My product started with a bunch of ideas in my own head (a gelatin that could go in a bathtub, a water-bed that had exercise attachments, a fluid-filled couch cover). Observation was the first form of “co-creation” in a way, because through observing the user I came to realize that the device needed to be used throughout the day in order to provide spinal decompression for long periods of time and, ultimately, longer lasting pain relief. When I actively participated in co-creation, showing the user a 3D model and engaging in conversation, I found that the user wanted a product that was much slimmer. The user was imagining the device in her own home space and this process helped inform the structure and size of the chair. Further conversations revealed that the removable upper neck/back portion of the chair was unnecessary because the user finds similar objects (such as a pillow behind the back) to be uncomfortable.
Your product was the one that was always the most interesting one Patrick and glad the feedback made you do the necessary alterations to the design. I cannot wait for the final product and how it would look. Good luck!
Your product seems like a great idea. You’re one of the lucky few who didn’t have to scratch their prototype and start over.
Interesting evolution, Patrick. Your reflection makes me wonder, if you had input from the customer co-creation process in the earlier stages of your product design, it may have changed your ideation phase: you proceeded from imagining something clunky (bathtub use, water bed), to something adaptable to an actual, pre-existing environment (a chair). If you had started all over with different preferences and constraints, your product might have gone down a different path. But also, if you were to return to your user with your second iteration, I wonder what further improvements she might suggest!