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Imagination. Creativity. Innovation. turned 3 today!

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Portfolio #7: Period Style

Art Noveau is an ornamental style that became popular around 1890 and 1910 throughout Europe and United States. It is characterized by using long, sinuous, organic lines that was employed in architecture design jewelry, glass design, posters, and illustrations. Here, are some examples of art noveau design.

Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and designs that first appeared in France just before World War I. Its main features are geometric shapes, bold colors, visual drama, mirrors, and metallic finishes. Art deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theaters, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. Here are some examples that represents art deco designs.

Punk visual art is an artwork associated with the punk subculture. It is often on punk rock album covers, flyers for punk concerts, punk zines and punk websites. The style of the art is to shock, create a sense of empathy or revulsion, and make a grand point with an acidic or sarcastic wit. One characteristic of punk art is the usage of letters cut out from newspapers and magazines. Here are some examples.

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Portfolio #5-6: Design and Culture

Renaissance

The Renaissance is a period from the 14th to the 17th century, considered the bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern history. It was during this era that it produced great artists, including DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, who created wonderful pieces that redefined art.

Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man.

Renaissance furniture was influenced by the Classical World (Ancient Greece and Rome). The design had a strong architectural sense. During this time, having a furniture like this bed (below) was seen as a symbol of social status. Items like beds were an important symbol of wealth because they were expensive, and only the richest families could afford to have them. Canopy beds with four pillars became popular among the wealthy.    

Oriental Influenced Style

Oriental, or Asian design often commonly refers to styles from China and Japan, though it also includes styles from Thailand, Korea, Vietnam and other Eastern countries. Oriental design is rich in history and tradition. The design often varies from sleek-styled furniture with low profiles, the nature inspired elements that create a zen calm in the space, to rooms filled with the vibrant, rich colors found in Chinese lanterns, oriental rugs, or silk.

The China set is a popular dinnerware that is known for its elegance, elaborate design, and long history. The first china, or porcelain ware, was created in the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century B.C.) for the first time.  China is made from kaolin, a fine white clay that is made from decomposing granite.  It was in China that the procedures for mixing, molding and firing such items was developed.  The making of blue and white Chinese Porcelain started in China by the time of the Mongolian invasion, in the mid-thirteenth century.  

In speaking of China set, I own a China set that I bought years ago that is similar to the picture that is posted above. This is quite opposite to the design of my kitchen as it is more of a modern look with granite counter tops and gray cabinets. The China set is usually put away and only use during special occasions.

When I look around my home, I don’t really see anything that resembles these design periods. My husband and I recently moved into our home about a month ago. Therefore, interior designing the house is still a working progress. However, I see myself decorating my home in a Romantic style. I would like to decorate the interior of my house to feel romantic, elegant, warm, calm, and most of all comfortable. I would like to use soft, neutral tones or pastel colors. The pictures below are several of my decorating inspirations.

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Portfolio #4: SCAMPER - Elements Analysis – Redesign

This is a map of my workplace. As you can see, the nursing station is quite small.

This is a close depiction of my workplace with only 2 working computers.

The redesign idea that I believe is important in regards with where I work with is the nursing station. The nursing station at my job is a valuable area where nurses fully document their work. It is where we update the Resident’s charts and also where we do our chart checks for any new orders. The nursing station can be messy at times and crowded. Due to it being a small area with only 2 working computers and 3 chairs, it can be very difficult to maneuver or document m notes as I have to wait for other nurses to be finish. This can delay my work and prolong my stay at my job. I would definitely change the layout of the design b expanding the nursing station and having more computers to use. According to SCAMPER, the “M” would be followed, minimize/magnify. The new design would allow an expansion of the nursing station with more space area; this would also allow more computers to be placed. As Naccarella (2016) stated, “nurses just want to get their work done” and that by “a perceived lack of appreciation can be countered by providing an effective, efficient and comfortable workplace”.

These 2 pictures below are great examples of an expanded and spacious nursing station with multiple computers which can provide an “ effective, efficient and comfortable workplace” for nurses including me at my workplace.

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RN Portfolio #3: Elements

Texture/Patterns

I chose this table runner for my dining room table because of its simplistic look, yet elegant. It definitely compliments my dining/kitchen as the theme is gray, white, and black. However, what draws me to choose this item was because of its intricate embroidery patterns. The runner is made of gray fabric which gives that simplistic look. The intricate line, which has a gray/silvery sheen to it, intertwines with other lines which create this classic, regal and elegant look. When you touch the lines, you can feel it slightly elevated, not flat and can even follow the lines through touch. I think the embroidery work on this fabric is absolutely beautiful!

Shape/Volume

This Chesterfield chair definitely brings sophistication to my living room at home. I have two of these chairs and also a matching loveseat couch. With its upholstered barrel frame, diamond button tufts, rolling arms, hardwood turned feet in dark brown, and shimmering nailhead trim, this beautiful Chesterfield chair instantly adds dimension, completion, and super chic style to any space. 

My Backpack

I use this backpack whenever I go home to Maryland. I commute to work and this backpack has so many spacious pockets that I can store all the essentials I will need. The teal color definitely adds to its beautiful design. With its color it definitely draws the eyes, not overwhelms it. It is also one of my favorite colors. This wonderful backpack helps my commute is several things. It has a support cushion at the back which definitely helps when I carry a lot of things. It also has multiple pocket dividers which help with organization and it definitely helps me finds things immediately. This bag not only brings me joy, but it provides a nostalgic feeling as this was the bag that I used during nursing school. This item is definitely sturdy as I received this bag as a gift 3 years ago. With its sturdy design, I am positively optimistic that I will have this item for a long time.

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Portfolio #2 - Healthcare Item Design

The Medication Cart

The concept map for medication cart that is widely used in a nursing home/ rehab settings.

What are especially important about this product in terms of its design are several things. Medication carts can be durable, equipped with multiple compartments, which are absolutely required in nursing homes and rehab settings, and it has wheels. Having wheels with stoppers are both beneficial and efficient to nurses and patients due to its convenience, time savers, and safety. Nurses no longer have to run back and forth to the medication room as they can pass their medications to their patients on the go. It will also decrease the waiting time for patients who require their medications. With its special locking system, nurses can control which medications require to be locked and what not. This leaves more time for nurses to focus on patient care.

Medical Carts are often the best solution for supporting nurses’ highly mobile workflows such as nursing homes and rehab environment, allowing patients to be treated wherever they may reside in healthcare facilities. What is special about this product is its attractive, configurable design that offers maximum capacity, durable construction, and premium workflow accessories. 

The six images I would use to convey this product to the audience would be:

Image 1 depicts the whole product of what it looks like.

Image 2 depicts a laptop mount if a facility decided to include laptops to the medication cart. This presents as an option.

Image 3 depicts a nurse passing her medication right outside the door of the patient. This improves time as nurses do not have to go back and forth to the medication room.

Image 4 depicts a nurse documenting by using the laptop that is attached to his medication cart.

Image 5 depicts the product itself with all the items in place such as cups, straws, pill crushers, MAR, gloves, medications, and etc.

Image 6 depicts what is the inside of a medication cart drawer looks like and how spacious it can be.

Physical objects at a presentation for this product would include the product itself, an attached laptop, key to the locked system, movable dividers for the storage, poster board highlighting significant features of the product, and a survey of suggestion/ critique of the design of the product.

According to the Eagle article, it mentioned how nurses are not always taken into account when health care design decisions are being made. In my opinion, it is imperative to involve nurses as they are the one that will often use the product. Having a design that promotes efficiency, durability, stability, and convenience can highly impact how nurses provide care to their patients.

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After reading The Impact of Facility Design on Patient Safety (Reiling, Hughes & Murphy 2008) I’ve decided to go with minimize fatigue of staff because I think this highly resonates to me and my co-workers at my workplace.  Many of my co-workers have stated that the most reason they feel fatigue is due to lack of staffing. Many of us have to do overtime as we have to compensate for the lack of staffing. My facility hire new nurses, however they end up leaving after a month or two. Sometimes less than a week. This also goes for the workers that have worked there for years. Many of them have left and decided to work at a “better” facility. Considering the seven stages of the design process, I think in order to improve this matter, we need to go back to the identification stage. At this stage, we have to identify the reason as to why new nurses do not last long in this facility. Identification of the root of the problem is a good way to start solving the issue. To identify the problem, one can gather information such as asking the workers the reasons of why they are leaving. Several reasons I have gathered are due to lack of organization, low starting pay, no pay raise, or lack of staffing. After reviewing SCAMPER, I’m going to focus on the Modify or Magnify option.  By modifying the system we can promote better staffing which can eliminate the work fatigue that many workers experiences at my facility. We can start by modifying the pay scale. Although this is up to the company and management, I think a higher pay scale would entice many workers to stay at the facility. With this, more staffing would be present thus it will also eliminate lack of organization. Consistent workers can provide patients a steady, continuous, and coordinated care. This project would be in the reliability hierarchy of design. In this way one can measure the effectiveness of the suggested solutions. How reliable can these solutions be? How stable will it be? Can it improve staffing thus decreasing the fatigue of the staffs?  By addressing the problem of lack of staffing can highly decrease work fatigue, if solved.

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I was on a long search for a nice looking backpack to bring with me to work. I saw this backpack online and I thought it was sturdy enough to carry all the essentials I need for work. You see, I tend to bring a little bit of home with me as I tend to bring spare clothes and all the essentials I need for work. I bought the backpack and thought that it will bring the long search to an end. I was wrong. This bag is indeed sturdy, however the design is lacking in terms of functionality and convenience. It has a lot of pockets inside which I find very nice. It has an insulated pocket inside the bag where it suggests you to store to an umbrella or a water bottle. The material is water resistant, not waterproof. This I think seems to be a flag for me. I would prefer to have an outside side pockets for umbrella and water bottle because I fear the inside will get wet and might affect the electronics that I usually bring to work such as wrist blood pressure cuff, power bank portable battery, portable pulse ox machine, and etc. I do not think its practical to place fluids inside a bag. This just screams possible leakage to me. The bag also seems to be small to carry my things. Although this bag contains several pockets, it can get bulky right away if you're not conscientious about what you're putting inside. I like bags that are medium size with a big space inside. This bag seemed to fall on the smaller size section. Overall, this bag is very nice to use, but I don't think it's the right one for me. I guess the search begins again.