Statement of Intent
In this project, a personal sketchbook is designed and constructed. A variety of visual (and non-visual) strategies, methods, and styles are used to show how ideas are communicated and supported. Different materials are experimented with along with an effective and creative application of construction techniques to create a durable and usable product. The concept of my sketchbook is “house themed” A little home for new ideas and designs. A place to raise and grow one’s creative thoughts.
A 5.5″ x 8.25″ sketchbook is created using Matboard and MDF (recycled materials found in the laser cutting room). Laser-cutting methods such as cutting, etching, and rastering are used to create the designs/cover of the book. The sketchbook is bounded by binder rings so it is easy to take out and put in more pages for future use. The pages consist of many media, including notebook paper, cardstock, printer paper, and construction paper. The hidden element of the sketchbook is a phone stand/ post-it note display.
Ideation
Exercise #1
For our first-in-class exercise, we learned how to make a mini booklet out of a piece of drawing paper using folding/ cutting methods.
Then we were given multiple prompts from which we choose one to fill our mini sketchbook with. I picked the prompt ” What do you find at the end of a rainbow?”. Using Notability, I begin to make a list of all things rainbow related.
List of rainbow-related things
Then I start sketching out some of the things on my list. I wanted to include St Patrick-themed things like the field of four-leafed clovers, a leprechaun, and the pot of gold. I also wanted to have some other fun images like the pool of colors and a painter’s canvas. I have The Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd album cover because they are one of my favorite bands and this album cover has a triangular light prism with a rainbow shining through.
Idea Sketches
After that, I map out the potential pages in my mini sketchbook.
Mapping out Pages
I wanted to include moving elements and flap openings to make the sketchbook fun and interactive. I planned on making the record spin and the paintbrush “paint” on the canvas.
I decided to make a “rainbow waterfall” by manipulating the way the pages fold to get it to stand up in a 3D orientation.
For the record, I plan to use a brass fastener to make the disc spin. I first poke a hole through the page with the brass fastener then expand the 2 brass flaps flat onto the page. Then I draw and cut out a circular disc and tape it on top.
I start to put everything together, drawing out the final sketchbook pages.
Page #1
Page #2/#3 With Opening Flap
For this page, I folded the pages together into a triangle shape so that it can hold the coins in the “pot of gold”.
Page #4
Page #5: 3D Waterfall
IMG_2332 Spinning Record Video
Page #6/#7 with the spinning record
For this page, the paintbrush is pulled to reveal a rainbow.
Page #8: Painted Canvas
Then I started brainstorming ideas for my final sketchbook.
For the cover of my sketchbook, I designed a “Sketchbook Anatomy”. I wanted it to show the anatomy of my sketchbook: how it was made and what it consist of. I wanted it to resemble an annotated anatomy textbook with labels and notes written on the sides. I used some anatomy terminology to describe the materials I used to construct the sketchbook.
Then I came up with ideas for the hidden element.
The first idea I had was a pencil holder/case hidden on the inside of the spiral bound or just a pencil holder on the side of the sketchbook.
The second idea I had was to make a window phone stand/ Post-It note display. With this design, the window can open and expand into a phone stand. The window itself can hold Post-it notes, pictures, To-Do lists, etc. It is customizable so that you can have any image you prefer in the window. This is the hidden element I chose to move forward within the final design.
I had to figure out how to connect the phone stand to the back cover. At first, I planned to attach it with the spiral coil but then realized that the phone would not be able to sit flat on to the board because the coil would be in the way. Then I thought about folding the window to have it stand up, but this would make the matboard bend and wrinkle. Then I decided that it was best to use something flat and small like string. I ended up using ribbon. Using ribbon, not only easily connect both pieces but also adds an aesthetic element. I realize I can weave it together so that it looks like a shoelace.
Then I worked on designing my name. I was inspired by the @ sign so I wanted my initials to be connected in one line stroke into a shape of a circle.
Materials Used in the Project
I took all my hand-drawn designs and put them into Adobe Illustrator. At this point, I liked my window idea. I felt that the cover of the Anatomy Sketchbook didn’t match the window, so I changed it into a simple door design. I wanted to make the sketchbook “house” themed. The details of the door are etched into the mat board using the laser cutter.
Front Cover
Then I made my initials with the class/ term below. I thought it would be fitting to add a welcome mat since this is the back of the front door cover. Using the laser cutter, I made the letters rostered and the welcome mat is etched into the mat board. In this part, while I was etching the initials on the back of the front cover I realized that I had put it upside down. To fix this I had to re-etch the front cover and glue it onto the correct position.
Back of Front Cover
This is the design of the window phone stand on the back cover of the sketchbook. Going from left to right, the first cut is the back cover of the sketchbook.
The window consists of three layers. The top layer is the window design cut out of the matboard, and the layer underneath is an MDF border, which is used to give the window room to place things inside (it gives it a slight height raised above the surface.) Then the last bottom layer is the matboard needed to close the back part of the window so the things placed inside the window can be held in place. The window is connected to the back cover using a ribbon. [All of these lines are cut using the laser cutter]
On the left side is a border layer of MDF and on the right side is a mat board. This will be glued to the back side of the back cover so that it can hold the window in place. [This is slightly bigger than the window so that it can hold everything.]
This is the kickstand made out of a matboard that will be attached to the back of the window phone stand. I made the width of the kickstand the same width as the bottom widow and glued it so that it fit inside the area of the window. I did this so that it can be tucked and folded in when it’s not being used. Making the kickstand the same width as the bottom window width was important so that when it is expanded it stops at the curve of the window, giving the phone support.
Using the paper cutter I made the pages for my sketchbook which are slightly smaller (about 0.25 in smaller) than the cover. I then used the laser cutter to cut the holes.
Using the etch tool I etched window post-it notes on drawing paper
Illustrator Post-It Notes
Etched Post-It Notes on Drawing Paper
Iteration and Production:
I begin to assemble all the pieces of the sketchbook
Preparing the ribbon for the window and rings for the sketchbook
Front Cover
Back side of the Front Cover
Pages of the SketchBook
Assembling the Back Cover
Step #1: Lay Down Large Matboard Back Base
Step #2: Glue the Large MDF Border onto the matboard
Step #3: Glue the Back Cover on top [this creates a dip down where the window will be placed in]
Making the Window:
Step #1: Put down the smaller Matboard Back base at the bottom then glue the MDF border onto the matboard
Step 2: Glue the window piece on the top [you can see with the MDF board it gives it room to slide the Post-It notes into the window.
Step 3: The Back Cover and Window and weaved together using a Ribbon.
Step 4: Gluing the kickstand to the back of the window
After putting the phone stand together I realized that the structure was stable so the window was adjustable. It can be pushed down further or have a more vertical orientation. As I push it down further, it still was able to stop when it hits the curved part of the bottom.
Reflection
Through this project, I have learned many new Illustrator skills and drawing techniques. I got to practice mapping out my ideas and was able to create something effective and durable. I learned how to use different cutting methods on the laser-cutting machine such as etching, rastering, and cutting. These methods helped make the process a lot faster and easier. There was a lot of trial/ error and experimenting in the process of making this sketchbook. Because I had a limited amount of materials to work with, I had to carefully plan out how I was going to construct everything so that it would work. I for the window, I was luckily able to get everything to work on the first cut. I had just enough matboard to have a single mess up which I used when I printed my initials backward.
Final Product
Front Cover/ Back of Front Cover
Back Of The Sketch Book/ Front View of Phone Stand
Side View Of Phone Stand
Phone Stand Demo
Post-It Note Demo