Designers are Answers
- Howeson Lu-
Copyright ©
All rights reserved.
·CURA·
“Connecting the dots.”
The project in one sentence:
A holistic First-Aid system that is designed to ease the tattoo artists and their clients during an emergency.
CURA : Design project for Tattoo artists
This was a 3 month project that requires our team to learn about a group that we do not associate with,and design a "collapsible space" for the group
Client:
Partners:
Problem
The tattoo industry is a relatively closed community. The relationship between the tattoo artist and the tattooee is often bound to the tattoo chair. The amount of care that goes into the before and after the tattoo is often beyond the control of the tattoo artists.
Solution
CURA creates a holistic first-aid standard package that goes into the before, during and aftercare of tattooing. This kit will setup the foundation for a safe, structural before and aftercare for tattooees.
Project Details
"We don't avoid the pain. The pain is not the problem, it is a part of the ritual. "
—OSKAR NYBRÅTEN ,Timeless Tattoo
Research phase
Research on the history of tattoo. Understanding how the art evolved over the years.
Research on the different styles of tattoo and started contacting different studios and learn about their main styles.
Creates a biased person of a tattooee
Onsite investigation
Old bastard tattoo
We paid a visit to one of the newer tattoo places in Oslo. They did not have their own website, so we did an appointment over the phone before heading there. From the images that we have gathered from their instagram page, we noticed they did a a large variety of tattoos, mainly focused on new style.
Gains from the trip
We spent a lot of time understanding the equipments that are used in the shop, including the stencils, inks, needles, artists styles and the chair.
Ideation phase
Initial Prototype : Inkventory
One of the initial ideas that our team had was creating an app that allowed the artists to keep track of which inks were going to expire.
That turned out to be disliked by the artists, because they have their own physical system of shelving that already does that.
Second concept: Artist ranker
A rating platform for artists and tattooees that allows them to post status and reflect how a tattoo artist works. Giving information for new-comers to choose a proper artist.
Feedback
Feedback from Timeless
After presenting our ideas to a few studios, our team quickly realize we misunderstood our audience. Tattoo artists are like other traditional craftsman, they prefer to use a system of their own trade. Control over their environment is very important, and technology is something that they shy away from. With this new information, our group decided to drop all the prototypes and restart by becoming more associated with the artists.
In Norway, beers opens up better conversations than anything else. So our group attended one of the studio’s afterhour parties.
Reteaching
Our team spent a day going through thewhole process of obtaining a tattoo. After talking to multiple artists andgetting to know them better, our group were reeducated about what the trade entailedand the amount of labor that goes behind a tattoo.
Details such as the strain on the tattooartists’ bodies from the long sessions and the mental pampering that goes into preppingtattooees were unveiled.
Second research phase
After chatting with the artists and getting to know them better, our team began to create personas based on out observation. This will become an aid for conversations later on in the project discussing the different users that our final product might be facing.
Personas
Brian the standard
Emily the casual
Harry the enthusiast
• • •
