Stool del Sur
- Course ID: DSGN 380-1
- Course Title: Industrial Design Projects I
- Date: February 2024 - March 2024
- Skills: Design-Thinking, Slicing, CAD, Laser-Cutting
Project: Design a product that can be mass produced using corrugated cardboard.
I created a sustainable and sturdy accent piece for a living room that supports a plant: a plant stool representing the south of Mexico, hence Stool del Sur (Stool from the South)! The choice of object includes historical significance, making it a good use of material and culturally meaningful for the target user.
Initial Product Brainstorming
I began this project with a general brainstorming of items I could create. I considered the limitations of the material and explored what I could achieve with different sizes of corrugated cardboard by prototyping a Maria doll, a traditional doll commonly made in Mexico. Professor and student feedback was positive, particularly appreciating the personality behind the doll. Therefore, I decided to focus on a culturally significant item and chose Chichen Itza, a Mayan pyramid in southern Mexico. I aimed for the product to serve some sort of function along with being an accent piece, so I combined the pyramid idea with a plant stool.
Build Plan
Initial brainstorming included a shelving component in the pyramid so the negative space inside could be used for storage. I didn't want to sacrifice the structure of the object, so to keep a focused vision on the product's function, I decided to remove the shelving space to maximize the pyramid's appearance. Instead, I did not glue the top and bottom halves of the pyramid together, allowing the negative space to serve as hidden storage. The product was scaled down to serve a 2x2x2 ft space, which compressed the Chichen Itza structure horizontally.
Creation and Assembly
Using 1/2” triple corrugated cardboard, I manually sliced each layer of the pyramid and aimed to maximize laser bed spacing by placing as many layers as possible on the same laser bed. In the future, I would reshape the inner shell of my pyramid to account for the stairs extrusion, using less cardboard and making the manufacturing process more efficient. After starting a (small) fire and adjusting laser-intensity settings, the laser-cutting process went smoothly, and I glued all the layers together.
Takeaways: Learn from the prototyping manufacturing process and gain insightful and uplifting feedback from users.
The initial prototyping of Stool del Sur showed me considerations for mass production and packaging. In the future, I would reshape the inside of the pyramid structure to allow for more efficient laser-bed cutting. I would also alter the shape so the top half fits snugly into the bottom half for easy transportation. An unexpected takeaway from this build was the positive feedback towards the pyramid itself and its notability. I had not previously integrated my own heritage into design/engineering projects, but the encouragement and heartening reactions to the final build reminded me of the significance of background and history. Random students in the Segal Design Shop recognizing or asking about the structure allowed for further conversation and connections, proving my initial intent of historial significance and connection.