Decorative Cord Organization
April - June 2022
With a team of Northwestern engineers, I created MagCubes to help college students organize their workspaces.
My role
User-centered design, CAD, manufacturing processes
My skills
User Research & Testing
Patent Research
Engineering Design
SolidWorks
3D Printing
What are MagCubes?
MagCubes are made of a pourable silicone material called Dragon Skin, which we used because of its ability to be flexible while still maintaining its shape and structure sufficiently.
The cubes stick together with magnets, which sit in pockets on each face. A 3D printed shell around the cubes keeps the magnets from pulling each other out and hide them from view.
Iterating the magnetic cube design
Initial Mockup
The first mockup of MagCubes featured three 2"x2"x2" rubber cubes with magnets to connect each cube to another. On the bottom of the cube was adhesive to stick the bunch of cubes to a desk surface.
While this design functioned, it was much bulkier than would be practical for a user, and the adhesive limited the modularity of the design.
User Testing on Mockup 1
Our focus is always on empathizing with the user and their needs.
We found ten college-age users who each attempted to set up the product in their own workspace. Following this test, each user took a survey giving their thoughts on the design. The results of said testing are shown below, as well as key insights that the team gathered from users.
-
How well do you feel the mockup helps you keep your cords organized?
-
8.13 / 10
-
-
How well do you feel the mockup helps you keep your cords untangled?
-
8.88 /10
-
-
How well do you feel the mockup helps you find the correct cord you want at a specific moment?
-
8.13 / 10
-
-
How well do you feel the mockup would work on a variety of different types of cords?
-
8.38 / 10
-
Other feedback:
-
Some users wish that the cubes were more decorative if they were to keep it as a long-term desk fixture
-
The mockup is too bulky, there is a lot of unnecessary material and it takes up a large amount of space on a desk
-
There is some concern from users that the adhesive bottom may leave a mark/damage the desk surface in the long term
Dragon Skin Silicone
From the user feedback, we wanted to change our design to be:
-
More aesthetically pleasing
-
Less bulky
-
Sturdy on the desk without the use of an adhesive
The result is a smaller and more colorful product. We made this iteration by pouring Dragon Skin silicone into a 3D printed cast, which is shown in the bottom image.
PLA Shell
The magnets in design 2 would occasionally tear each other out of their sockets. To fix this, we 3D printed a shell out of PLA to put around each cube.
Final Design: Flexible Shells
The final MagCube design keeps the 3D printed shells, but made from a much more flexible rubbery material to avoid fracture on impact with the ground.
