For my project, I chose to redesign the handle to my umbrella. I find that there is insufficient room to grip it, my fingers are sometimes overhanging and there is no good spot for the thumb to rest. In addition, I find the finger grooves bothersome. I want freedom to place my fingers anywhere on the handle rather than locking into one spot.

I couldn’t come up with a conceptual design until after playing with clay. From experimenting with the material, I found that I wanted a new handle to have a more neutral grip. This is done by having a slanted handle. And, instead of having a constant diameter shaft, I found a sloped shaft to be better. A variable shaft meant it wasn’t one size fit all, but different size hands could find comfort by either placing the hand closer to the top or closer to the bottom of the handle.