Envisioning athletics design

Abstract

Athletics is the sport that arguably requires the highest number of sundry, dedicated products in the world - a complete competition requires at least 55 different pieces of equipment. These products have to uphold the highest standards, sometimes literally; however, every single product has its shortcomings that reflect back on the quality, speed, and atmosphere of a training or competition. This graduation thesis explores how designers should manage athletics product design, and redevelops one of those products. Research will show that the process of acquiring athletics equipment is tedious and complicated. The end users, being mostly the officials, trainers, and athletes, only have limited involvement and influence in this process, mainly due to local governments having vested interests in the accommodations, and building processes put out to contractors and consultants. While this is not necessarily destructive, it does introduce stakeholders with interests different from or even opposing to those of the end users. Analysis amongst 111 of these users, focusing on the equipment at an athletics accommodation, is disconcerting; not one product is not mentioned as having been problematic in use. Although not all equipment issues have the same amount of influence, it shows potential space for designers to jump in and redesign the products. The research exposes a number of user requirements that need to be addressed on top of the already extensive list of IAAF-regulatory requisites. The take-off board is selected as most suitable product for redesigning. Not only does it yield top results in the user survey, but it is also an athletics-specific product that is extensively used in training and competitions, has additional requirements by other stakeholders, and is simple on first glance but complicated when looking below the runway surface. The redesign will tackle several issues, most notably the painstaking process of switching boards during a competition, and the current system for detecting foul jumps. A prototype is constructed to test the design, and two characteristics specifically: can users properly operate the mechanics, and does the product feel trustworthy? The user tests will confirm the improvements made to the product, and provide pointers towards the final product design. The program of requirements is set alongside the product, validating the design. In conclusion, the thesis will provide designers with advice on how to develop products for the athletics market taking into account all stakeholders, based on the theoretical and practical outcomes of this project.