Study uses 3D technology to create better fit

In an attempt to help clothing designers and manufacturers comprehend the different ways humans are shaped, Human Solutions created a nationwide sizing survey using 3D body scan technology.

Human Solutions has traveled to over 40 locations across the country to collect information on body measurements with their survey, Size NorthAmerica.

With Lubbock being one the company’s last stops before heading to Canada, representatives encourage Lubbock citizens and Texas Tech students to participate in one of the sizing surveys.

Chad Shehdan, the Size NorthAmerica representative and 3D body scan coordinator, said the study will provide a sample size of the population to give manufacturers data on how to better design cars and apparel to match people.

“It will give a more precise average of what their target market is,” Shehdan said. “There’s been sizing surveys since the '60s, but they only took into consideration certain ethnicities, so we have quotas for each ethnicity, each age range and each geographical location, so it’s a lot more accurate and representative.”

According to their website, the study is looking for participants that fall into certain categories of ethnicity and race: Hispanic, African American, and Asian ages 6-years-old to 75-years-old, then white ages 6-years-old to 17-years-old.

Tatum Quinn, a senior general studies major from Iowa Park, said she noticed the green and white trailer as she was walking down the street, when a Size NorthAmerica representative approached her to participate in the study. Quinn said the $20 Visa gift card given at the end of the scan is what encouraged her to participate.

The process took around 20 minutes and included a demographic questionnaire online, followed by a 3D body scan where participants stand and sit in four different positions, Quinn said.

According to the survey’s privacy statement, to maximize the value of the sizing results the study asks the participants be scanned dressed with the undergarments the company provides. However, the scan occurs in a private booth and is discrete and respectful, according to the privacy statement.

Su-Jeong Hwang Shin, the program director of the Department of Design at Tech, said the company approached her in the past and she thought the study would be a good opportunity for the school.

“This data will last so long,” Hwang said. “It will be bigger, wider and more reliable data.”

As the study has been going on for almost a year, Hwang said the goal is set at 18,000 participants to have completed the study, a number large enough to represent the whole population. Hwang said they need 500 participants from Lubbock before they leave for Canada.

Size NorthAmerica will be in Lubbock until Oct. 7. The study is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. but is closed Sunday and Monday. It is in a green and white trailer located between the Texas Tech Plaza parking lot and McAllister’s on 19th Street. At the end of the questionnaire and body scan, each participant receives a $20 Visa gift card.

Sign-ups are available online at sizenorthamerica.com, but the company also accepts walk-ins.

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