Art Portfolio Project: Cupboard to Table ideas

 The first time designing my initial ideas, I was not aware of what I wanted to design specifically. However, I conducted a survey and sent it to multiple university students, collected the results, and then finalised what my items would be.

 I decided that I was going to create a cupboard that transforms into a table, shelves and more storage area. I will also design a chair that transforms into a lounge and a stool. These were considered the most important elements to be included in an apartment by students. Space was by far the most important one as students tend to not have a lot of space in their apartment. Therefore, I decided to sketch out some initial ideas to start thinking about this more creatively, based on my research.

I will be adding separate blog posts for each item, however, this is the start of my cupboard sketches. I will be focusing on each of the functions separately. In this blog post, I will only consider how the cupboard could become a table. 

I mentioned that I want my cupboard to transform into a storage, table and shelves. I am not very certain that this will be achievable, therefore, I want to experiment with these sketches. If it is not achievable, I will add one stool to complete my 6 items.

I will not be adding any materials or components as these are just sketches. I will look at components once I finalised all designs. 

DESIGN IDEA #1 

This idea was mainly inspired by one of the designs I looked at in the previous blog for Dizz Concept designs. I like the shapes created in this design, however, I feel like it looks odd when viewed from the side. Having a vertical block of material on the right side would block a person from sitting there as it would be more difficult to place his legs which will make it more uncomfortable; therefore, limiting the amount of people this can be used by. 

By removing that vertical piece, it allows more free movement of the legs for people to sit more comfortable. Additionally, I feel like the vertical plank does not serve any purpose and it wastes material. I am not a fan of this design idea, however, I feel like the concept of this could be improved if adjustments are made. 

DESIGN IDEA #2

This idea was inspired by the previous one. I removed the vertical plank and decided that the user could be able to pull a plank from the side upwards to form the table. I like this idea a lot more than the previous one as it looks better and gives the users an opportunity to move around it freely. However, if I design something similar, I need to take into consideration the edges and perhaps file them down to ensure that no injuries will occur on sharp edges.

DESIGN IDEA #3

In this design idea, I drew inspiration from how the previous idea unfolded and decided to use the same approach for this one. On the top of the cupboard, I decided to place one extra plank that would be able to unfold 180 degrees to form the table. 

I did consider the cupboard to be able to unfold from both front and back, however, if it is placed up against a wall then it will not be able to unfold from the back. 

I do like this idea, however, as the shelves are not covered, the items will constantly be exposed to dust which is not ideal. Additionally, from my own experience, I realised that many times I am very messy when it comes to storing items. I definitely would not want to look at that mess all day or have my friends look at it when they come over. I need to find a solution to cover that up AND be able to unfold into a table at the same time 

DESIGN IDEA #4

Even though this idea might look the same to the previous one, it is not. The previous one had a plank on the top of the cupboard which unfolded 180 degrees to form the table. However, this one has a protective lid in front of the shelves that you can pull upwards to form the table. I really like this design as it also has a lid that helps keep dust away from the items inside the shelves when it is closed. 

However, similarly to the previous one, when it is transformed into a table, the items are exposed and visible to anyone around which is not ideal. I need to find a solution to this problem that I will consider and blog about in the next blog post.

DESIGN IDEA #5

The next folding mechanism that inspired me was hand fans. Looking closely at the way each surface folds was very fascinating and inspiring. The way I can implement and corporate the technique used in the production of fans is shown in my sketch. There will be a drawer at the top of the cupboard which customers will be able to pull forward to reveal the desk and push back to hide it. 

Even though the inspiration behind this was ideal as folding fans were used as gifts to royalty which can be related to the colour purple, the execution of it does not fascinate me. I feel like it looks very unorganised and old fashioned. I do not think that university students would be intrigued by the appearance. I would not personally buy this as I feel like it is for more mature audiences. The thought of a drawer generally does not excite me as I feel like a sliding or foldable door would make it more aesthetically pleasing and tidy. However, I am definitely not discarding this idea. 

DESIGN IDEA #6

For this idea, I decided to move away from the square shape and create a more rectangular piece. This was inspired by my project last semester where I designed a cupboard that unfolds to reveal study desk. However, in this case I do not really like the rectangular shape. I prefer the square shape as it looks more classy, elegant and tidy. Additionally, having two cupboards to open instead of one looks less aesthetically pleasing and very bulky. I feel like this would not be very convenient in an accommodation. Even though it provides the user with more storage, I feel like I could find smarter ways to create a product with sufficient storage.

However, I liked the fact that I experimented with another shape and I am definitely planning on experimenting with more shapes in the next blog post. 

After looking at these designs, I decided to receive feedback from 4 different people for their opinions on these designs. 

Person #1: In these designs, the only shapes I can see are rectangles and squares. You have mentioned that you like to experiment with shapes and I find that very interesting. In the next experiments for your ideas, I would like to see you add more shapes. Even though your final piece might be a rectangle or a square, I am very intrigued to see how other shapes will turn out. In these designs, number 5 stands out to me. I like the link between the fan and royalty and I believe that you could design it in a way that it would not look so old-fashioned. Additionally, you can relate the old-fashioned look to the history of purple. 

Person #2: Simplicity is always something I tend to lean for. Therefore I would definitely choose something similar to idea #4 as you smartly use the cover of the cupboard and transform it into a table. I think that adding that function was a very simple solution to the problem. 

Person #3: I liked the experiment you did with number 6 and how you tried to change the shapes and add more possibilities. However, I feel like the size of the height might be a tricky situation as the height of walls in accommodations may vary. Additionally, I feel like it is very bulky and the way the table unfolds downwards is not aesthetically pleasing. I would advise you to look into things with less potential height like the rest of the ideas.

Person #4: I do think that number #4 was a smart idea to the problem. However, when it opens up to a table, all the items inside will be visible to everyone. This can look very messy and unorganised. I would suggest to go for something in between #3 and #4 in order to be able to have the items covered and another part of the cupboard to unfold. 

My opinion: I was definitely leaning towards number #4, however, the thought pointed out by person 4 was a very valuable. I did not think of that and I think that I should definitely consider it. Having feedback from people was very informative. I am planning on creating more possibilities with different shapes like person #1 said, develop idea number #5 to see how I could make it more modern and make adjustments for ideas number #3 and #4. This will be in the next blog post for my 'cupboard to table ideas' where I will have the opportunity to explore more things in greater depth.

In the upcoming blog posts, I will show how my cupboard can become shelves, how my cupboard can become larger for storage, how my chair can become a lounge. I will add all these in separate blog posts and then before the development gather all my best ideas in one blog post. 

Additionally, I will definitely add more research about how my cupboard could transform into a table. These are initial thoughts. I will be adding more research, more initial ideas and then choosing the best one to develop it even more.