Day 3 : From a quick sketch to prototype

Before I get stuck into my redesign project, I need to look where I am now, but before we go there, I should tell the back story about how I got to here, still with me?

The starting point for the design was a problem followed by an idea and a quick sketch. The problem came from my friend (a monkey who dances and sings for cigarettes and coffee) who complained that there was not much room in her kitchen and she would love to have some where to sit and have a coffee and a chat with a friend. I quickly sketched an idea in my pocket sketchbook, where the idea was stored for a while until I had the time and the opportunity to develop the idea into a design. The idea for nesting chairs came instantly, I’m not sure where the idea came from, but I think growing up with my Dads G-plan nesting tables had something to do with it.

The opportunity for me to work on my design came along when I joined a group of fellow creative friends to put on the Handle With Care art and design show together. The show consisted of a broad range of creative disciplines, fine art, illustration, graphic design, photography and product design. The show was held in the basement of Shoreditch town hall in march of this year. Handle With Care was a success for me as a gained a lot of feedback and it was a way great motivate myself and to switch mine design head back on.

The aesthetic came from the idea that I want the shape to be timeless, so I went for the simplicity of simple geometric forms of straight lines and radius, this modernist aesthetic has been about since the 20s and keeps on coming around and always manages to look new and fresh. The initial CAD rendering looks a bit different to the prototype as I had to reduce the amount of wood used and take the comfort of the seat into consideration.

The manufacturing process I chose was to CNC route the plywood, which would then be doweled together. This process was used as it is a process that I am familiar with, its readily available and once the design is perfected it can be readily repeated with ease. Also as with many designers I have a bit of a plywood fetish and think the half man made/ half wood grain stripes look dead sexy. The main body of the chairs was cut from 25mm ply and was cut by CNC router project in Stratford, who provided me with a quality, prompt and professional service.

The side panels for the chairs were originally going to be made from brightly coloured 12 mm thick High Pressure Laminate , I’m avoiding using the trade name as the marketing person let me down last minute. I made the decision to use painted ply instead, I had to use the same thickness, as by this time I had already got the main parts cut. This time Metropolitan works did the CNC work while I was hiring some work space of them to glue and dowel the main components. Metworks have some great CNC toys and by having a fully functioning furniture work shop that can be hired out day by day , it’s a fantastic idea and excellent resource for any individual or small company needing a short term workshop.

I think this brings us up to date, although this post is for yesterday that I’m writing today.