Ideas Development 2

In my previous blog post, I looked at the development of the cupboard. I decided that I was going to discard the idea of creating one open cupboard display for my project as it caused a lot of complications and it was not necessary in an apartment.

I decided to look at the chairs now before figuring out what other function I will include. An idea that was suggested to me was to take the individual shelves and place them in ways that could form a chair and lounge instead of creating a separate chair design. 

Even though this is a clever idea, I do not want to design it. I want my designs to be smart and effective. By utilising 3 cubes to make one chair, that suggests that only 3 more cubes will be left for storage and shelves. I decided to make the chair a separate piece as I do not want it to take away from the storage function. In my opinion, storage is the most important aspect of this design; therefore, I do not want to utilise the storage shelves for creating a chair. That is not efficient nor smart.

This was the initial design of the chair. It was inspired by a triangular shape to 

create a sharp edge.

sketch 1

sketch 2

The first step was to sketch out the initial idea of this design. The first initial idea of this design is displayed above where it shows that it was triangular. I decided that my theme in this project will be cubism as I will also be displaying the pattern of De Stijl movement on it. I decided to remove the triangular element and make it more rectangular. This way, it would follow my design ideas and it would look more cohesive with the rest. I did not include any arms as I was inspired by Gerrit-Thomas Rietveld and how he didn't use any as a means of allowing the user to move freely around it. However, I will be adding a testing section at the end of this blog to see if it is worth it to add some arms. 

One issue identified is that the stool would not be as tall as the height of the chair as it will be stored under it. I decided that in order to even out the distance between them, I will add cushions. The chair will already have cushions on it for comfort. Even though I was considering to not add any cushions in order to follow Rietvelds principle of keeping the user alert, I decided to include some for maximum comfort.

As seen in the last sketch, I will add two cushion layers on the chair which one of them will be able to unfold to be placed on the stool to cover up the difference. The top cushion will be of larger height in order to cover up more difference. I like this idea as I feel like it is clever and increases comfort. 

Before finalising the chair idea, an idea came to mind about another function in my design.

I decided to write a list of items that I could potentially include in my design. I removed one cupboard feature so I am now left with 5 items. Therefore, I need to find one more:

I wrote down a list of items that included a stool, bin, coffee table, stairs and vase. I discarded the stool as I already have an item in my design that could resemble a stool. I discarded the bin as one of the shelves can be used for storage. Many accommodations already have bins so I don't think that it would be necessary. I discarded the coffee table too as I do not think that there is enough room for that. Additionally, the vase is a very particular design and definitely not a necessity.

The stairs stood out to me the most as I feel like it is something valuable that is not given a lot of emphasis. I was trying to reach something high up in my cupboard but I couldn't. I had no other solution so I resolved to standing on an unstable stool. I ended up slipping and injuring my ankle. This would have been prevented if I had some stairs. I definitely believe that this function is much more useful than the open cupboard one. 

First sketch

Second sketch

After brainstorming some ideas, it was time to create my sketches. In the first sketch, I decided that I was going to transform the stool into a staircase by unfolding it. I would add a top layer that would be used as a leg for extra support. However, I felt like this design was complicated and that it would be very unstable. If it is unstable then that would be considered as a safety hazard which may put the user in danger.

I decided to simplify things by doing the second sketch that has the staircase on the back of the furniture. I really like this design as I feel like it is very sturdy and looks very aesthetically pleasing. I am happy with this design and I feel like I could develop some great outcomes. 

 

Arm Chair (1925)

I even decided to include some arms in one of the chair designs, inspired by the 'Arm chair' by Frank Lloyd Wright. This design was meant to look cohesive with the design of the cupboard as I wanted to created a similar concept. However, I ended up not liking the design. 

Testing: I decided to include some testing of the arms to see which one is more comfortable for the user. I will be carrying out testing for the unfolding of the legs on the table and the measurements of the designs. Testing is a very beneficial step as you get to visualise and comprehend how the design would look in real life. 

I decided to make my dad sit in different positions on the chair with legs and on the one without any legs. My dad is more masculine which means that he would be more restricted in the designated area. 

These were the outcomes: 

For the chair with the arms, my dad found himself to be very restricted when sitting with his legs crossed or when moving around. The boundaries were not convenient as they did not allow him to move freely. When I study, I tend to move around a lot and like sitting with my legs crossed as it helps me focus. This is the reason why I bought a wide chair. By using the arms in the chair, you restrict movement and will not allow the user to move around. It is evident in the picture that he looks squished and uncomfortable.

However, when sitting on the chair without the arms, he could sit in various positions and quickly change. He said that he felt very comfortable and it was a lot more convenient than the previous one.

This test helped me a lot as it made me understand how movement can be restricted when including arms. The pictures show how many more positions the user is able to comfortable sit in.

Conclusion: After carrying out testing, receiving feedback and looking at the aesthetics of the design, I decided that I would proceed with the chair with no arms as it is more comfortable and easy to use. I will be adding measurements and angles in the next blog posts alongside the materials. I am glad I completed this testing stage.

In the next blog post, I will add a recap of all the developed items I have so far. Even though I was very  challenged by the cupboard in the previous blog, the process seems to be going well now. I will be adding a summary of all the final elements in my designs in the next blog post with some comments and feedback. I am very happy with how the end results are looking and I am looking forward to adding colour and creating these on software.