Zuzanna Konieczna

Product Design Portfolio

Education
08/2015 - 06/2016 Industrial Design Intensive (1 year course)
Ume Institute of Design, Sweden

09/2016 - ongoing Product Design BDes (4 year degree)

Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom

Software
InDesign
Illustrator
Photoshop
Rhino
Keyshot
Hey,
I am Zuza.
As a child I may have seemed a bit peculiar. I loved coming up with own inventions
using common household materials. I remember one time I wanted to sleep, but it
was too bright outside, so I made an eyepatch out of cotton pads and scotch tape.
This is how my passion for creating has started, since then I have been looking for
new projects and challenges.

Languages
Polish Native
English Fluent written and spoken

Skills Interests and Hobbies

Foam modelling Craft beer
Lasercutting Kitesurfing
Rapid prototyping Music
Arduino programming Board games
Team player

Contact
zuzanna.konieczna@gmail.com
+44 7397 238242
+48 608 283 210
Gardena
Industrial Design Intensive (IDI)
4 week project

Brief
Design a pruning saw for both fresh and dead
wood which could serve as a replacement for the
current Gardena 300p and fit the modern Gardena
design language.

Teamwork
Research, brand analysis, competitors and design
challenges

Mindy Lee, James Zhou, Martin Ferm, Zuzanna

Konieczna

Individual work
Concept development, design direction, sketch
models, user tests and final model

Cooperation partner
Jens Nslund, Brand Design Manager Husquarna
Group, responsible for Gardena
Research

What is Gardena?
Gardena is the preferred brand for millions of
home and garden owners worldwide when it
comes to garden care. Today it is the leading
brand for high-quality garden tools in Europe and
represented in more than 80 countries all over the
world. It takes an emotional approach to address
those who regard their own garden as a living
space close to nature and a place of well-being,
recreation, and fun.
Who are the users?
Gardena refers to their clients
as passionate gardeners, both
men and women between age
30 and 70, who find joy in taking
care of their garden and want
best quality equpiment to help
them with this task.
Men and Women
30-70

What are Gardenas core values?

Friendly Innovative Intuitive

It is important to think about the brand idea while design-

ing the pruning saw. It will affect the design approach,
look of the product and what emotions it evokes.
What is Gardenas design language?

Circle

Parallel lines

Colour pallete

Main body Touchable surfaces

Interactive parts Logo

Gardena has a clear and distinct design

language, it is easy to instantly identify
their products. It is important that my
design matches other products and that it
looks like a Gardena product.
Identifying key issues and problems

We met with local arborists from

Ume Kommun. We talked with
them regarding their work and
what they liked and did not like
about their tools. They brought
a lot of tools for us to test them
ourselves and experience cutting
branches. They also showed us
how to properly cut a branch - it is
important to do an undercut first
and then cut through from the
top.
Testing saws

We decided to grab a bunch of other

saws and test them out on branches.
We also got our hands on the current model of
the Gardena prunning saw that we are supposed
to redesign. We needed to check if it puts strain
on our hands and if the angle of cutting is com-
fortable.

Key findings:
A lot of pressure in the highlited areas dur-
ing pruning work

Handle is too short for the blade causing

the feel of being unbalanced

Comfortable wrist angle during cutting

Quite uncomfortable when trying to do an

undercut
Group brainstorming

During the initial stage of the project

group brainstorming was particularly
essential for getting a well-rounded
research.
Competition analysis

Analysing other available saws was

important in order to see what has
already been done and what other
features wemight like in our saw
design.
Concept development
I began by sketching numerous
ideas for the new saw, I especially
focused on the handle design a the
main theme for this project was er-
gonomics.
Feedback tutorials
 Even though we finished the
group work part, we still would
meet up in order to give each
other comments about our
work. It helped us to develop a
better design.

Sketch modelling

Sketch modelling was an essen-

tial part of this project. Creating
a number of handles in PU foam
was a quick way to test various
ideas.
User testing

User testing is a great way to

test you ideas. Especially in
terms of ergonomics you can
get opinions of people with
different hand sizes and various
preferences.
People preferred slightly elon-
gated handles with nice thumb
rest for precision and control.
They liked handles which made
doing undercuts comfortable.
Final concept development

Taking the feedback from user

tests into account, I was able to
develop my final concept. I applied
Gardenas design language
into my handle and started work-
ing on the final model.
You can use a coin to change
the blade. In the original design
you need a specific, hard to get
tool.
New Gardena 300p

My final outcome for the Gardena

pruning saw. It has a comfortable
thumb rest and it comes with an
easy system for changing blades.
Kompanon
Industrial Design Intensive (IDI)
3 week project

Brief
Today office culture is very sedatory. The aim of
this project was to think how we can change peo-
ples behaviour in the office and stimulate them to
move more.

Project emphasis
Interaction design
Group work
User testing

Teamwork
Research, Concept development,
User testing

Alice Baggio, Johan Strandberg,

Dan Robinson, Zuzanna Konieczna

Project Partner
Helena Tobiasson, researcher from KTM
(Royal Institute of Technology)
 Research
We started by interviewing
Sven, a computer technician.
He needs to be on the stand
by mode, which means that
he has to be ready to help at
any time. He walks around
the school a lot and usually
takes a longer route or uses
stairs instead of an elevator
to move more.

Everyday I make sure to take a walk

during the lunch break

Sven is conscious of the need for move-

ment and ergonomics in the office. He
enjoys nature and taking long walks. He
thinks exercising in a gym is boring and
artificial.
We brainstormed to create a list of
functions to incorporate in our design.
Persona and scenario
We created a persona - Jane, and a
scenario of her average day.
Initial concepts

The idea of the inceptor is to have a

small desktop device which would no-
tify you when you should take a break
and move around.

The D-desk or digital desk is a con-

cept of two large screen on rails which
can transform into desks. The idea is
that the user would move more and
work standing up.
The social is and idea for an app
which schedules a social break for all
the employees. It also suggests social
activities for the whole office to enjoy.
User test
Brainstorming

After receiving feedback from user

tests, we decided to combine social
and inceptor concepts. We created a
moodboard and a final functions list,
which allowed us to design our final
concept.
Moodboard
Sketching and ideation
Final concept

Our final concept involves a small desk

figurine that resembles a snowman. A
few times a day the user adjusts their
mental and physical energy levels by
turning figurines head and body respec-
tively. The better you feel the brighter
the devices glow is.
Desk buddy will prompt you by blinking to input your energy levels
three times a day in order to learn how your energy levels
change throught the day.

When its time for your break the

desk buddy will turn green. Other
people also have a break so you
can socialize.
The final outcome is Kompanon. It
is a desk companion which tracks
users energy levels and schedules a
group brake for the whole office. We
wanted to stimulate people to move
through socializing with others.
Buddy
2 week project

Brief
The task was to design a way to
notify users of a pending margin
call. The project was done dur-
ing Cinnober Makeathon 2016 in
Ume, Sweden.

Teamwork
Frida Stenlund, Anton Almgren,
Marzieh Tangestani
Introduction

Today the only way for the stakeholders to

monitor possible margin calls and anoma-
lous behaviors in financial systems is to
monitor a screen 8 hours a day.

When is the margin call closing in?

Needs
Screen based work to go remote
Resources to be used more efficiently
Standby and monitoring jobs require full-time
focus (for 8 hours)
Need for breaks and movement for maintaining
efficient work
Process
Buddy
A notification system for home
and office use.
How buddy works

Colour of the arrow indicates a margin level. The

lowest is green and the highest is red. It is a sim-
ple representation of a current level and makes it
easier for people to monitor the market situation.
Once the margin reaches high levels the bracelet
starts to vibrate alerting the user.
There are also other notifications. The basic one
that may alert to an upcoming meeting or to the
possibility of an investment, and the anomalous
that detects unusual behaviours and alerts the
user to the potential threat in the market.
Design for Interaction
4 week project

Brief
In this project we worked in
groups. First, we were observing
and investigating activities people
are engaged with through their
interactions with an artefact that
represents the physical element
of an experience, activity, process
or service; the tasks being carried
out and the outcomes achieved.
Next, in teams we were redesign-
ing this interaction. Our theme
was Shopping & entertainment.

Team
week 1 - 4
Nella Piatek, Ji Byun, Hyun Yang
week 3 - 4
Zach Mason, Aleksandra Sumilo
from Interaction Design BDes
 Research

We started our research by

going to two shopping cen-
tres: Buchanan Galleries
and St. Enoch. We decided
to walk around and look for
things that we like or dislike.

First thing we noticed was

that maps were very confus-
ing, there was too much text
over images. What is more,
info stands only displayed
the floor you were on which
made it diffuclt to find what
you were looking for.
 We also noticed very low visibili-
ty of toilet signs. As you can see
in the picture above, they are
barely visible and hidden behind
a wall.

In the next gallery we noticed

that interactive maps were
placed on the side of a big
advertisment screen. This
was very confusing and made
it harder to find.
Analysing the research
Problem identification

We noticed that current wayfinding solutions

make it very hard for people with visual impair-
ments such as bad eyesight or colourblindness
to navigate shoping centres. We identified this
as a design opportunity.
 People such as tourists or par-
ents with young children might
go to shopping centres to use
the bathroom. However, cur-
rently it is quite difficult to find
it due to low sign visibility and
confusing maps. This is a de-
sign opportuinity to make it
easier for people from outside
the mall to come inside to use
bathroom facilities and visit
shops afterwards.

Very often people meet up in malls to hang out,

eat or shop together. However, in neither of malls
we found a meeting spot. Creating landmarks or
bench areas would be a great way to stimulate
social activities in malls and would also provide a
place to meet with people. This has not yet been
explored by malls and is a great design
opportunity.
Problem definition
We decided to create a service for
easy navigation in a shopping centre.

Requirements
Search option (Find item/store)
Visual rather than based on text
Wayfinding system (Shows you
where to go)
Suggests best route (Shortest way)

Users
People who get confused in large spaces such as
shopping centres
List shoppers
People with dyslexia or mild visual impairments
 Personas
Creating personas was imporatnt in
order to make it easier for us to get in
touch with users needs and wishes. Our
main personas were Anna and Charles.

Anna
Busy working mom
Age 32
Buys the essentials from the list and
goes home

Charles
Businessman
Age 28
Always wants to look elegant so
often checks the stores for new
trends
Long-sighted
 Developing concepts
Mall navigation app
Features
Search option (Find item/store)
Create a shopping list
Browse items available in stores
Sale notifications
Wayfinding system (Shows you where to
go)
Suggests best route (Shortest way)

Cons
Downloading a large app from your
3G/4G is a hassle
Too complex
Not that original idea

Personal projection
Features
A navigation system where
you input various destinations,
then they are displayed either
using a personal item (like a
flashlight) or from projectors
all over the mall
Cons
Too many projections at once
would confuse people
Vending machines and holograms
Features
There are two stages in this idea. First, you find
a vending machine where you input all your des-
tinations using an interactive screen. Once you
are finished, you get a wristband. The wristband
has a hologram arrow which allows you to find
your destinations easily.
Why this one?
A wearable allows free hands for shopping bags
Wristbands are comfortable for majority of users
Good visual feedback
Uses something people know in a new way
Sketching
Sketching served as an ideation and
communication medium for us in this
project. It allowed us to make sure
we are thinking of the same thing.
User journey
We explored what users might feel
when using our service.
Prototype building
Introducing
NaviGO!
The final outcome is NaviGo!
It is a wearable wristband that
shows you the way with a holo-
gram arrow above it. It is both
comfortable and practical.
How does it work?
First you approach one of the
vending machines. You se-
lect stores on the map, once
selected they turn orange.
Once you are done with se-
lection you click finish and
pick up your wristband.

We used light blue and or-

ange because these two
colours are most likely recog-
nised by colourblind people.
Tap the top of your wristband to
be directed to the nearest toilet.
Your wristband shows a hologram of an arrow, directing
you to your destination. When you aproach it the arrow will
disapear so that you can focus on your shopping. Next
destination will apear when you leave the store. Once you
finish your shopping return the wristband to a container
beside the vending machine.
Other projects
2015 - 2017
 Tomorrows Town - Glasgow c.2116 (GSA 2016)
with Sally Nimmo, Molly Lindsay, Alyesha Choudhury,
Moritz Metzger, Linde Baesjou and Eilidh Munro
Make/Remake project (GSA 2016)

Guerrilla Interventions (GSA 2016)

Lamp for Norhtern Lightning competition inspired by Aurora Borealis

3D model of a BIC pen

3D model of a Toy plane

3D model of a Toy Robot

Thank you for reading!
zuzanna.konieczna@gmail.com
+44 7397 238242
+48 608 283 210