Shape: Maybe the most important characteristic that every flashlight must have is to be comfortable in hand. Most Flashlights are in the shape of a cylinder such that fingers can wrap around it easily. In this design however, the cubic shape of it makes it hard to hold in hand. Also, the head of the flashlight where the light is located is angled upward without any logical reason, whereas it would have been better if the light was pointing downward.
Switch: The part that causes the most frustration in this design is the on/off switch. Unfortunately the switch doesn’t stay on and your thumb must maintain constant pressure on the switch to hold it up; otherwise it will turn off. After a while your thumb gets tired and you may require to switch hands or even worse, keeping the light on will become a two hand operation such that one hand must hold the light and the other must push the switch.
Reflector Mirror: the mirror used in this design is flat instead of being concave and it can not focus the light on desired object properly.
Battery: The battery used in this device is not rechargeable nor it is one the standard type of batteries you can find in a store (such as AA or AAA). Instead there is a black cubic shape battery with no information written on it. Since such battery is not found in ordinary stores by the time the battery dies it would be the end of flashlight as well.
2. Design Principles:
2.1: Executing the Action: When we push the button we expect the light to remain on.
This however is not the case. Imagine you are trying to change your flat tire at night. Then you need another person to keep the light on for you. Therefore, this design fails to execute the desired action.
2.2: Usability: the shape of this device is ill-formed or somewhat unworkable. The shape of this flashlight is not friendly and it makes it uncomfortable in hand.
3. Solutions:
3.1: Shape: Maybe the best shape for a flashlight is the one that already exists: a cylinder shaped body with a rounded head where the light is located. Since the fingers tend to curl, it will be much easier to hold and carry around a cylinder compared to a cube.
3.2: Switch: It must not be a momentary switch. That is it must stay on without any need to keep pressure on it.
3.3: Reflector Mirror: It should be concave so that it can focus the light on desired object. Since the intensity of the light is not that much in this case we want to reflect all the light rather than letting it “waste” through the sides of the light bulb.
3.4: Standard Battery: Standard rechargeable battery must be used so we can recharge or change the battery if it dies. In addition, recharger handle can be added such that by rotating the handle the battery gets charged.
