Kelly- product design by Kelly CHEN (9C1)

Peanut challenge

chen138173_2 — 2023-08-31 04:36:34 UTC

Generating ideas
Our group first came up with the idea to make a peanut shaped chair, but we thought it was a bit hard for us to use the hot wire to cut out the chair's shape because in order to let someone sit on it, the jutting parts of the peanut must be salient. The second idea we got was a peanut pen, but one of our group mates had already did it so we thought it was boring to do the same thing. Ultimately, we extended the idea of making a chair to making a peanut shape sofa because we think the shape could be very comfortable.

Communication method
As you can see in the picture, we drew many scratches on the paper which is our communication method. Every time we came up with a new idea we will do a quick sketch on the paper to help other people in our group understand the idea.

Challenges
- didn't know how to use a hot wire
- hard to decide which idea we should use
- can't put the peanut cushion into the sofa
- the size of the peanut cushion couldn't fit the sofa
I've never used a hot wire machine before the challenge so I didn't know how to master it. When I was cutting out the peanut cushion I couldn't control the shape that I'm cutting out, and I'm afraid that the hot wire will scald my hands so I was really careful and didn't put a big effort on controlling the foam.
During the idea generation time we came up with many different ideas, and they all have different level of difficulty and different level of enjoyment. The easiest idea is the least enjoyable one. Eventually we decided to chose the idea that has the level of difficulty and enjoyment among the other two.
At first we wanted to put the peanut cushion in the sofa so we need to get the inside part of the sofa out by scooping it, but we failed to do it so we can just put the cushion on the top of the sofa.
The size of the sofa was designed to be fit into the sofa, but as we changed our plan we needed to revise the size, and it's really hard to make the two cushion have exactly the same size.

Things worked well
The backrest of the sofa had been made successfully. We used cardboard and craft knife to make it. We drew the shape of it and cut it by following the line we drew.

Design direction
We didn't set a design direction when we are generating the ideas because we thought the ideas should be creative and shouldn't be limited.

Team leader
We didn't choose a leader to lead the team, but every one in our team will share their thoughts when they have one. Every one had got a job they wanted to do.

Reflection 31/8

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-01 04:52:53 UTC

In today's class I practised how to free hand draw circles. At first it's really hard for me to draw a symmetric circle, and I can't even draw a nearly perfect rectangle to help me draw the circle. After I practised for a while can draw the rectangle with straight line and nearly symmetric then I focused on the circle. i realised that the mark the four vertexes of the circle before I draw the circle is very important so that when I'm drawing I just need to make sure that my circle is meeting all the vertex then I can draw a nearly symmetric circle. I also learned how to draw isometric shapes. The first angle of the shape that been drew should be 30 degree and all the lines need to be parallel to the a line.

Reflection 4/9

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-04 11:48:26 UTC

This is one pint perspective that I learned in today's class. At the beginning when I was drawing the shapes I feel kind of easy but I still can't draw a completely straight line so it's still a bit wonky. When I started to connect the shape with the lines, I aways forgot to connect the points that's the furthest from the point. When I was drawing the last step which is the lines between the connection line I feel the shape is very weird and uneven so I still need more practice on this. However, through this activity I get to know the basic knowledge of what is one point perspective and how to draw it. When I practice at home I will try to find a instruction video of how to draw one point perspective on Youtube to have a deeper understanding of it and try to draw it more accurately.

Refection 4/9 (2)

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-04 11:55:46 UTC

This is the activity I did for two point perspective during class. I feel this is harder than one point perspective but it's also looks more accurate than one point perspective. At first I was confused because I didn't know how to connect the point at the top/beneath the front and side of the rectangle. After I figured out I found it a lot easier than before. Also in this activity I feel I can draw the lines straighter and the shapes looks less wonky than the shapes in one point perspective activity. However, it's still not perfect because the size of the fronts and sides of the rectangles are often different which makes the rectangle to be weird so I will also keep practicing it on my sketch book.

4/9 homework

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-04 12:08:35 UTC

This is my practices of drawing isometric cubes and cuboids. I used two different ways to draw it one is to draw 30 degrees line first then close up all the lines and the lines and I think this method is a bit hard for me. Another method is draw out the front of the cuboid then draw the side and top which I think is a lot easier for me to draw a more comparatively more accurate cuboid. The number I labeled from 1-9 is the order of my drawings 1 is the first cuboid I drew and 9 is the last. I think my lines are becoming straighter and the shapes are more accurate from 1 to 9. However, I still can't use the strategy of drawing a 30 degree line as my 8th drawing is still very wonky so I will keep practise this method.

31/8 Homework

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-04 12:15:27 UTC

When I was drawing this camera, it's very difficult for me to draw a straight line so I spent a lot of time on revising my lines. Also to draw a symmetric circle is also very hard for me so I used a square to assist me. After finish drawing this camera I practised to draw freehand straight lines and circles on my sketch book for a long time then I redrew a camera on my sketch book which is better than this one.

camera redraw

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-04 12:22:21 UTC

This is the camera I drew after I practised to draw straight lines and freehand circles. This tie I didn't revise any lines, and I didn't use a square to help me with the circle. I think this camera is a lot better than the previous one because the lines are comparatively straight. Even though the circles are still not very symmetric it's still better than the previous one with the assistance of square. The only defect I think is the layout of this camera is worse than the previous one. I will still practise freehand straight line and circles on my sketch book.

31/8 Homework

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-05 12:09:39 UTC

This is the activity that convert 2D drawings to 3D. I found it really hard for me because I'm not really good at 3D drawings, especially drawing cuboids and circles. The rectangular and cubes are diagonal because I always draw the top parts wrong and I didn't know how to revise it properly. As I can't draw a cube accurately my circles that drew in a cube is also not symmetric. The triangular prism was the easiest for me because I can freehand draw a straight line after I practised. I will keep practice on drawing cubes first because it's the fundamental of drawing a sphere. After I can draw a cube properly I will start to practice drawing sphere.

Practice of drawing cubes

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-06 11:11:41 UTC

Most of the activities I did so far are mostly related to cube so when I was doing these activities I found myself is not good at drawing an accurate cube and I also realised that cube is a fundamental shape so I decided to practice it more. I fist used the strategy of 30 degree angle, and it's a bit hard for me so I changed the strategy to draw the front and the side of the cube first then close up the top. The cubes I drew in the last strategy is much more easier than the previous one, and the cubes I drew was getting better. At least I used the same strategy to draw a rectangular, which I think is better than the rectangular I drew before.

Mouse

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-09 08:46:01 UTC

We need to make three different layers, to create a mouse, and the layers all have different size, which are bottom profile , middle profile, and top profile. The difference between one another is 10mm. When I'm measuring the size and outline the draft I found it's really hard for me to draw a straight line even with a ruler so I spent a long time on revising the lines especially for the top profile because it's the first profile I created. However, I think I'm good at using craft knife because I can easily cut out the shape I want.

circle practices

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-10 04:24:25 UTC

When I was drawing doing activities about circle I found it's really hard for me so I decided to do some extra practice on it. The strategy I used first was to draw an accurate square then mark the middle point of four sides then draw the circle by connecting the mid points. However, the strategy didn't work out for me so I just try to draw a circle directly without any assistance, and it's easier for me to draw a less wonky circle. Nonetheless, there are still some circles that are wonky so I need to keep practice it.

isometric circle practice

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-10 04:28:51 UTC

After I practiced drawing cubes I started to practice drawing isometric circle because isometric circle drawing is based on cube. The first circle I drew was very wonky because both the circle and the cube is inaccurate, and the second one is getting better. I also tried to draw some small isometric circles and I found it's easier to draw a small one than a big one because I can easily control it.

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-12 10:33:12 UTC

This is the picture of the mouse graphic model I drew on my sketch book. They all have different shapes and designs, but their functions are nearly the same, and all have a low fidelity. All the scroll wheel and click button on the mouse are form follows function because user can easily understand it's functionality through the shape. The part I rendered all has a functionality either is to make the user has a more comfortable feel when holding it or is an indicating light to show wether the mouse has battery or is it connected to the computer.

Straight line practices

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-13 11:02:39 UTC

I practices drawing both horizontal and vertical lines. I still can't draw it perfectly with a high speed, but it's becoming straighter as I practice more.

14/9 Homework

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-16 15:19:07 UTC

I first drew out the 2D version of the shape then try to make it into a 3D shape. I first was confused at first but I didn't know how to transfer, then I tried to use the same method I used to draw cubes. I was getting more skilful. However, it was really hard for me to draw a straight line at first because I didn't move my booklet around then after I started to move my booklet when drawing different straight lines from different directions which is much more easier to make the line straight. I will keep practice drawing 3D shapes and straight lines.

14/9 Homework

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-16 15:28:31 UTC

I found the first shape is the most easiest shape for me to draw because it similar to rectangular. However, the second shape is hard for me to make the difference between different stair exactly the same and the last shape is the most difficult one because I totally didn't know how to draw so I practiced the basic shape of the shape then started to draw.

18/9 Homework-ATL skills

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-18 11:02:42 UTC

Self-Management
- I would like to choose working on SM1 which is preserve optimistic approach when faced with challenges. I chose this one to focus on because I often feel very stressed out and disappointed to myself when I found something that's really hard and I feel like it's impossible for me to make through it so I might just give up on it or doing it without patience. For instance, when I was making the mouse, I feel very panic when I failed to cut the shape to a perfect semi-circle, then I started to be impatience and anxious. However, I found a method that can help me to deal with this problem after I've failed many times. Therefore, I think I should practice to think positively and be optimistic in order to overcome the challenges. I will practice this skill through reminding myself to calm down and to think of the positive side of the challenge I'm confronting.

Communication
- I would like to work on COM5-express idea verbally. Communicating my design ideas and the designing process by using terminologies are very important. Since design is all about communicating, you need to communicate the idea of your design to the user/teacher or friends if you can't express your idea clearly your design might be really hard for other people to understand. Also it's really important to communicate with your costumer beforehand and during the designing process because you need to make sure the product you are designing is what the customer wants. Even though these communication can be progressed without using terminologies, but as a designer being professional is very important both to make yourself more credible to your costumer and have be able to understand what other designers are talking about. Currently I still didn't grasp all the definitions of the terminologies, but I will keep practicing and memorising them through Kahoot and notebook.

Collaboration
- I want to focus on C1-support and encourage others. This is very important because when someone is introducing their product to you they are expecting for feedbacks and appreciations, and you are showing the respect to them when you are giving out feedbacks because you are showing that you were listening and actually trying to understand the product. I'm also expecting the same thing because I think feedback is one of the most important thing that designers need to receive, I need to know what other people thoughts on my product and how I can improve my product. Meanwhile, I'm also wanting to get supports and encouragements to give me motivations an self-confidence.

Physical model-Mouse

chen138173_2 — 2023-09-18 11:11:40 UTC

This is the final physical model of apple mouse. In total I made 8 layer each profile has two. The difference of size of different layers is ten(mm). The most challenging part of making this model is making the front and rear of the mouse in the shape of semi-circle because I need to draw the circle by myself except the first profile. I still found drawing an accurate circle free-handed is really hard and it's nealy impossible for me to draw it perfectly. I will keep practicing on drawing circles in my sketch book.

Mouse design physical model

chen138173_2 — 2023-10-01 04:24:47 UTC

This is the physical model of the mouse that I designed by myself. It has a low fidelity range but it an convey my design ideas to other people also I can iterate the model easily every time after I got feedback from my teacher.These pictures shows the top, sides views of my mouse and the one with my hand on it to show how the mouse function. On the left side of the mouse, there's a curve but the right side of the mouse is very flat because when my user is holding the mouse his/her tom thumb can fit into the curve and other fingers can have a flat place to naturally rest on, which can make the mouse easier to be holden and more comfortable when my user is using the mouse. During the iterative process I collected feedback from Ms. Vaughan, also did a "market test" by collecting feedbacks from my classmate. I also put a scrolling wheel in circle shape on the curve because when my user is using the mouse their tom thumb can naturally rest on the curve and control the scrolling wheel which is more convenient than using the scrolling wheel in the middle of the two click key.

Tom Dixon T Light

chen138173_2 — 2023-11-16 10:00:59 UTC

How did your team generate ideas?

When one of our teammates went to work out the LED light, me and the other teammate had the same idea which is to make the lamp in triangular shape. However, our original idea was to make several small triangles then stick them together but this didn't work so when our teammate came back he had an idea that we can just create a big triangular and we all agree with it.

What were the challenges?

The first challenge we met was we didn't know to to make our triangles stand still because it's hard to tape all the wires together. The second challenge was we forgot to leave a place to put the LED light bulb but eventually we squeeze it in through the gap between two wire.

What worked well?

We collaborated very well because we didn't have any conflicts and all listening to each other's idea. Also every one in our team had contributed something.

How did your team decide on a single design direction?

When we are making decisions we will always try the idea out first to see how it looks like if we all think it's good then we will choose the idea, if not we will pass the idea.

How well did the solution diffuse the light?

The solution diffused the light really well as the light is very bright, and it also created some shadow which is very interesting.

chen138173_2 — 2023-11-27 06:36:26 UTC

In my design practice I'm aiming to upcycl wasted materials and design for disassembly to create a lighting that can create calming mood. This design can help the society to be more sustainable and compatible to the circular economy.

Mood board

chen138173_2 — 2023-11-30 04:45:28 UTC

chen138173_2 — 2023-12-04 06:50:50 UTC

Material experiment

chen138173_2 — 2023-12-08 11:43:08 UTC

How it was formed/joined

I upcycled wasted materials to form a new rectangular shape by using a frame and a high temperature plate. After all the small pieces of wasted materials been assembled together I put it in to a hot oven to melt it then reshape it with a bowl to reshape it in a semicircle shape.

How does it diffuse or direct light?

I'm going to drill holes on it to diffuse light. These holes can make to lights looks like many stars reflecting on the ceiling which can make it a mood lighting to meet my design specification.

combining my light

chen138173_2 — 2024-01-29 05:45:46 UTC