In the Handicare Accesibility portfolio, the Xclusive is a straight stairlift especially for the English market. As the start of this project, Scope visited dealers and users in England to find out what their needs and expectations are of this new stairlift.
The research showed that users use the armrests much more as support when standing up than as support for the arms during 'the journey' of the stairlift. In the design, therefore, the controls have been placed at the bottom and the front of the armrest has been widened, creating a wider base for standing up .
Dealers indicate that they need a stairlift that can be quickly and easily expanded with electrical accessories and that the basic product must be prepared for this with standardized mounting and presence of the electrical connections.
In order to arrive at a distinctive product not only functionally , but also with regard to the experience , we examined the product appearance desired by Handicare with our 'VBL-Tool'. With the 'VBL-Tool', stakeholders can indicate online which visual language suits the brand. Scope From this distillation of the contracts. These are used directly in the design phase. A fast and efficient way to determine which identity fits the company.
In the design process, functional and aesthetic properties were combined with already realized frame parts. The end result is a surprising evolution of a stairlift chair.
The ingenuity of the design is mainly in the armrests. These have been widened at the front, creating an ergonomic surface that can be used as a standing support. The controls for moving up/down and folding the footrest are therefore located on the underside of the armrest. The design is designed in such a way that the ergonomics match the older target group, with limited motor capabilities .
Constructively , the controls can be mounted in both armrests, enabling left and right-handed use of the Xclusive with a minimum of parts.
