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Herontwerp van een gehoorapparaat zodat het eruit ziet als een sieraad op het oor

Zuidema, Anna Vrouke (2014) Herontwerp van een gehoorapparaat zodat het eruit ziet als een sieraad op het oor.

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Abstract:As graduation assignment for the bachelor Industrial Design Engineering at the University of Twente, a design assignment is performed at goldsmith Dieuwke Raats, located in Goor. The main objective of the assignment was formulated as: ‘The aim is to design jewelry for people who use a hearing aid. Hearing aids which are placed outside of the ear have the largest interest. With the use of this jewelry, people should feel less ashamed of wearing a hearing aid. In the assignment the current hearing aids will be discussed and why the people wearing these always try to hide them. The size of hearing aids decreases and it almost seems as if other people are not supposed to see that someone is hard of hearing. Design process: The design process consists of four phases: the analysis phase, the idea phase, the concept phase and the detailing phase. In the analysis phase it is researched why people try to hide their hearing aid and which problems they have with the device. The result of this was that most people who use a hearing aid do not have problems with them and don’t mind the fact that it can be seen by other people. This does not mean that they like the look of the hearing aid, but the functionality of improved hearing is of greater importance. Next to this user research, it is reviewed what the market currently has to offer regarding hearing aids and jewelry. Based on the outcome of the analysis phase, the target audience and requirements for the design are set up, in order for the jewelry to be useful. During the idea phase, many different ideas have come up for the jewelry. For this use is made of many different techniques like sketching, modeling, painting and using parts of other jewelry. This has been an extensive process in order to end up with a large variety of ideas which can be used in the design of the jewelry. During this phase it is decided to design a complete hearing aid and not only a separate jewelry. Three ideas are developed to three concept designs. During the conceptphase the feasibility of the design is reviewed. It is checked that all functional parts can fit in the design and how they influence the design. Also the materials for the concepts are chosen and how it will be produced. In the end one concept design is chosen, which fits best to the requirements. After that it is discussed what should be the next step to make a successful product out of the design. For this the possibilities of the design are discussed and how it can be launched on the market. A viewing model is made to show the design to future customers. Conclusions and recommendations: The design does meet the requirements that were set in the analysis phase. But still a lot of research is required before the design can be launched on the market. Especially the technical parts of a hearing aid can be investigated. Also the wearability can be further improved by using a eartip that is tailored.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:20 art studies
Programme:Industrial Design BSc (56955)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66231
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