Mitchell Kane

A showcase of things I've made, as well as some of the references and inspirations behind the projects

[crossconnectmag]

Illusion Drawings by Shai Levi 

Shai Levi started with thinking about ways to create a maximum amount of space with a minimum amount of visual information.

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A few behind the scenes shots of my explorations and process for my Integrative Process physical typography project

[kateoplis]

Child-Proof Minimalism

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Studio 2: Vernissage - Reflective Statement

Reflecting on this project has been an insightful process. Having complete control over the brief and structure for the project heightened my awareness of just how important project management is from the onset. Throughout the process, I identified a number of gaps in my management for this project, and reflecting on this has offered me some great take away lessons.

Firstly, it’s really not about the number of ideas you have, it’s about being decisive, choosing a direction, going with it, and being open to it evolving and changing over time.

Secondly, setting and achieving key milestones throughout a project are fundamental in maintaining focus, momentum and motivation. Breaking the larger milestones down incrementally into daily tasks or action steps ensures their achievement.

Thirdly, don't think too much. Just do. Designing and learning through doing can be very effective.

The final two weeks were a stark contrast to the first three. The initial stages of the project were focussed on outlining the approach and exactly what it was I wanted to communicate. After finishing this process with the production of a hand lettered manifesto poster, the last few weeks were spent focussed on furiously producing a series of physical objects that would fit the brand’s sensibility and illustrate my focus on attention to detail in fabrication.

Overall, I am happy with the final outcome of all the exhibited artefacts. The skate deck eyewear and jewellery turned out great given their prototypical nature and fast turn around time. Now I have a physical pair of glasses, and a couple of rings to look at, there are a number of obvious functional detail improvements that need to be explored through further iterations, but the overall silhouette and laminated wood aesthetic with colour detailing is just what I was after. The manifesto poster and the development of the website, together form a central grounding point for all other forms of narrative to stem from. The final statements online, combined with the MISSION manifesto, communicate and portray the core values of the brand well, allowing the specific scope to shift and evolve, whilst always remaining rooted in its original sensibility.

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Studio 2: Vernissage - Conceptual Statement

Great brands build movements. With their loyal following of customers, contributors, and fans, they begin to shape the cultural landscape around them. This project aimed to develop a personal brand ideology / ethos that is rooted in sensibility to carry us into the future. The goal was to build a foundation, refining and communicating a brand vision centred around the integration and convergence of traditional techniques, and modern tools through design. Encompassing adventure and curiosity, this project aimed to explore a new, holistic approach to design, manufacture, materials, and creative brand building.

A web presence is an essential foundation for any developing brand. Through an online presence, brands can more coherently communicate the ideas, ethos and values they uphold, while putting a platform in place to share ideas, knowledge, and experiences. I hope over time to develop content rich pages offering value and insight to those striving for freedom through a creative lifestyle, along with a collection of quality goods befitting such a lifestyle.

The MISSIONcollectve name came about initially due to the letters and aesthetic value of the word mission. Since then however, given the context, the word has grown to be associated with the mission of building a creative lifestyle, one that you desire, and one that maximises your utility. The collectve aspect comes from the communal, collaborative approach to designing and making that I see the future going. There is no ‘i’ in collectve.

The manufacturing process is really what remains central to the exhibited items. Both the manifesto poster and the eyewear and jewellery utilised a combination of hand crafted aspects and modern tools in their production. The poster begun by hand lettering each phrase before scanning, vectoring, arranging, enlarging and digitally printing the final exhibited poster (600mm x 1800mm). The eyewear and ring series took the opposite approach. Originally being designed in CAD software before laser cutting templates and laying them onto a blank skate deck to be hand cut and finished.

By reusing materials that already have a rich history, the stories associated with that history become a part of the product. The exposed side of the deck that has been skated creates a completely unique product - each sporting personal marks and scars from a previous life. Skateboard decks are also extremely hard wearing, retaining their integrity throughout years of punishment, but not without showing graceful signs of this wear - allowing your personal products to continue gaining character over time through repeated use - only looking better with age.

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Welcome to MISSIONcollectve

Here is the link to my MISSIONcollectve website.

This is very much a work in progress and will be perpetually tweaked, curated, and edited. As it currently stands however, is as it will be presented for submission.

I hope for the web presence to allow more shared insight into the brand, and present a curated selection of MISSIONcollectve designed objects, growing over time to provide the platform to connect a community of likeminded individuals.

I chose to use the Squarespace platform to initially preview the website in order to achieve a strong visual presence and maximise the content. The platform also handles the heavy image content well, providing quality viewing adaptability across all devices.

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A photo-set of the finished Skate Deck eyewear frames

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Studio 2: Vernissage - MFG Process & Reflection

After a day and half in the 3D lab I managed to get finished one completed eyewear prototype - with one unfinished rough cut frame to show some of the process - along with two simple and clean ring designs.

The laser-cut patterns I had made on Wednesday were too thin to be used as a jig for the hand router as initially planned so an alternate approach was required. Firstly, I lay the frame patterns centered on the deck to retain a balanced curvature through the final frame and marked them out before laying the arms hard up against the edges of the deck - utelizing both the flatter section and the most curved section of the deck to attain the best shape/fit - ready for hand cutting. Step one was to drill out the inner corners with an appropriate sized drill for the radius, and then jig saw out the rest of the lens shape whilst the deck was still complete. Step two saw the deck taken to with the band saw to create the outer frame shape and the pair of arms. Step three was to get the first rough shape with a file from the fresh cut pieces before rough sanding that shape with 80 grit. Step four was the final hand finishing with a series of finer sandpapers. And step five - the final step - was to drill out to the same diameter hole as the magnet fixtures and punch the magnets into place, allowing the arms to be snapped on and off.

I am very happy with how all of the products have turned out given their prototypical nature and the fast turn around. Now I have a physical pair of glasses, and a couple of rings in front of me, there are a number of obvious functional detail improvements that need to be explored through further iterations, but the overall silhouette and laminated wood aesthetic with colour detailing is just what I wanted.

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Quick update while the lab is closed for lunch.

I Managed to get all my rough cuts done on the eyewear this morning using a combination of the jig saw and the band saw as the laser-cut jigs were too thin to run the router around. This is one of the frames after the initial cuts.

Although there have been alterations to the production process, I should have one fairly complete set of frames by the days end.

I'm not sure if the rings will work using the skate deck - this afternoon should tell!

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Eyewear and ring blanks fresh off the laser cutter yesterday. I'll be in the 3D lab today working on hand routing the eyewear frames from a skate deck. I originally planned on doing the same with the rings, however I may end up leaving these designs as prototypes and sending the files off to be cut straight from a skate deck by commercial laser cutters.

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Whipped up these final two chosen eyewear concepts in Solidworks this morning before importing into AI to prep for laser cutting.

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Studio 2: Vernissage - Update

Over the weekend I managed to get the majority of my web presence together with good results, I will post the link up here in due course.

This week the focus shifts to making a small product collection to ensure I have some physical objects to exhibit alongside the website - while also filling it out - and the previously completed manifesto poster. I am going to explore manufacturing a number of small personal accessories and objects. The goal is to design by doing, retaining the conceptual approach that I feel encompasses the whole sensibility of the brand.

Today I got down to the 3D lab to book some time on the busy laser cutters for Wednesday this week.  Unfortunately the machines down there there aren't capable of getting a clean cut through a skate deck - which consists of several layers of laminate maple ply and several layers of glue which cool the laser as it passes. So to use the skate deck as I wanted, I will have to laser-cut design blanks from MDF then hand-route the designs. The pros to this are I retain an even more hands on, craft like, product and I get to work physically with my hands. The cons, I now have a lot of making to do in 4 days!

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Quick little shot of some typefaces I've been working on for the Mission logo/banner

[polerstuff]

http://the-hinterlands.com/

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Polerstuff. Top notch.

[everything-creative]

The EXO Series

This very modern shaped lamps are made of an anodised Aluminum skeletal structure. The strong formed fins and the integrated LED lamp with a frosted diffusor form distinct shadows. The series was designed by Rowan Turnham and Matthew Harding and is produced by Rakumba in Australia.

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Design Inspiration. Not laser cut, but uses the same aesthetic approach.

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Simplus Design

Too cool not to reblog. I'd love to make one of these bad boys but with a special concrete oxide finish!

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Here are a few ideas I sketched up and imported into illustrator for some laser cut rings. The idea was to laser cut the designs from used skateboard decks. Something i've had percolating for a while that seems to satisfy a number of curiosities and fits the brands sensibility. Firstly, it's designed to reuse a unique material, offering second life to the good vibes trapped in a skateboard. Secondly, the design allows for some hand finishing, meaning every piece is bespoke and uniquely maximises the varying laminate colourways. Thirdly, it incorporates skateboarding, and anything skate culture to me embodies creativity and freedom!