Playful vs. Practical,
a synergy of language, form, and context.
a synergy of language, form, and context.
Client
Products Studio I: Form and Context
Year
2024
Role
Industrial Design
Process under development.
Last update: 11 January 2025
Inspired by a lamp post on campus and the familiar gestures we conjure from hearing music, this study reflects a playful yet precise object. It is one that incites methodical exploration over immediate understanding. It traces the evolution of a relationship through the initial spark of curiosity, the uncertainty of trial and error, and ultimate delight of learning something foreign.
Breif :
Exploring the material relationships between elastic band and wood, design a sensible working object that has playful or practical device-like characteristics. Unite form studies to determine the appropriate look, feel, make, and performance of the device. The models do not have to work, but must allow us to imagine so without distraction and interruption.
How do the pieces of this device come together as a whole making a satisfying interaction? The working nature of the device derives itself from the properties, characteristics, look, and feel of material.
Last update: 11 January 2025
Inspired by a lamp post on campus and the familiar gestures we conjure from hearing music, this study reflects a playful yet precise object. It is one that incites methodical exploration over immediate understanding. It traces the evolution of a relationship through the initial spark of curiosity, the uncertainty of trial and error, and ultimate delight of learning something foreign.
Breif :
Exploring the material relationships between elastic band and wood, design a sensible working object that has playful or practical device-like characteristics. Unite form studies to determine the appropriate look, feel, make, and performance of the device. The models do not have to work, but must allow us to imagine so without distraction and interruption.
How do the pieces of this device come together as a whole making a satisfying interaction? The working nature of the device derives itself from the properties, characteristics, look, and feel of material.
- TimelineAug — Oct 2024
- RoleTimeline
- ToolsRapid Prototyping
- Desktop Modelmaking
Outcomes & Takeaways
My best ideas spark from the physical process of modelmaking.
Actually holding the parts in 3D space raises opportunities to connect, dismantle, and discover new proportional relationships. Sometimes this can be distracting as I'm constantly tempted to diverge from the plan with the allure of the "what ifs", the potential of a new idea. To me, ideas are time sensitive. You can't let them run away, so at times process models become mutilated as I try to bring new ideas to life on old work.
Actually holding the parts in 3D space raises opportunities to connect, dismantle, and discover new proportional relationships. Sometimes this can be distracting as I'm constantly tempted to diverge from the plan with the allure of the "what ifs", the potential of a new idea. To me, ideas are time sensitive. You can't let them run away, so at times process models become mutilated as I try to bring new ideas to life on old work.
Never leave an idea in concept—it'll have to be made eventually.
Just do something when you don't know what. Get everything out of your system on paper and start building immediately. The sketchbook can be an endless hole of unrealistic concepts never brought to fruition.
Just do something when you don't know what. Get everything out of your system on paper and start building immediately. The sketchbook can be an endless hole of unrealistic concepts never brought to fruition.
Not every aspect of form needs to bluntly communicate its intended use.
An object that isn't quick to understand is something I used to think was a poor design. This piece taught me that objects can act as a violins: only through exploration, play, and some teaching one is able to handle it with grace. Not everything is or should be intuitive. This piece traces the evolution of a relationship through the initial spark of curiosity, the uncertainty of trial and error, and ultimate delight of learning something foreign.
An object that isn't quick to understand is something I used to think was a poor design. This piece taught me that objects can act as a violins: only through exploration, play, and some teaching one is able to handle it with grace. Not everything is or should be intuitive. This piece traces the evolution of a relationship through the initial spark of curiosity, the uncertainty of trial and error, and ultimate delight of learning something foreign.
Trust your intuition, and be ready to hear "No."
In the beginning, I felt every single decision had to be backed by specific logic. While this is true to an extent, ignoring intuition only held me back from committing to what I truly felt was strong. There's incredible value to what your hands and eyes can tell you without words. This project was an exercise not only in taking a functional, rubber-band form into a model that conveys the movement without elastic function, but a trust exercise. A style exercise.
In the beginning, I felt every single decision had to be backed by specific logic. While this is true to an extent, ignoring intuition only held me back from committing to what I truly felt was strong. There's incredible value to what your hands and eyes can tell you without words. This project was an exercise not only in taking a functional, rubber-band form into a model that conveys the movement without elastic function, but a trust exercise. A style exercise.
Process
In the everyday, sometimes I imagine how I might interact with the static forms in the world around me—as if I could bend, hinge, or extrude fascinating forms. I wonder what context the form could live in and who they might serve.
This lamp on campus inspired my initial elastic band working model. I thought: What if I could put my hand on top, and methodically rotate it laterally?
This lamp on campus inspired my initial elastic band working model. I thought: What if I could put my hand on top, and methodically rotate it laterally?
Imagining how static forms in my everyday life could be interacted with inspired my initial elastic form.
Carrying my form around with me everywhere, listening to music on the go influenced different grips. I found myself preferring using the smaller radius paddle, sometimes the larger radius paddle, sometimes even scrubbing it like a DJ depending on the rhythm.
Thinking about the context of where my object might live, I wanted to explore how the essence of the interaction could get translated to a fixed tabletop tool.
The modelmaking process sparked the idea of a hybrid ( bottom gifs )—where one could use it at home, and while travelling. Ideas are time sensitive—so I get a rough prototype out of my system as quickly as possible using the scraps on my desk to see if theres potential. This initial rough form gives my hands and eyes so much information as to what my next step is, which lead to the bottom final form.
Though not a marketable object, I gravitated more towards this being a playful audiotechnical instrument.
The modelmaking process sparked the idea of a hybrid ( bottom gifs )—where one could use it at home, and while travelling. Ideas are time sensitive—so I get a rough prototype out of my system as quickly as possible using the scraps on my desk to see if theres potential. This initial rough form gives my hands and eyes so much information as to what my next step is, which lead to the bottom final form.
Though not a marketable object, I gravitated more towards this being a playful audiotechnical instrument.
Top: Toying with scrap parts inspiring tabletop idea. Bottom: Hybrid tabletop-handheld model.
The negative space from my original form brought me back to refine it. Compared to the desktop model, the negative space and handheld nature gave rise to a novel instrument, one which affords an opportunity to explore a foreign interaction.
It becomes a skillfull instrument—bringing a user through a journey of intrigue, methodical inquiry, play, and ultimately delight from learning something new.
I angled the paddle as I noticed my wrists natrually want to rotate like turning a doorknob, improving ergonomics. The concave wood paddle affords a place for users to rest their fingers in.
It becomes a skillfull instrument—bringing a user through a journey of intrigue, methodical inquiry, play, and ultimately delight from learning something new.
I angled the paddle as I noticed my wrists natrually want to rotate like turning a doorknob, improving ergonomics. The concave wood paddle affords a place for users to rest their fingers in.
Left: Strained wrist. Right: Angled paddle improved ergonomics.
Designing the entire experience starts from before the user is aware of its presence—how does one approach it? Pick it up? The moment you pick up a form influences the way you might interact with it and needs consideration.
Starting with a clay counterform to inform me of what shapes the intented grip creates, I then shaved away what was not essential to give just enough info of how to pick it up.
Widening the palm-facing side and extending subtle edges pointed towards the head of the form, indicating where your other hand should interact.
Starting with a clay counterform to inform me of what shapes the intented grip creates, I then shaved away what was not essential to give just enough info of how to pick it up.
Widening the palm-facing side and extending subtle edges pointed towards the head of the form, indicating where your other hand should interact.
Picking up the form: Clay counterforms informed a precision chipboard mockup.
Final Form
From testing prototypes with my peers, I found the top styrene 'hood' was found uncessesary to the essence of the grip. Thus, only the tapered pointing arrows, like hands, directed the eyes towards the wooden paddle for the other hand to rest.
Further iterations and explorations leading to the final form are found in the process video above.
Further iterations and explorations leading to the final form are found in the process video above.
