Sana

Working with six other students, we were tasked with developing a market-ready product within a 16-week semester. The goal was to identify a problem faced by local dance academies and create a solution that would meet their needs. We began by conducting product research, surveying local dance academies to identify problems they faced in their day-to-day practice. Our team also conducted market research and a competitor audit to identify potential opportunities and threats in the market.

As the leader of the team, I worked on managing the project and overseeing the implementation of research findings into the design. Throughout the semester, our team conducted presentations of our findings and developments each week to our professor and classmates. These presentations allowed us to receive feedback and adjust our approach to ensure that we were on track to meet our goals.

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Our research revealed that dancers needed a product that would allow them to warm up their leg muscles quickly before performances and cool down for recovery after. Based on these findings, we designed a brand called "Sana" that offers two products: a pant legging that features pockets and the active warming/cooling mechanism. We found it was important to make the design of the mechanism lightweight, comfortable, and low-profile.

After testing materials and brainstorming way to achieve the rapid warming/cooling results we were looking for, I drafted  the design for a channeled fabric sleeve filled with flaxseed that could be microwaved or refrigerated and inserted into the leggings during a dancer's routine. We tested the resulting product and further developed it based on feedback from dancers and instructors. After several iterations, material testing, and further prototyping, we had created a final design which was presented to the academy in a keynote demonstration.