January 12, 2023 By Nicholas Chen
THE CHALLENGE.
This project, as part of my third year in the Claude Watson program, was highly anticipated not only by my classmates, but also by students of all grade levels. Our industrial design unit provided the foundation for this project, which was also sponsored by the well-known furniture company, IKEA. Each student was provided with the iconic black IKEA marius stool as the starting point for this project. Our goal was to design a chair that would not only stand out for its creativity and aesthetic appeal, but also for its functionality, and for creatively incorporating the IKEA stool into the design. Using materials that were both easily accessible and safe, we had to rise to the challenge of creating a chair of similar size to a standard chair. The project was designed to push the limits of our creativity and design skills.
INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL DESIGN.
Before starting this project, my classmates and I got the chance to learn a lot from a guest speaker named Joseph who had previously majored in visual arts in Claude Watson at OCAD. He provided us with a comprehensive introduction to industrial design, and through hands-on experimentation and exercises. We became proficient in utilizing the basic concepts, tools and techniques essential to this field. Through the practice of sketching circles, straight lines, and ovals, we developed the foundational skills needed to effectively conceptualize and render industrial design ideas. This preparatory training proved to be invaluable as we progressed through the project, and we were able to apply our newfound knowledge and skills to create new innovative designs for our chair.
APPLYING OUR KNOWLEDGE.
With the knowledge gained from Joseph's presentation, we set out to apply it to our own industrial design drawings of chairs. Our task was to create two sets of four drawings and one set of five drawings in total. The first set of drawings required us to depict four chairs that were commonly used or seen in our daily lives. The second set challenged us to imagine and sketch four chairs of our own design, that we could envision ourselves sitting on. Finally, the last set of drawings consisted of four chairs that we designed independently and an additional drawing of the IKEA stool, which was the starting point of our project.
BRAINSTORMING.
For my chair sketches, I found it relatively easy to identify the chairs I would sit on regularly or would like to sit on. The challenging aspect was designing and creating these chairs. Initially, I had an interest in designing a chair that would give off an unwelcoming vibe, as the concept I was going for was a very scary or uninviting piece, and I didn't want people to sit on it. However, as I continued to develop my other ideas and received feedback from my classmates, I came to realize that this idea did not fully represent my interests and aesthetic. Instead, I drew inspiration from my previous work on 3-D sculpture rings, which I found to be more representative of my personal style.
PROCESS.
I began by sketching a unique design that incorporated hexagons and triangles, which I incorporated into my design. I also included a cylindrical base for my chair. After presenting my idea and receiving feedback, I was advised to incorporate triangles and hexagons into the base of the chair as well, so I went back and revised my design one final time.
CHAIR MAQUETTE.
After brainstorming my ideas, my task was to put it all together and create a chair maquette using materials that represented what I was realistically going to use when I was actually building my chair. Using chopsticks and small toothpicks, I assembled myself a mini chair maquette that looked more industrialized and modern compared to the rest of the other designs. It consisted of a backrest and seat, but no arm rests.
ADJUSTING THE DESIGN.
Once I finished making my chair maquette, I presented my idea and got some feedback. I was suggested to have triangles and hexagons included in the base of the chair, so I went back and revised my design for the last time.
MATERIALS.
Cardboard
IKEA Marius Stool
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors
Tape
Ruler
Pen
CONSTRUCTING THE CHAIR.
I began by gathering cardboard to use as constructing materials for my chair. I started building the base of my chair using cardboard cutouts I made myself after assembling all the chair's components. I created a cube-like shape out of a succession of long, thin rectangular prisms, utilising cardboard just for the cube's edges. I nearly finished building the cube's base before deciding that it wasn't sturdy enough to sustain a human, so I added more support to the cube's sides. More rectangular prisms were used to create triangles, which I then placed to the base. The backrest came next to the base. I connected the base and backrest after using the same method to create the backrest.
process of constructing the chair
CHALLENGES.
When I was building my chair, I came across some challenges including the stool having to be inside the rectangular prisms when I constructed the chair's base. This could only be accomplished by glueing the stool legs inside the cardboard pieces, and even then, it frequently wouldn't remain in place. In the end, I decided against using hot glue to firmly attach the stool to the cardboard and instead made a tiny pocket-like space for it to sit. Another issue arose when I finished the chair's foundation because a lot of the glue I used to join the cardboard pieces together was visible and didn't look attractive. I finally settled on using the same method to solve the problem, adhering thin cardboard paper strips to cover up the visible glue excess.
TECHNICAL DRAWING.
FINAL THOUGHTS + RESULT.
I made a lot of alterations and adjustments throughout the entire process of making my chair as I discovered what was and wasn't aesthetically acceptable. Overall, I had a great time with the process and was happy with the outcome. The small side parts I had in my chair model were ultimately removed since they felt overly extravagant. The technical designs and maquettes were both incredibly rewarding and beautiful to look at, therefore I also loved making them.
different angles of the chair
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