Project description:
Even though we are living in large and crowded cities, it seems we are losing the sense of face to human interaction and rely mostly on social media outlets. In this final project, students will work in groups of three or four. They will be responsible for designing a light installation-art, which will allow human interaction with each other and the surrounding space.
The methodology of the structure: Thinking about how you can produce small components that come together to form something more significant than the sum of its parts. Students will research Biomimicry and constructed habitat in nature how the ecological approach is related to design. How the structure and materials in nature and used by animals/insects.
Explore the ideas of how this installation helps social interaction. How light influence our mood and our surrounding. How can this installation enhance the senses: touch, sound, smell, viewing, etc.?
Each group will be responsible for making a ‘light installation/art’ or a ‘chandelier’ made of several components.
Each student will be responsible for creating an independent light fixture that can function independently and be part of the overall group’s installation.
Students can use an artificial light sources or depend on natural light.
The installation must be modular and or collapsible.
The design concept must take into consideration the principles of *Cradle-to-cradle design (C2C).
Exploring the use of of recycled and or upcycled materials (at least 50%)
Each group will select an actual or imaginary location that will be the inspiration for using this installation.
Please consider to include in the designs:
Each student will be responsible for creating an independent light fixture that can function independently and be part of the overall group’s installation.
Students can use an artificial light sources or depend on natural light.
The installation must be modular and or collapsible.
The design concept must take into consideration the principles of *Cradle-to-cradle design (C2C).
Exploring the use of of recycled and or upcycled materials (at least 50%)
Each group will select an actual or imaginary location that will be the inspiration for using this installation.
Please consider to include in the designs:
3D Design was elements such as NEGATIVE POSITIVE SPACES, TEXTURE, COLORS, ETC.
3D design Principles such as REPETITION, PATTERN, SYMMETRY, ASYMMETRY, SCALE DIFFERENCES, CONTRAST
3D design Principles such as REPETITION, PATTERN, SYMMETRY, ASYMMETRY, SCALE DIFFERENCES, CONTRAST
Group: Tyler M, Beth D, Char A
Phase one: research and design concepts:
My team's designs are based on baby mobiles and are somewhat more sophisticated versions of baby mobiles.
Shared timeline:
Mood board:
Phase two: design development
This bristol sketch model was made in sections that could be arranged in different ways; after some discussion, my team and I used these model parts to decide on what would be the final design of my piece.
Phase three: design finalizing:
Working with bioplastic:
Technical drawing:
Final design:
Reflection:
This project has been a unique experience in many different ways for me; I've never worked with bio plastic to create a product in this way before and the pacing of the process has been interesting in that it was rigorous but I managed to resolve through it. Most of the time that went into preparing the final product was the preparation of the bioplastic components. The cardboard components were cut using the laser lab so preparing those components was relatively expedient. I feel that the research going into the project may not be evident in the final design, but that is to be expected, and I welcome the difference from traditional baby mobiles.
The design process has not been easy; when Beth pushed the idea of using bioplastic as a main component I was worried about the possibility that it would not work in the end. I decided to trust her and we spent most of the time researching and experimenting with different bioplastic recipes. When it came to making the bioplastic components for the final products, there had to be a lot of time allotted for it to dry and cure so that it could be sturdy enough to work with. Naturally, as a material none of us had any real experience with, there were mistakes made along the way, and could unfortunately not always be circumvented, but we managed to get the bioplastic in workable order.
Going into this project, I was afraid that I would be overwhelmed, not only by this project, but by all the other projects I have in my other classes that may clash with each other and cause me to perform poorly on them all. That said, while the process has definitely not been easy and there was a lot of learning and panicking taking place along the away, I could not be happier with the journey I took with my team. Beth and Char have been a pleasure to work with and I believe our strengths and weaknesses complimented each other in a ways that allowed us to maximize the quality of work we were able to do. I was worried that a discrepancy in ambition or work ethic would result in some conflict or slow the work pace, but there was no such problem. I feel that working with this group has brought out my potential to be creative and brought out my resolve to work. I prefer working with groups because I find that, when I work for myself, I make shortcuts and excuses, whereas, when I work for a group, I work my hardest when I know I'm being counted on.
Overall, while this has been a difficult journey, I'm happy that my final project could be with such a wonderful work partners.
The design process has not been easy; when Beth pushed the idea of using bioplastic as a main component I was worried about the possibility that it would not work in the end. I decided to trust her and we spent most of the time researching and experimenting with different bioplastic recipes. When it came to making the bioplastic components for the final products, there had to be a lot of time allotted for it to dry and cure so that it could be sturdy enough to work with. Naturally, as a material none of us had any real experience with, there were mistakes made along the way, and could unfortunately not always be circumvented, but we managed to get the bioplastic in workable order.
Going into this project, I was afraid that I would be overwhelmed, not only by this project, but by all the other projects I have in my other classes that may clash with each other and cause me to perform poorly on them all. That said, while the process has definitely not been easy and there was a lot of learning and panicking taking place along the away, I could not be happier with the journey I took with my team. Beth and Char have been a pleasure to work with and I believe our strengths and weaknesses complimented each other in a ways that allowed us to maximize the quality of work we were able to do. I was worried that a discrepancy in ambition or work ethic would result in some conflict or slow the work pace, but there was no such problem. I feel that working with this group has brought out my potential to be creative and brought out my resolve to work. I prefer working with groups because I find that, when I work for myself, I make shortcuts and excuses, whereas, when I work for a group, I work my hardest when I know I'm being counted on.
Overall, while this has been a difficult journey, I'm happy that my final project could be with such a wonderful work partners.
