by Design Interview

Interview by Frank Scott
Interviewed on July 20, 2014, 10:57 pm

We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer about their original and creative design work. is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original works.

("") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.

DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

: To use the accurate drop punt kicking technique with a kicking tee to make place and goal kicking easier and more consistent in football codes using ovoid balls.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

: The main focus has been to allow the foot to pass through underneath the ball completely unimpeded, but also have a product that could be easily carried in sport kit bags.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

: Currently we are marketing in Australia for training and in-game use. We plan to make the product available in all countries that play Rugby Union and Rugby League.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

: From initial idea to commencement of tooling was 8 months.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

: The design development work, starting from the basic idea, was commissioned by our client.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

: Our client is producing and distributing the product themselves.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

: This was an exciting opportunity to work on innovative sports equipment.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

: We looked at sporting goods in general, but there were no particular designs we referred to.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

: Target customers are Rugby Union, Rugby League and Australian Rules Football League players, coaches, trainers and parents of junior players

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

: There are no similar kicking tees. All other tees are various forms of a cone shape.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

: The name MOOSE came from the visually strong antler form that we developed for the support arms holding the ball. The two antler forms strongly suggest a moose.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

: Development was done using Siemens SolidEdge 3D modeling software and prototypes made from machining from solid plastic material.

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

: Kicking with the foot coming straight through underneath the ball.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

: Regarding kicking, David MacKay, worked with coaches and players to test and refine the design. We worked very closely with our manufacturer in China who assisted in resolving difficulties in overmoulding the TPE over the polypropylene antlers.

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

: Overmoulding technology was critical to achieve a soft feel and to provide safety in use.

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

: Design development was verified with user testing and feedback from coaches and experienced older players.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

: The design resolution of the antler to bridge clip assembly was challenging. The clipping needed to provide a good "click" sound on assembly so the user knew it was correctly assembled.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

: We came across A Design Awards and thought that our design was worthy of an award. We want to promote the product into international markets.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

: The design team learnt a lot more about designing for two shot mouldings and how to design a clipping assembly that is sufficiently strong for the use but also allows "popping" apart if the tee is fallen on as part of the safety strategy to prevent injuries.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

: Combining all the functional features and achieving an exciting sporting look to the product.

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