contact info

nivaya@gmail.com
m: 410.963.2421

selected
work
nivay anan
darajah
IDENTITY | CONCEPTION | ANALYSIS | MODELING | RENDERING selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 1

S o c i e t y C re a t i v e
FREELANCING FOR A SMALL INDUSTRIAL DESIGN FIRM

Working at a small consulting firm allowed me to see a product go from concept to manu-
facturing. My responsibilities encompassed ideation, 3-D modeling, FEM stress analysis, and
professional renderings. Clientele included Sony, Johnson & Johnson, Sezmi, and Loftex. Ergonomic bottle sketches for undisclosed client

Corn-starch based bio-hanger for Loftex

Family of glasses and accessories for Absolut Hi-defintion reception system for Sezmi
2 NIVAY ANANDARAJAH | s e l e c t e d w o r k MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | SYSTEMS

G y ro b o a rd
DEVELOPING A SELF BALANCING ONE-WHEEL SKATEBOARD

Layout of internal components

Schematic of electrical design. Feedback loop This novel electric transport device was designed using a PID controller on a blackfin micro-
uses gyroscope and accelerometer sensor data. processor. It was recognized by National Instruments as an outstanding project. Video of the
Microprocessor was programed in LabVIEW. latest iteration can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MokB1hGCpiU
NEEDFINDING | CONCEPTION | PROTOTYPING selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 3

Solar Box Cooker

RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RURAL INDIA

Most regions of India receive nearly 275 days of sunlight and experience solar radiation at a
level of 5-7 kW h/m2 , yet solar technologies remain unused. The study was aimed at spurring
adoption of the solar box cooker so that households can reduce their reliance on nonrenew-
able fuels while not substantially changing their way of life. Development included extensive
needfinding, ideation, numerical modeling, prototyping and testing.

Design avenues explored included flat pack,

thin film, and plastic moldings

Inflatable cooker concept uses thin aluminum

Solar lunchbox cooker for outdoor workers oxide layers for both insulation and structure
4 NIVAY ANANDARAJAH | s e l e c t e d w o r k NEEDFINDING | CONCEPTION | SYSTEMS | RENDERING

Carpe Sol
MAKING THE “SOLAR IN A BOX” STARTER KIT

Our interdisciplinary student team collaborated with Real Goods Solar to develop innovative
solar installation technology. After conducting thorough user studies, a need for a simple
starter kit was found. Carpe Sol was developed on both engineering and business fronts.

Complicated setup condensed to plug n’ play

proof
of
concept
prototype

Eco-Evaluation

Carbon Payback:
10.7 years

Carbon Impact:
0.812 tons C02 Final renderings of Carpe Sol kit in action
NEEDFINDING | SOFTWARE | INTERACTION | VISUALIZATION
ecoLook
A TOOL TO FACILITATE SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL SELECTION
Fully function prototype coded in Adobe Flex can be found at:
http://www.kidrising.com/schoolwork/ecoLook/bin-release/ecoLook.html
selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 5
The Motive:
Upon a consumer electronics industry investigation, it was found
that sustainability was seen as a “feature” often tacked on to the
end of the development cycle. By providing industrial designers an
aesthetic-based interface to environmental impact, the tool aims to
push sustainability more upstream in the design process.
MECHANICAL | PROTOTYPING | ANALYSIS
Orthodic Knee Kickback
CREATING A NOVEL ORTHOTIC KNEE JOINT
Functioning proof of concept prototype
s e l e c t e d w o r k | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 6
My team was ap-
proached to harness the
vertical potential en-
ergy in an orthotic knee
during stance and con-
vert this into rotational
energy that allows the
lower leg to “kick back”
after stance.
Patent pending 3-channel design
The resultant 3 chan-
nel knee joint design
accomplishes this task
by using solely a me- Stages of
chanical torsion spring operation
system. The design was
kept modular to allow
easy integration into
existing orthotics. CAD Model of prototype
7 NIVAY ANANDARAJAH | s e l e c t e d w o r k MODELING | RENDERING | EXPERIENCE

The Leaf Blower

CREATING A PROFESSIONAL PRODUCT ANIMATION

Final leafblower animation can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU7lOYf0_Q8

Studying a leaf blower allows non-technical audiences to comprehend the basics of an AC

motor. The animation was designed to be engaging, educational, and of professional grade.
Each part was studied for both form and function Software used included Pro/E, Autodesk Viz and Adobe Premiere.
NEEDFINDING | CONCEPTION | PROTOTYPING selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 8

A m a n d a ’s C o m p o s t
DESIGNING EFFECTIVE COMPOST BINS

When developing her new eco-friendly restaruant that uses 100% compostable utensils,
Amanda approached our team with a familiar problem: Why does no one use compost bins?
People were observed to just throw away even their starch based utensils. The resulting
study consisted of extensive needfinding, brainstorming, prototyping and testing. The inves-
tigation found the problem lied in a lack of education, and strong visual presentation.

The mighty brainstorm wall

Final concept composed of diarama showing

Potential new awareness logo for compost utensils composting, recycling and trashing
9 NIVAY ANANDARAJAH | s e l e c t e d w o r k MECHANICAL | PROTOTYPING | EDUCATION

Body Conscious Design

DESIGN TO INTERACT WITH HUMAN BODY

Designing a healthy interaction with the human body involves looking from kinesthetic,
somatic, and cultural perspectives. Designs were conceived, prototyped, and evaluated.

Feather foot designed to provide a “barefoot”

walking experience to build healthier arches

BCD restaraunt supports 6 different body posi-

Aeron perch properly aligns spine tions for before, during and after eating health
INTERACTION | NEEDFINDING | SOFTWARE selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 10

Flickr Needs Assessment

STUDYING CAMERAPHONE AND VIDEO USAGE

Cameraphone
Adaptive online survey administered
SLR

By working with a senior researcher at Yahoo, our team was able to study how the picture
and video taking attitudes of people are changing with the pervasiveness of cameraphones.
The assessment consisted of interviews with 10 users, survey data from 39 people, and video Interviews involved usability tests where users
and photo page analysis of 150 impressions. and their screens were captured and studied
11 NIVAY ANANDARAJAH | s e l e c t e d w o r k MECHANICAL | ANALYSIS

EZ Shelf
HELPING HANDICAP BY USING PLANAR MACHINERY

Early sketches for linkage design

Much of typical household storage (shelves, cupboards) are simply out of reach for many
handicap wheel-chair bound individuals. The EZ shelf is an automated lowering bin using
Final functioning prototype sliding linkages that makes higher shelves ergonomically accessible to users.
MECHANICAL | MARKETING | PRODUCTION selected work | NIVAY ANANDARAJAH 12

C a rd S h a r k
BRINGING AN AUTOMATIC CARD DEALER TO MARKET

Developing the CardShark was an excercise in following industry standard product imple-
mentation procedure. In addition to the engineering side of making a functioning automatic Final prototype could deliver cards at various
card dealer, our team tackled an economic needs, marketing and production analysis. speeds for various games inputted
acknowledgements
01. Society Creative
Educ. by Matthew Boyko in 08’
Collab. with Matthew Boyko, Christina Ng
02. Gyroboard
Educ. by Instructor Anwar, ME102 in 07’
Collab. with Brendan Till, Stephen Jayanathan,
Jesse Davy, William Yeh, Alean Daniel
03. Solar Box Cooker
Educ. by Professor Gadgil, CE290D in 09’
Collab. with Cindy Chen, Joy Wei, Andy Torkelson
04. Carpe Sol
Educ. by Agogino, Beckman, Shedroff, PD290 in 08’
Collab. with Alex Green, Seth Horrigan, Michael Martin,
Ernesto Rodriguez, Rachel Simon
05. ecoLook
Educ. by Professor Dornfeld, E290C in 08’
Collab. with Lora Oehlburg, Roby DeManche, Nick Galano
06. Orthotic Knee Kickback
Educ. by Professor Kazerooni, ME239 in 09’
Collab. with Bryan Yaya, Alean Daniel
07. The Leaf Blower
Educ. by Professor Lieu, ME128 in 08’
Collab. with Lizzie Steele, Monica Tanza
08. Amanda’s Compost
Collab. Monica Tanza, Kovid Mishra, Kathy Tong
09. Body Conscious Design
Educ. by Professor Cranz, ARCH212 in 09’
10. Flickr Needs Assessment
Educ. by Professor Van House, Goodman, I214 in 08’
Collab. with Ruchi Kumar, Anuradha Roy, Nick Galano
11. EZ Shelf
Educ. by Professor Youssefi, ME130 in 07’
Collab. with Brendan Till,
Stephen Jayanathan, William Yeh
12. CardShark
Educ. by Professor Youssefi, ME110 in 08’
Collab. with Nick Galano, Kenneth Stensland,
Nate Chang
XX. Special thanks to my mother, father, and brother