🐌 Nail Snail

A children’s assistive nail polish applicator and companion app.

Role

Product Designer
(Solo Project)

Timeline

Sept - Dec 2023

User Interviews. Anthropometry. CAD Modeling. Wireframing. Usability Testing. 

Skills
Tools

Figma
SelfCAD

🌟 Fun fact: I self-learned CAD and Figma for this project!

🔑 Project Overview

An HFE course final project:

Develop a 3D CAD model of a toy or device and an app wireframe, for children.

The problem:

Children wish to paint their nails, but it’s difficult. And messy.

The Nail Snail can help…

  • Children (elementary and middle school)

  • People with Parkinson’s disease or Cerebral Palsy

  • Anyone who wishes for more stability when painting their nails

plus,

  • Parents/caregivers with limited time to help paint their children’s nails

  • Adults who are shopping for a child’s birthday gift or stocking stuffer

What are the pain points I can target?

The beauty market is missing a nail polish applicator that utilizes a flat surface, like a table, for support.

I also asked some nail painters.

Interviews and task analyses with:

  • an 8 year old

  • a 10 year old

  • a college freshman

  • a mother of adolescents

“I can’t, I’m a righty… this is so hard” —8y/o aspiring nail painter

wiping off messy paint :(

Their main pain points:

  • Unsteady painting, especially when using non-dominant hand

  • Lengthy drying time deterring them from painting during busy lives

So, my Nail Snail prototype seemed like a good fit. That second finding also compelled me to add the Snail Fan.

🌟 The Solution

I taught myself the very barebones of CAD modeling over the course of 48 hours for this project.

The Nail Snail holds any nail polish brush handle, sits its legs on any hard surface, and hinges as you swipe nail polish onto your nail, resting beneath the snail shell. I used anthropometric data to make sure there’d be enough space underneath for both a finger and a nail polish bottle.

And when you’re done painting, replace the brush with the Snail Fan to dry your masterpiece in seconds.

🕶️ Not only do the snail shell grooves encourage stronger brand recognition, but they also provide an ergonomic grip for users during nail polish application!

I also taught myself Figma for this project.

The course project required that the app include a product tutorial. Then, I added the Your Designs page to foster creative expression and pride and ownership in your work!

Usability Testing

I conducted an app usability test with a parent, who would assist their child with Nail Snail onboarding.

I made revisions centering around train-of-thought ordering and accessibility. The parent also wanted to name the picture of her nails, so I incorporated that feature!

📝 Want more detail? Read my ENP64 Final Project Writeup.

This was my first product design project.

I engaged in every step of the design thinking process. I organized my sprints, conducted market research and user interviews, identified pain points, analyzed anthropometric data, brought my product to life with CAD and Figma, and iterated after usability testing.

Many features of the Nail Snail, including the drying fan and text-to-speech and design titling, simply would not exist without listening to my users.

I left this project rearing to learn and invent more!

My Growth

You made it!

Thanks for exploring. Curious to learn about another project? Let’s get back to Work.

If you want to know more about the Nail Snail, contact me below! I respond faster than snail mail, promise.