DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
AT : Any golfer would like to minimize the room needed for their golf bag or golf push cart (trolley), for the sake of storage and more importantly for transport. As golfers ourselves, we've seen compact, but it seems there's always a trade off between size and convenience. We have yet to see compact put together with convenience and ease of use. We've always imagined the golf bag and push cart (trolley) combined could be a breakthrough if done right.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
AT : Compactness and easy set up was the key focus from the very beginning, we relentlessly apply, test and tweak different engineering techniques to make set up easy and straightforward for the end user.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
AT : The plan is to introduce the Alphard Duo Golf Cart to the general public and especially those who enjoy a game of golf. We hope this product will encourage more people to walk the course instead of riding in a buggy. Walking the course has many health and game benefits, it's more eco-friendly too.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
AT : It took us two years from the idea to actual production.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
AT : We have a vision for a better way to golf, and it's the perfect first product for our new brand Alphard Golf which strives to continuously bring innovative golf product ideas to the table.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
AT : It will be produced at our own factory in China, we see this as an advantage to keep cost low while having a good control on quality as we do get very involved in all parts of production. It will be sold through distribution networks globally.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
AT : Our passion in golf and our extensive experience and knowledge in push carts (trolley).
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
AT : Yes, we studied carefully the folding mechanisms of a lot of products with wheels that folds, such as baby strollers and collapsible bikes.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
AT : Golfers who like to walk.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
AT : It is a combination of a golf bag and push cart (trolley). So instead of having two separate units, the Duo Cart is more compact, weights less and is easier to setup.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
AT : Alphard is a name of a star. It is a unique and very bright star. Duo stands for combining a golf bag and push cart (trolley).
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
AT : Solidworks, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
AT : The folding mechanism and the configuration when it is folded.
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
AT : Our research is based on customer feedback of existing golf push carts and golf bags in the market.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
AT : The main challenge is to make the product change from the folded orientation to an unfolded orientation in just one step while keeping the folded footprint to a minimum.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
AT : After two years of development and continuous fine-tuning of the Duo Cart, we are very happy with what we've achieved in terms of look and functionality. We wanted to take the Duo Cart to an international show ground and see how it will be judged.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
AT : We did many rounds of improvement based on results and feedback from vigorous testing of the Duo Cart, we see testing as an ongoing process and it's crucial to product quality.
