I have selected two and made them integrated so as to get the final version.

I chose to combine the two designs(red circle in the image).

Features

I designed the logo for the brush. And I created the details about the brush.

Logo design

Whale is of great symbolic significance in ancient China. It represents endless vitality, bearing the meaning of new life.

I hope brush and soft brush calligraphy can have strong vitality like whales and pass down to following generations. Thus the whale is chosen as the Logo.

User instruction

Prototype&User test

According to the model, a three-dimensional brush was printed out to conduct tests on target users.

During the test, I found that the design of the holding pen was not good enough. The location and area of contact between the pen and the hand still require more research and modification.