Research

I began this project by researching what a gift is and what it fully means. I then used that information to make a list of questions to ask my mentor to get to know her a little better.

First simple list of questions I asked her.

Using her responses I began listing a few ideas that I could possibly do.

I made a new list of questions to expand on my ideas.

Once I had an idea of what I wanted to make for her, I created a Pinterest board for inspiration for the container and the gift itself.

Paula Scher is a designer that my mentor looks up to, so I made a list of quotes to choose from to incorporate in my gift.

View full pinterest board

>Exercises/Activities

Exercise 1: Best Gift

#1: The best gift I ever received was getting the chance to go to Israel. It was special to me because I got to see first hand how my culture helped shape my family heritage. Both my grandparents and my parents have been, so getting the opportunity to go experience the places they went to was meaningful to me. It also taught me a lot about my culture, how different life is there, and so many other things. While being there I hiked the same mountain as my ancestors did, visited historical places, and even brought back gifts for those who made this trip possible for myself. I hope to go back one day and visit the same places with people I love. Overall it was a trip I will remember for a lifetime and places I will never forget that made it the best gift ever.

#2: The best gift I have ever received was a camera from my grandparents that I got as a graduation gift. It was special to me because I got the chance to go pick out the one I wanted with my grandpa. They wanted it to be perfect, so I did as much research as I could on cameras so we wouldn’t run into any problems. It was especially special to them because they knew it was something that I have wanted and it’s something that makes me happy. I love using it to capture moments, whether that’s when I am with my friends/family, traveling, or just walking around. I take the footage and make one big video to share with others and it puts a smile on my grandparents faces.

Exercise 2: Container

For this assignment we were told to design a container for an object of our choice. Georgia, my partner from assignment 2, and I came up with the idea to make the container a bath tub for the rubber duck. The bathtub was our very first thought because that is where the rubber ducks are usually found. When you open the shower curtain it reveals the duck as well as the quote “wash away your troubles with some bubbles.” This assignment helped me think about unique ways to package a gift.

Iterations

Once I chose the design quote I wanted to incorporate in my gift, I began categorizing my ideas for the container and gift itself.

Explanation of the quote I chose that also happened to be from her favorite designer.

I knew I wanted the gift to be some sort of locket/bracelet because that is one of the favorite gifts she has received.

I then wrote out ideas that I took from her responses to help me figure out how I wanted to contain the lockets.

After collecting the information she told me, I decided I wanted to do some sort of time capsule/memory box. Inside the container would be envelopes that would hold charms based on the category which she would add to the charm bracelet when the time came.

In illustrator I drew a hydro flask and a camera which were the two containers that I was choosing from.

I then took the responses she gave me from the second list of questions and categorized them into sentences. Each one was in a section and started with “open when…”

I sketched out the ideas to organize my thoughts so I could start constructing.

She gave me her favorite color palette which I then paired with the category of the envelopes.

As I started trying to collect the materials that I needed for this project, I noticed I was moving away from the design quote I was incorporating. The gift itself was starting to get complicated and not logical.

I narrowed the list down to 6 envelopes which would have a charm in each one. On the front would be a statement she said and the charm would be designed with something she likes.

After talking with some classmates and my TA they told me that I was still making it too complicated. I realized I had to follow the words of my quote so I chose to only do 3 envelopes. She told me she was into self development books, so I found a quote that related to a gift and paired it with things she told me.

Container Iterations

Iteration #1: My first idea was to have the envelopes be stored inside the camera like a filing cabinet. So I designed the top of the camera to come off like a lid and reveal the gift inside.

I designed the lens to move like an actual camera.

Iteration #2: I decided I wanted the camera to open like an actual camera and have the envelopes be like film. So to practice I used the template I found online and then cut out the monitor window.

Envelope Iterations

I researched different ways to make unique envelopes to store the pendants in and tested out different proportions.

I ended up doing the basic envelope style with proportions that would fit in and out of the camera container.

View template video

Pendants/Neck Strap Iterations

Since I had never used resin before I didn’t know what I was doing. I waited 48 hours and the resin never dried because I forgot to mix in the hardener with it.

I tested out the paint pen on the fabric to make sure I liked how it looked.

Concept Statement

My overall goal for this assignment was to design a gift for Sarah Torchia, who is in visual communication design. The gift was intended to highlight an idea that I have come to understand as fundamental about design while also creating a gift based on the information she gave me. My inspiration for my gift came from the quote “keep it simple, make it smart” which are the words of my mentor’s favorite designer, Paula Scher. For one of the very first projects in fundamentals, I wrote in the process post how I learned when starting a design, it would be better to start simple and not make it so complicated. I realized through my projects that if I keep it simple from the beginning, it’s easier to perfect that and make changes through each iteration along the way. For the container, I chose to make it a camera because she was introduced to VC through a digital art class in high school and it’s something she loves to do. Sarah is very passionate about living life and embracing moments as well as self growth/sentimental objects. The best gift she ever received was a piece of jewelry from her grandma because it’s something she will always have to remember about her. I decided to use that information and combine it with a separate quote that says “Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the Present.” I paired the words “yesterday”, “present”, and “tomorrow” with words that she lives by/images from her social media which gave the gift a purpose, meaning, and an experience for my recipient. I was designing my gift and making it smart with the information she gave me and then throughout my iterations made it simpler. The gift as a whole is something that she can continue to add memories to and share with others in the future which is what design is all about.

Production

Materials Used

I used Matte board for the entire structure of the camera.

I bought map wrapping paper from world market to mod podge on the whole camera.

Camera Base

step 1: I used this template I found online as an outline for the top and bottom piece.

step 2: I made my own measurements for the body of the camera based on how tall I wanted it to be.

Step 3: I molded the rectangles to make the shape of the top and connected it with hot glue.

Step 4: I took the wrapping paper and mod podged it to the walls of the inside.

Step 5: I drew the outline on the outside of the camera, where I wanted to cut it

Step 6: Taking the bottom piece, I hot glued it to the rest of the camera.

Step 8: I finished mod podging the inside of the camera.

Step 9: I used the template to cut out the shape of the view finder to fit the camera.

Step 11: I cut out the details of the camera to add on top.

Step 12: I covered it with the material.

Step 13: I attached the buttons and view finder to the camera with hot glue.

Step 14: I separated the quote and glued it to the inside walls of the camera.

Step 15: I covered the monitor window with the material.

Step 16: I took the hinge and hot glued it to the outside of the camera.

Step 17: I attached the other side to the inside part of the monitor window.

Step 18: To make it look cleaner, I covered the part of the hinge that was showing with the material.

Camera Lens

Step 1: I cut out two 1 1/2- inch circles and two 1-inch circles.

Step 2: Using my camera lens as a reference, I cut out a 1 1/2 inch wide barrel and a 1 1/4-inch wide barrel.

Step 3: I hot glued the barrels to the circles to make two different sized lens.

Step 4: I cut out a 1-inch circle out of the large lens to allow the smaller lens to fit inside.

Step 5: I took my material and wrapped the inside and outside of the lens.

Step 6: I decided to incorporate the logo I found on her design page and add it to the front part of the lens.

Step 7: I added arrows to indicate that you turn the lens which holds the chain bracelet inside.

Envelopes

Step 2: I made a 4×2 inch rectangle that fits perfectly inside the camera.

Step 3: I folded each one to create a template.

Step 4: I took the three triangles and attached them to create the form of the envelope.

Step 5: Using the same font as the quote, I freehanded “yesterday” “present” and “tomorrow” with pencil on the front.

Step 6: I took the same paint pen and wrote over the pencil lines.

Step 7: I wrote the statements that I paired with the word on the inside flap of the envelopes.

Step 8: I took these wax sticks to seal the envelopes.

Step 9: Using a lighter I dropped the wax onto the envelope.

Step 10: Because I didn’t have a mold to create a design to press down on the wax I used a cap.

Lockets

For the pendants I took images from her social media and printed them out to put inside the resin.

Step 1: I mixed even amounts of resin and hardener together.

Step 2: I cut out the images to fit in the molds that I bought and poured the mixture before and after I placed the image inside.

Step 3: After 48 hours I popped the pendants out of the molds and filed them down.

Step 4: Using a push pin I poked a hole from the front to the back.

Step 5: I separated the jump ring so it would slide through the hole.

Step 6: I looped the jump ring through the pendant.

Step 7: I repeated the same steps for the other two and attached the clasp through the hook and closed it.

Neck Strap

Step 1: I cut the paper and put the fabric on top and traced it over with pencil.

Before marker

Step 2: I went over what I traced and filled it in with gold marker.

Step 3: I cut out two 2×1 inch loops and cut a slit for the strap to weave through.

Step 4: After measuring the strap to be even I hot glued the fabric to the back.

Front view and loops covered in the material.

Step 5: I then hot glued the loops on opposite end of the side of the camera.

Final Gift

Overall this was one of my favorite projects this semester. When I first started, I was thinking too much about just a gift. When I connected with my mentor, and thought about how I like receiving thoughtful gifts, it became so much easier to create. I got a little lost in the moments and had fun making the experience special when she received my gift. But when I went back to her quote, it made me excited how everything connected. I asked for advice when starting this project and she told me to use a material that I am unfamiliar with. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone so I chose to use resin because its something that I have always wanted to try. Although I messed up the first time, which was my fault since I didn’t read the instructions, the final outcome was one that I was happy with.

Portfolio Project

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Gifting Design: Process