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Tuesday, 17 May 2005 | Levent OZLER
Students Design Hand and Power Tools for Women
Move over, Tim the "Tool Man" Taylor. It's time for Savvy Tools - tools with style for women.
Savvy Tools are the idea of five interior architecture and product design students at Kansas State University. The students, all women and fifth-year seniors, have designed a concept for a line of tools aimed at women, the casual do-it-yourselfer or anyone who has found using tools to be intimidating or uncomfortable. The tools are lighter, more colorful and are ergonomic.
"They aren't pink and they aren't frilly," said Alison Garry, Kansas City, Mo. "We wanted to make tools that are aesthetic and cohesive and more appealing to women. We think tools can be well designed and look good."
"We also wanted to design tools women could use more easily rather than the bigger, bulkier tools available today," said Kelsey Dunaway, Overland Park, Kan. "Our tools are lighter and fit more easily into a woman's hands."
The tools even have feminine names, such as Harriet the Hammer, Sandra Dee the Sander, Connie the Clamp, Patty the Pliers and Donna the Drill.
Although the tool line is only in the prototype stage, the students plan to approach major tool makers or retailers to see if they can sell them on the concept. They are already working on a Web site and brochure.
Savvy Tools were designed by the students as a team project for their Product Design Studio course, taught by Allan Hastings, professor and director of product design studies for the department of interior architecture and product design. In the course, students apply what they have learned about design, materials and construction in developing a prototype for a product.
Rebecca Ruggles, Lee's Summit, Mo., said she got the idea for the tool line from her mother. "She had moved into a new apartment and was getting ready to hang a curtain rod. She had a drill but wasn't comfortable using it. She asked me to do it because she knew I could use a drill. I thought it would be great if tools were made so they were less intimidating to use."
When it comes to using tools, all five students know what they're doing because learning how to use a variety of tools is part of the interior architecture and product design curriculum at K-State.
"We all feel very comfortable using power tools and hand tools now, but when we first started working with them, we remembered how awkward they used to feel until we got used to them," said Jackie Bacon, Manhattan, Kan.
To develop their tool line, the students said they did a lot of research about tools, talked with people about what they liked and disliked when using certain tools and consulted with engineers to ensure their concepts would work.
"We evaluated each tool to enhance and improve its features," Ruggles said. For example, Savvy's Suzie the Screwdriver has a soft grip for increased torque delivery and for comfort, while Tammy the Tape Measure is a hand-fitting pear-shape rather than the common bulky square-shape of many other tape measures.
Tools made especially for women aren't new to the market, said Abigail Kennedy, Fremont, Neb.
"We think Savvy Tools are unique, though, because of their weight and design," Kennedy said. "For example, our power tools are much lighter because the power source, a battery pack, is not attached to the tool. We designed a special waistband that holds the battery as you work. There's also a rotating clip on the battery pack so that you can attach it to your belt."
"We also think that one of the main things that sets Savvy Tools apart from competitors is that we offer a complete line of attractive, utility-driven tools," Ruggles said.
The students even came up with a stylish way to organize and store the tools. Forget about those heavy metal tool boxes. Savvy Tools come in individual, protective cloth pouches and can be stored in a special fabric tote.
Other tools in the Savvy line include wrenches, socket wrenches, a level, wire cutters, a circular saw and a brad nailer and stapler.
"Our dream is that one day women will say pass me the Betty Sue or can I have the Wilma," Dunaway said, referring to Savvy's brad nailer and stapler and its wrench.
The five students all will graduate May 14, each earning a bachelor of interior architecture.
K-State's interior architecture program added product design to its name a couple of years ago to reflect a growing trend in the field, Hastings said. "Many large firms today are concentrating on offering clients full-design services, from designing the building and its interior, as well as the furniture and the fixtures," he said. "Our interior architecture and product design curriculum reflects that trend."
K-State's interior architecture and product design program has been rated the third best in the country, according to Greenway's 2005 Almanac of Architecture and Design Schools.
Contact
Allan Hastings of Kansas State University
785-532-2485
hasting@k-state.edu
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