Prototyping a Charger Organizer
Used sewing to prototype a pouch to organize my tablet charger from my laptop charger.
I was so excited to get a tablet. I love writing notes on it, and being able to split screens between my notes and the pdf I am reading. However, one unforeseen issue was how annoying it is to untangle my tablet charger and laptop charger! Every time I try to grab them out of their respective pocket within my backpack, I end up pulling out a huge tangle of cords. The cable for the laptop charger and tablet charger also look very similar, so I sometimes reach for the wrong one.
This challenge presented itself as the perfect need to be addressed with sewing prototyping.
The requirements I needed to meet for the sewing prototype was to make some kind of pouch, which can be fastened closed. This gave me an idea on what I would make to keep my cords organized: a pouch with a division between it to keep my two chargers separate. This way I could keep them together in my backpack, and easily get one or the other, depending on what I need.
After my initial prototype, I saw that the pockets were tight for the chargers to fit in them. This is because when I measured them, I did not think to compensate for the width of the chargers. Additionally, I originally planned to fasten down a flap to close the pouch. The fasteners I would have needed for that were not readily available, so I decided to use velcro.
The sewing machine was hard to use. It frequently got jammed, and needed to be rethreaded. I am not sure if it was because of me, the thread I was using, or both.
The velcro works really well. One thing I would improve on for an iteration would be to fasten the velcro more securely to the pouch. Every time I used the sewing machine I thought it was going to get jammed, so I only sewed one line through the velcro. Had I sewed the top and bottom of it, it would be more secure and I would not have to think about ripping it every time.
Usability testing showed that this was a concern that other users had as well. Users noted that it was intuitive to know which charger went in each section, and that it did properly organize the two chargers so that they did not get tangled. Overall, this design to organize chargers is effective.
