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Back on my griz

Semester 2 started last week. Finally got my classes all figured out yesterday. Human Factors:Ergonomics, Manufacturing Processes 1 and Intro to CAD/Solid Works.

I think of the three I am most excited about the last, as it involves rapid prototyping and gives me a marketable skill that I can start applying. Technically all of my classes do that, but it’s easier to find freelance doing CAD modeling than it is something foundational like sketching and design development.

That stuff will be of much more use, I imagine, when I’m actually designing for a living, but for the summer/coming semesters it would be really nice to grab some extra work on the side.

Fruit Salad:

Our first Ergo project was to design products to enable disabled users to make a fruit salad. The tools we started with were a knife, a cutting board, a bowl and a peeler. We then simulated arthritis, single-arm amputation and cataracts in our groups and did some primary research, observing as people struggled to make a fruit salad and clean up with various impairments.

Secondary research mostly consisted of market analysis and some more info on the specific disabilities and how people currently cope. We then generated six concepts to work on and refined them as a group for presentation.

Process Documentation for ID Principles Stool project. Yes, you can sit on it. And it’s a pretty good time.

"How It Works" final project from Drawing for Designers. Subject was a table-top coffee roaster.

Process documentation for ID Form Impact Interaction project. I haven't talked much about this one because it has mostly been enormously frustrating. Hah. The assignment was to study impact between a 5x5x2 block of material A and a credit-card-sized slice of material B, and then distill that interaction into a primed, sanded yellow foam model. The substances that I selected were smoke and mirror. No low hanging fruit here. I wanted to challenge myself and what I ended up with was an interesting form that was honestly as good a representation as I think I could have done.

Process documentation and final form for ID Form Adjective+Noun project. The Adjective: Fierce. The noun: Spray Bottle.

http://henryhargreaves.com/post/36979032794/game-over

Children's games, minus color. Interesting concept.

#Design #Cool #Art

I've run into trouble in the stool project. First I had some issues sourcing wood, but I ended up driving to NH and grabbing a sizeable Elm log from my parents house. It has been cut and stacked for most of a year I think, but hopefully it's not too waterlogged to be useful... Meanwhile I'll look into other options.

The more pressing issue is that I've realized the cable I bought, 5/8 inch, is not stiff enough to make it do what I want it to do under pressure. I have basically three options: try to buy different wire rope, change my design slightly or just go ahead with what I have.

The problem with option 1 is that it might get very expensive and it still might not be stiff enough... So not ideal. Option 2 is what the above sketch is all about. I think by adding a retaining ring of wire rope in the middle of the struts, the cable will become substantially stiffer. The problem with this option is that it totally changes the silhouette. Last option is also not ideal, but might end up being my last resort. Going to chat it over with my instructor tomorrow and see what's good.

#Stool Project #principles #sketch #design

Starting work on the "fierce" spray bottle blue-foam model. Finished my profile sketch. Time to cut and run.

#Adjectives+Nouns #sketch #Form #Design #blue foam #Model

Finished my 6ish models for the stool project and I'm ready to move on to the next step. Ultimately I decided to continue along with the top one, made from coated wire rope and wood, which I thought was the most interesting aesthetically and had the most promise as a completed piece of furniture. I like the idea of a stool that moves a little sympathetically under one's weight -- like using an excessive ball as a desk chair, it encourages an active spine. Hence, Legend of Iron Spine, my working title.

Sourcing materials became the next step, since construction is going to be pretty straight forward. Tracked down a wire-rope supplier in Newton (Philip Rand) and picked up some heavy gauge stuff that I hope will do the job. If I had unlimited funds I would have sprung for like 1in dia. wire rope but this stuff seems stiff and at 2.00 a foot was about my limit. Ultimately, this might only be able to hold up a fairly small user, but it's also only 22 inches tall, fairly ideal for a child's stool. Not my "vision" but it would be easy to slap some cool colors on it and blam, rebrand.

Next I had to find wood. Went to Anderson McQuaid in Cambridge and figured out that what I want is going to cost an insane amount of money. I need basically a 10" by 12" diameter log of dried maple or white oak and constructing out of dimensional lumber is probably the least cost effective method. So I'm going to have to figure something else out. Call in some contacts or go poach wood from the side of an interstate... I'll keep you posted.

Punks win.

#Stool Project #Design #Principles #Legend of Iron Spine

As an exercise in form, we were told to select three adjectives, then create 11X17 boards using images from the web that embody, in form, those adjectives. I chose Fierce, Voluptuous and Ephemeral.

Next we were told to chose one of these adjectives and explore it in 2D and 3D sketch models. I chose Fierce, though I think Ephemeral might have been very interesting.

Lastly, we were given three nouns to chose from: Alarm Clock, Toaster, Spray Bottle. Whichever we selected we were to apply the adjective to, and then create a form in primed yellow foam for final presentation. For next week we just need a completed direction in Blue foam. Here are my sketches thus far.

#Form #Design #Adjectives+Nouns #Sketch

So remember that vessel project I was doing? Pretty much finished everything, just catching up on the documentation. After the planar material models and the scale model blue foam, we made a mold on the vacuum form machine and cast a positive in plaster. This is the last step in the process (apart from the cloth transformation).

#Vessel Project #Principles #Design

My two quick concepts. The first came instantly when I saw the metal wire and plastic squares. The second came out of my want to use elastic shock cord under tension. The latter was not as stable as I would have liked but I was generally pretty pleased. Also had a wicked fun time doing it. Kind of a childhood dream. Reminds me of the now defunct materials room at the childrens museum. Our homework assignment was to then choose all new materials and create 8 more sketch models for the next class.

#fruit holders #stool project #principles #design #sketch

Last week our professors laid out this spread of linear and planar materials and have us an hour and a half to design two "fruit holders" using said materials.

#Fruit Holder #Principles #design #stool project

Sit Tight On Obedient Legs

Today we begin our next big project in ID Principles: to create a stool using 2 planar and 2 linear materials (one of each minimum), to be submitted and sat on by Dec. 10th. Having just completed the Fruit Holder Exercise (post forthcoming), in which we essentially created stools for fruit, we are now moving in to the real deal. Sketches and sketch models will be due next week, then concept refinement and ultimate construction.

I'm incredible excited about this project because the results will be tangible and highly portable in a portfolio context. I'm interesting in: static tension/integrity, flat-pack, clever, ergonomics/designed instability. Here's some inspiration:

Also this http://jasondembski.carbonmade.com/projects/2117847#5

http://www.zanotta.it/#/it/prodotti/Complementi/

http://salomonsen.se/Playful

http://www.kwangholee.com/main.html

#Principles #Design #Furniture #Stool Project #Tensegrity #Flat-Pack

Rain Shield (by shane liu). Because rain rarely falls straight down. Clever.

Cloth-transformation ideas

The last iteration in our "vessel" project is to create one of our six vessels out of cloth. It should be fun and creative and interesting, and fortunately I'm pretty good with sewing, knitting, crochet, felting.

The vessel I'm going with is the one I've made planar and volumetric models for already:

Right now I'm considering just straight up sewing the vessel, but I may also experiment with sculptural crochet.... research research research.

http://supernaturale.com/articles.html?id=277

#Principles #Vessel Project #Design #Cloth #Fibers #Crochet #Sewing

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