Intention
To make a ‘tunnel book’ out of layers of paper to show depth
Ideation
At first my ideas consisted of something surrounding a forest with trees. Ans then having a small visual element in the far center to be revealed along with the hidden element. My first idea was of a gnome fishing at a pond in the forest, and the hidden element was to be a big fish right at the hook. At first I really liked the idea, but I continued to think of others. A following idea was to be a massive view of highways, and the hidden element to be a train. Adding the laser cutter to the repertoire made me anxious with the new possibilities, however it benefited my creative potential because I am very comfortable with them. So I wanted a concept that worked well with Illustrator.
Both of these ideas I considered, However I was still thinking that I could think of something more stylized. As I was sketching out the Highway design it made think of cities, particularly this image from the Japanese movie AKIRA. 
I like how the skyline towers in to the distance with mega-structures. An that image immediately brought me to a skyline the came from the ground and sky. This idea would be a perfect balance between the top and bottom space of the project, and I could easily hide a horizontal space between the two for the hidden element. Having the image be like cities that span for miles. With the proper placement of the building in the forefront I could use each one’s perspective like cubes, allowing for each layer to be in perspective relative to the other buildings. Using this perspective, I could have the entire project feel like a true city with minimal information.
Production/Iteration
At first, I would iterate on the concepts that I created, The first two were the gnome and the highways designs. I filled a sketchbook page with the elements, components, and features that I was to incorporate. I spent a day filling a sheet with all the ideas related to them, and after finishing I felt like I wasn’t satisfied with the scope of the ideas. 
So after coming across the image from AKIRA I felt like I could relax Because that was a concept that I was very satisfied with.
I immediately got to sketching the scene with the perspective lines. after having this sketched out, I went o Illustrator to begin making the project itself. 
I began by making a single layer with the perspective grids set up. Each layer was straightforward forward with no more 
than 5 buildings. After making enough layers, they would be layered on top of one another to give a sense of scale. After layering each part I worked on the background, which consisted of many small circles. This then brought me to the Innovation Studio where I cut out all of my layers in rapid succession.
Cutting out the final layer was a repetitive process since I set the cutter to raster. There was a lot of trial and error with how it ended up cutting the bristol. I ended up cutting out multiple drafts due to strength issues regarding the laser’s ability. My first cuts came out as undercut and they had too much laser ash. I learned that this mean the speed was too high for it to cut properly. After some additional rough attempts, the layer began to come out as intended.
Assembling the project consisted of simply arranging the layers into the lightbox. The design of my project was so that each building block would overlap without covering a full block. I wanted this crowded feel to show through so it would convey a lot of objects in the distance.
Conclusion
This project was one that at first felt very open-ended and confusing. I felt that the scope of the things being asked for had too much possibility and not enough guidance. Yet after enough time iterating ideas, I found a product that satisfies both the project outline and myself. There is nothing earth-shattering about my design but I personally fell in love with the simplicity of my project.