Dentist Waiting Room Redesign

Team Project

Role: Model Maker

Time: 3 weeks

Tools: Clay and Wood

Overview

Introduction + The Problem

Very few people like the dentist. Waiting around in a creepy and lifeless room only builds the tension. All around, most people aren’t excited to go to their dentist.

Goals

To reduce the stress building up to a dentist appointment, Will and I aimed to design a waiting room that could relax as many users as possible. We would work on the model-making aspect, while other group members Ella, Jeremy, and Hannah would feed us research and user data.

Process

Lots of the time given to work on the project was spent on the idea crafting stage. It was a challenge for the group to agree on what would improve the waiting room experience, but everyone eventually settled and worked together.

Development

Solving the Problem

Since both kids and adults come into the dentist, our group had to be sure the solution that relaxes one group would not stress another. We settled on adding advanced kiosks and interactive lighting. Children could play with the wall like a toy without making excessive noise as to stress the older visitors, who would also be able to easily know where they are in the queue through color indication.

Workflow

Will and I would meet over the course of several days to buy materials and build the model together. We would also make sure to consult the rest of the group, making sure everyone had input.

Evolution

Transferring the ideas from a mental model to a physical one proved to be quite the challenge. Since actual motion tracking lights would have been both too expensive and time consuming, our group settled for clay as a representation.

Results

Final Product

The final model ended up being just what Will and I had hoped for, with the rest of the group applauding us for a job well done.

Reflection

While we were content in recreating our own idea, Will and I agree that there are things we would add. Feedback from the professor brought epilepsy or overstimulation to their attention, suggesting a private sector of the room to make the light-wall optional.