Analysis of Existing Products Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Existing Products Essay In the design brief I had stated that I will create some kind of thing which will enable me to keep my books cleanly organized and safe. In the past days I have searched on the Internet and in my surrounding community for existing products, which keep books organized and safe. All the sizes are rounded. All the sizes are in inches. The different types of objects/things I have found are: * Open Bookshelf * Closed Bookshelf * Filing Cabinet * Portable Bookshelf * Multi Purpose Bookshelf Below I have described about the products I found for each specific objects. Design/Theme: Open Bookshelf Materials: Open Bookshelf can be made out of basically anything. Wood, Metal (Steel), Marble, Plastic, Glass are all the materials used for making a bookshelf. But the most common material used is Wood and Metal. These is because they are the strongest materials among listed and also are available in great quantities. Functions/Purpose: The function and purpose of a open bookshelf is to keep books. When books are kept without good care, they usually get in bad quality. Another reason the bookshelf does is that it allow the user to easily find his book, rather than going through piles of books. Durability: Since open bookshelves are made from different materials, it depends on what they are made from. If they are made from wood, the durability is high. Wood is a material, which lasts long unless it is put in a condition where nature can access it. But as my open bookshelf would be kept inside the room, or house, it will be safe and last a long time. Whereas Metal has the highest durability compared to all the other materials. They do not get rotted or fungus like wood and are not breakable like glass. They are very strong and attractive looking. Marble is another durable material too. Plastics are durable also, but depending on what conditions they are under. Plastic can react quite quickly with heat and damaged easily. But as my bookshelf would be inside the house, it would not be greatly affected by the sunlights rays. So as it can be seen most of the materials used to make a bookshelf are greatly durable and therefore the product will also be durable. Examples: Open Bookshelf are available in different sizes and different materials. I would like my open bookshelf to be of a medium size. Below are some examples of Open Bookshelf. Environmental Impact? Social Significance? Personal Comments: I think that an open bookshelf is a great product. This is because it fulfills my design brief almost. It allow books to be kept easily stored. The Materials used in the product are good except plastic and wood. Plastic is a material which is not recyclable and that means it is harmful to the environment. Also while in the manufacturing process of plastic lots of harmful gases are left into the air. Wood is a good material to use, as it is durable but cutting trees are producing it, which is not good for our environment. Therefore these materials are harmful to the environment. Bookshelves shown above also have a good color as it matches with my house. But the only thing bad about some of the bookshelves are their prices. Like the ones shown above, some of them are over $500. Even though the materials are very good, I think this price is too expensive. Most of the products have a good size as they are medium. But some of them are too huge. I feel the bookshelves on the most top right are the best as their price, weight, size are all under limits. And as it is made from metal, the durability is also high. I feel these products will be very helpful in solving my problem. But if I decide to use these open bookshelves, I am keeping my books organized but not safe. As the bookshelf is open, dust, insects and all other things will be affecting the conditions of my books. Therefore the open bookshelf does not fully fulfill my needs. Sources: * http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/SKU.asp?BCFlag=FalsePageType=1SKU=449571 * http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000068E82/ref=ase_dealtime-das/104-1481322-3590320?v=glances=office-products * http://www.eofficedirect.com/quickship/qs_item.aspx?dept_name=%3cimg+src%3d%22%2fimages%2fsite%2fdash5.gif%22%3e%3cb%3e+Furniture%3c%2fb%3e+%7c+Bookcases+%7c+Woodsku_gp_id=11121selectedSection=%3cimg+src%3d%22%2fimages%2fsite%2fdash5.gif%22%3e%3cb%3e+Furniture%3c%2fb%3e+%7c+Bookcases+%7c+Woodhidden_pf_id=35270 * http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-8170461-7335348?asin=B00005OU2X * http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-8170461-7335348?asin=B000068XY1 * http://store.yahoo.com/iron-decor/bookcase.html * http://www.bettymills.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?exact_match=yeskeywords=SAF7174BLsearch_office_prods=1 * My own Open Bookshelf at my home (photograph, the last photo) * Brochure from a Furniture Exhibition Design/Theme: Closed Bookshelf Materials: Many materials can be used to manufacture Closed Bookshelf. But the most common materials used are pine and oak for the basic structure. Handles, Glass and Hinges are also used for the doors to work. Functions/Purpose: The function of this closed cupboard is to keep books safely organized with closed doors to protect it. As it has closed doors it will stop dust and other harmful particles from damaging the books. Durability: Since they are made from Wood they will last a long time. Pine and Oak are regarded as one of the best kinds of wood to be found and therefore they are very durable. Examples: Environmental Impact? Social Significance? Personal Comments: I think that closed bookshelf is a better product than an open bookshelf. This is because it gives protection from dust particles and other harmful particles. So therefore it fulfills my design brief fully and solves my problem if I choose to build this further as a product. Just like the last product it allow books to be kept easily stored. The materials, which are used to manufacture this product, is wood. Wood is a very durable material, and if it is used to manufacture closed bookshelf, this means that this product would last a long time. Other than the middle bookshelf all the other bookshelf match my color of my room and therefore would look good if I plan to manufacture something like this. All the products have an average costs which is affordable easily, and I think that these bookshelves are worth the money due to their materials also. This closed bookshelf would easily fit into the environment of Bangkok as they are made out of wood. Wood is a material, which can withstand the heat and therefore wouldnt be damaged by the suns rays. Also the closed bookshelf has adjustable shelves which means that every type of book can fit into the shelf. These closed bookshelves are of a good size, good cost, fit books easily, match my room and are attractive looking. So I think manufacturing a closed bookshelf will be greatly beneficial in solving my problem. Sources: * http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/SKU.asp?BCFlag=FalsePageType=1SKU=491233 * http://www.intrading.com/gujarati-panel-collection.html * http://www.homevisions.com/hvprod/prod_display1.asp?Product=43536partner=11clktru=1 * http://www.furnitureontheweb.com/NoFrame/items_direct/049117nf.html * Brochure from Furniture Exhibition Design/Theme: Filing Cabinet Materials: Filing Cabinets are usually made from metal and sometimes from wood related materials. Other materials needed are handles and other materials to make the drawer work. Function/Purpose: Filing Cabinets are usually used in Offices, Schools, and Hospitals to keep files organized easily. But these filing cabinets can also be used to keep books in themselves. Durability: Since metal is used to make these cabinets, their durability is extensively high. If they are made from wood the durability is slightly less but still will be high. Usually metal cabinets can last up to 6-7 years, if used with normal conditions like in a office. But if they are brought into contact with water, then their durability can decrease. Plus as Thailand has a pleasant warm climate, these filing cabinets will have a higher durability compared to the ones used in places like Sahara desert. Examples: Environmental Impact? Social Significance? Personal Comments: From my opinion a filing cabinet is a good way of storing books safely. But if it is compared to the other products I think it is not worth it. This is because in a filing cabinet, books cannot be organized easily. If I make a filing cabinet for myself then it would take me more time to find my books compared to and open bookshelf or an closed bookshelf. Usually filing cabinets are used for files, and bigger sized books. But the type of books I have are novels. Novels are small and therefore would meet the requirements for a filing cabinet. I think just like the other products, it will be able to keep my books, and that too safely. But the only disadvantage is that it wouldnt be organized. But otherwise it does solve my problem partly and meets all the requirements of my need. But the best part out of all of the products until now is its size. The size of a filing cabinet is usually only until my waist which the size I prefer. But the other bookshelves I have mentioned above are mostly up till my head. This is not what I prefer. Another thing good about this product is its cost. Most of the costs of filing cabinets I found on the Internet are around the range of $200. There are some exceptions, but I think overall the price is reasonable. The colors also available are good specially black, as it stands out. From my opinion the environment in Thailand wouldnt harm this cabinet. But the filing cabinet might have a lower durability due to the conditions it is used under. As the drawer is pulled out always, the drawer might get a lower durability. Another reason I think this filing cabinet might have a lower durability is because of my carelessness. While pulling things I am quite careless and might pull it so fast that it might totally come out and break either my foot or the drawer itself. I think this product is a good idea of solving my problem even though it has some disadvantages. I think maybe I could improvise this idea to further develop a better bookshelf. But this can be decided later on. Sources: * http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PRODUCTPROD_ID=471841cid=19351fp=F# * http://www.comforthouse.com/comfort/unhanandknob.html * http://www.eofficedirect.com/quickship/qs_item.aspx?dept_name=%3cimg+src%3d%22%2fimages%2fsite%2fdash5.gif%22%3e%3cb%3e+Furniture%3c%2fb%3e+%7c+File+Cabinets+%7c+Lateral%2c+Metalsku_gp_id=%20%20%20%20%2014898selectedSection=%3cimg+src%3d%22%2fimages%2fsite%2fdash5.gif%22%3e%3cb%3e+Furniture%3c%2fb%3e+%7c+File+Cabinets+%7c+Lateral%2c+Metalkc=D1hidden_pf_id=1074 * http://www.abigwarehouse.com/abigwarehouse/filecabinet.html Design/Theme: Portable Bookshelf Materials: Portable Bookshelf are made out of wood and metal. Function/Purpose: The function of a portable bookshelf is to keep books organized and safe. But the main aim is to make it portable. By saying portable, it usually has wheels below the bookshelf to make it mobile. Durability: Usually objects made out of wood and metal have a high durability. But these portable bookshelves do not have a high durability. They have a medium durability due to the wheels below them. This is because the wheels have a lot of pressure on them and can easily be spoiled due to the movement. Therefore after the wheels break down then the bookshelf will become like a normal bookshelf at one place. But another thing, which the durability of portable bookshelf is dependent on, is the type of floor it is used on. Usually floors like marble, wood, tiles allow a high durability. But floors that are carpeted can be easily decreasing the durability of this portable bookshelf. Examples: Environmental Impact? Social Significance? Personal Comments: The materials used in a portable bookshelf are mostly metal and wood. Both these materials are in some way harmful to the environment. Wood is cut from tress, and therefore by using wood we are cutting more and more trees. But if these trees are re-grown then the impact on the environment could almost reduce to zero. Then metal is also harmful to the environment. This is because the process used to extract these metals out uses fossil fuels and therefore is damaging the environment. But otherwise these materials do not damage the environment too much. I personally think that a portable bookshelf is not the best way of organizing the books. Even though it has the biggest advantages of being mobile, I think it is useless otherwise. This is because like can be seen above all the mobile cabinets around the world are focused for different purposes rather than books. The portable bookshelf like the one shown on the top left is so heavy that they are unable to move easily. Also while in the moving process of such big bookshelf, the bookshelf can easily topple over and create a mess. But with the disadvantages of the wheels it also has advantages. With the wheels the bookshelf can be shifted around for cleaning and other purposes. Another disadvantages about his design/theme is its costs. Portable Bookshelf are over the price of $300 mostly. This high price is unaffordable for me, as my parents wouldnt allow my to spend all my money on such a small thing. But the size as can be seen from the picture is mostly average and according to my needs. The last disadvantage is its durability. Due to the wheels the durability has decreased and therefore it would be durable for a shorter time. But the top part, which is made out of metal mostly, would last a long time and be beneficial. I am not sure whether I would prefer to make a portable bookshelf like this as it has so many disadvantages. But this can be improvised which will be decided later on. Sources: * http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/SMD06022.html * http://dealtime.catalogcity.com/cc.class/cc?pcd=4488554ccsyn=48 * http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?edc=282379 * http://www.bettymills.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?exact_match=yeskeywords=SAF1872BLsearch_office_prods=1 * Brochure from a Furniture Exhibition Design/Theme: Multi Purpose Bookshelf Materials: Usually Multi Purpose Bookshelf are made from wood with all the other materials required for the specific object. Function/Purpose: The function/purpose of a multi purpose bookshelf is to have several purposes with a bookshelf. Like for example a Multi Purpose Bookshelf could be a Normal Cupboard, in which books, CD-ROM, toys and other materials can be kept. Durability: Multi Purpose Bookshelf has a high durability as they are made out of wood. Examples: Environmental Impact? Social Significance? Personal Comments: I personally think that a multi purpose bookshelf is not the best way of organizing the books. Even though it has the biggest advantages of storing other things it wouldnt suit me. This is because all of the above things are focused on children below the age of 10 years. Now as I am in Year 11 I wouldnt prefer these kind of childish objects. Therefore I do not prefer these kinds of things in my room. But otherwise the advantage is great for the child. If I was to make something like this for my sister, it would greatly benefit her. The ideas used by people are great. I think I could improvise this idea and make a similar idea, but instead not make it childish. Overall the costs, sizes, are fine but these dont matter to me as I dont prefer to have objects like these in my room. Sources: * http://store.yahoo.com/sensoryedge/boshbyki.html * http://store.yahoo.com/sensoryedge/grclboshbyki.html * http://www.roomstogokids.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=ktg.showItemipac_id=1640 * http://store.yahoo.com/sensoryedge/1doboshin.html This was my analysis for my existing products. This analysis of the existing product has given me a broader idea of what I might be making and has given me lots of information which would help me in the further stages of this project.