Solve a World problem

Process 

so first we worked with our group mates from our alternative energy vehicle projects to come up with  a list of problems in the world  not thinking about what could we actually solve. Then we shared our ideas with the class to figure out who was interested in similar topics as ourselves. then we separated in to groups of four. 

The problems that my group was interested in were more First world problems then things that effected everyone. The idea that we eventually landed on was no-show socks that slip of your feet and  in particular how to stop that from happening. 

The first thing we did was to gather research so we could better understand the problem. To do this we started by annotating three articles each and combining knowledge. 

here are mine

1. Blisters and socks Connection?

2. why you should not wear wet socks 

3. are no-show socks really no-show?

Based on our research we created a survey to find out what our target audience(teenagers who wear no-show socks) wanted most out of there socks. we gave the survey to our class and the top three things people wanted out of there socks were comfort,durability/lifetime, and moisture absorption. also while researching we found that the best material to make no-show socks with was bamboo textile and it also fit the top three things that our target audience wanted out of there socks. 

with all this data we could then create some prototypes. the first prototype we found was based on a diy that two people in my group found when researching the possible solution of a deep heeled sock. to be blunt we cut out the heel of our no-show sock so that we could adjust the sock cuff better to be more secure. this didn't work well because it was really uncomfortable and based on our research totally unhygienic. Also it caused friction between the heel and the shoe allowing blisters to form along with bacteria. Then we tried a sock with thick grips on the outside. this worked but you could fee the grips through the sock and it made walking uncomfortable, so that was a no. then we tried a sock with thinner grips on the outside and that just didn't have enough traction to keep the socks from slipping. then finally we tried a sock with both inside and outside thinner grips. this worked really well, the grips were thinner and did not cause discomfort and provided enough traction to keep the socks from slipping. the sock with thinner outside and inside grips was our final solution.