Miyu Takisawa: Industrial Designer
Miyu Takisawa: Industrial Designer
A project done in collaboration with the Special Needs class at a high school in Milwaukee. This easel is for a specific student who is an incredibly talented artist, but works on a low quality easel to create his artwork. This easel is a more fitting object for his age, purpose, and his skill as a fine artist.
This project was created to benefit students in the special needs classrooms at an MPS high school. Some of these students are unable to control their strength, have low dexterity, or cannot utilize certain parts of their bodies, but they still love to draw.
The easel that was being used in class was not suitable for their age range, nor was meant to be a drawing easel in the first place.
The solution is sturdy but portable, holds art supplies in its built-in drawer, and can secure papers without the use of tape.
The final model was given to the students and instructors at the high school. The bar and wing nuts hold the paper in place when drawing, and is easy for instructors to adjust but does not allow for the students to mess with them. The drawer has pen stands that allows for more independence for the student, as it lets the student choose his/her own colors of markers instead of having to have an instructor give them the markers to draw with.
It was great being able to see the students actually interacting with my final product, and seeing how hard they would push and not knock the easel over like before.