PSCE 3021: Pop-Up Design Spring 2017 Michael Verbos Assigned: 1/25/17 Reviewed: 2/22/17 Camping Trailer For our first assignment we will investigate towable recreational housing, otherwise known as trailers or caravans. These structures are always propelled by a vehicle(car, bicycle, et al.) and often expand during deployment. There are a diverse range of reasons why someone purchases a trailer. Successful design requires intimate knowledge of one or more of these reasons, and a thorough understanding of your user. User center design Quite often in design we enter the process of concept development by focusing on the individual that will end up using what we design, otherwise know as the 'user', or 'user group'. In product development, depending on the situation, your theoretical user could either be very specific, directed towards a small potential slice of the overall market, or more general. It will be entirely up to you who your user is,as well as how specifically you define your user. Regardless, you will need to determine how your user will transporting their caravan, in other words choose a vehicle. Incorporating/Choosing a mode of transportation There are only a couple of options here, either a car, truck, or bicycle. In any case, you should understand your user's method of transportation, how much weight it can tow, the form it has historically taken to remain aerodynamic and the general dimensions of your trailers competitors. Remember, as with most temporary environments, your design will spend a large portion of its life compressed and in transit. Understanding these factors will provide insight into the future form your own design may take, as well as provide a general framework to design from. When not in transit, and determined in conjunction with the identification/understanding of your user or user group, it is important to identify how your design will be used... Determine your trailer's function(s) All of your designs