Gifting Design: Process

Research

The first thing I did to start the design processes for this project was reaching out to my mentor, Rachel, and getting to know her. I asked her questions about herself and what she enjoys outside of design so I could get a better understand of her as a person. I then had to get to know her as a designer so I began gearing toward questions that would help be understand Rachel as a designer. I asked her questions about her favorite artists, how she approaches the design process, how she develops ideas, what design concepts intrigue her creativity, etc..

When finding a quote, Rachel mentioned the saying “just keep swimming”. I chose not to directly use this saying but to find a quote that relayed the same message and motivation. The quote that really resonated with me after conversations I had with Rachel was “This moment has purpose. The season of your life has a meaningful part in your story. The divine is adding beauty to your journey and restoring peace to your soul”.

After fining that quote, I quickly began to just iterate and do some research about first possible ideas of what the quote could be physical and visual represented.

Based on conversation with my mentor, I began to do research on visual design aspects that she enjoyed and drew inspiration from such as industrial design.

My mentors favorite designer is Eileen Gray so I did research and got to learn different signature design elements this artist incorporated into her work.

Image links/citations

Exercises


Exercise 1: Write about the best gift you’ve ever received. I talked about letters that my parents each wrote to me after I graduated and how the gift was very emotional.

Exercise 2: We were asked to create a container for an object out of our art supplies. I wanted to create an almost comical container for my lead. I made a large container for my small object because I always seem to lose it. Since the container is so big compared to the lead, I will now never lose the object.

Iterations


I chose an direction based on th quick, small sketches I did at the very beginning of the design process and began to elaborate an ego more in depth. I was able to disect what I my quote more and form a better understanding of what my intentions were in what I was going to create.

I did not want to stop my creative and iteration process too short so I reevaluated my quote one last time. I broke up each part of the quote and reworded it so that I knew exactly what it meant to me. I ultimately decided to just keep the first two lines of the quote because they were more meaningful to the outcome I wanted to produce. I continued to brainstorm ideas and different directions I could go based off this new understanding of what I want my intentions to be with this gift.

I began testing  ways I could create a gift that brought the quote to a physical sense such as through a puzzle.

I sketched different ways I could contain the gift. I wanted the gift to have a visual interest towards my mentor so that she could display not just the gist but the container a well. I brainstormed different elements that were influenced by industrial or her favorite designers work.

I final knew a the direction I wanted to take and a design that I wanted to create.

Production


I started the production process by creating an outline of each piece, measurements, materials and anything else essential to begin creating the design. I used this outline to create files through Illustrator that I could use to cut the acrylic. I decided to use acrylic to give the illusion of glass.

I used the laser cutter to cut each piece of the acrylic to form the box and the top. The files on my iPad when creating the boxes were the same 1/8 measurement; however, when imported to the laser cutter to cut, the bottom box joints were cut as 1/4 (the top box slayed 1/4). The top still was able to fit on the bottom box so I had to incorporate the new look into my design.

I then cut the gift portion of the design.

I used black vinyl and a Cricut Machine to create the illusion of black beams that can commonly be seen in industrial design. The stickiness of the vinyl also acted as a adhesive unit for the box. I used a credit card to apply the vinyl slowly so that there would be less bubbles caught under the material.

I then Used the Circuit machine to cut out the design I created to be placed on the under side of each puzzle piece. Since the adhesive side of the vinyl usually is applied onto of the surface it is being applied to, I wanted to apply the vinyl on the bottom of the acrylic so that the image could be seen. because of this I had to build the design from the top of the design to the bottom.

I cut each piece of the design out on the Cricut. I then keep the pice of vinyl on the original backing paper and cut the vinyl design piece outline with scissors. I then applied each piece smooth side down and then peeled the backing paper off the reveal the sticky adhesive side of the vinyl. Once I was done repeating this process for each element of the design, I was left with the full design, adhesive side up.

I then applied the image of vinyl to the back of the cut pieces of acrylic that I secured together with using masking tape. I used my blade knife to make little slits in the top layer of vinyl to release any air that was creating a huge bubble.

Once the image was applied to the acrylic, I removed the masking tape and used my blade knife to cut each piece using the edges of each piece of acrylic that was cut using the laser cutter.

All the vinyl was then applied to each piece of acrylic, I applied heat using a hairdryer to press the vinyl down more, removing as many bubbles and spacing between the two materials.

Then next step was to just make any final touches. I applied her name in final on the lid then took a cloth to remove any smudges or mistakes on the clear acrylic.

Final design.

Concept Statement

Life is filled with quotes that we designate to incorporate into our everyday lives. When it comes to designs, there are thousands of quotes that can be directed straight to the design process or quotes that have a deeper meaning and are more personal. “This moment has purpose, this season of your life has a meaningful part in your story,” this is the quote that I chose to inspire this gift.
As I got to know my mentor, she expressed how she struggles through the design processes sometimes. I chose the quote above to act as motivation and created a gift that took the recipient through the struggles of the design process and coming together at the end to make a whole piece. The elements of a puzzle encapsulated the perfect way to embrace the quote through an experience. Each piece of the puzzle is a certain moment in the design process. As you put the pieces together, no matter how difficult or time consuming it may be, you are creating a whole composition; adding to your design story.
Based on the recipient’s visual interests, the blue and green cater to her interest in color theory to create a visual that is inspired by her favorite designer, Elise Gray. The package design takes the feeling of industrial design inspiration. Overall, the gift and packaging create an experience that is emotional through bringing the chosen quote to a physical sense.

Portfolio Project

View final project at Gifting Design Project

 

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