This project focuses on space saving tools and sensor technology that can be incorporated into domestic furnishings to assist organisation systems. The research seeks to extend the ability of space saving and tracking items in wardrobes, and to develop a design solution that will assist the organisation of items for greater convenience and efficiency of wardrobe use.
The research draws on a range of data collected from the field, including interviews with domestic wardrobe users and cultural probes. Data gathered through the interview process indicate disadvantages in current wardrobe function, such as wardrobe congestion, finding clothes, and organising clothes by type. This led the research into a proposition for a new wardrobe organisational system capable of increasing wardrobe functionality. The addition of sensor technology to this system enables communication between the wardrobe and user, creating a rich interaction that extends wardrobe use. Sensor technology can help people find items more easily and provide a better understand of their own patterns of clothes usage.
Two phases are investigated in relation to space-saving tools: simple products to perform basic functions, and a high-tech integrated system to provide a complex solution. The design aims to combine their advantages to find the balance between the two for a design more adaptable to the market. Market research was also conducted to find suitable techniques and products that can be used for tracking and to make the design more practical. Based on research of current products and technology systems, a new product can be developed to obtain and analyse item information, track and trace items, and provide recommendations and solutions to users.