Plan Changes

 During my tutorial with my tutor, he raised a concern about the legs of my table. He said that the manufacturing process might be difficult as the legs are in the way of the design. Therefore, we came up with a solution that slightly changes the final outcome. 

These were the previous designs. I was planning on using extendable legs to form the legs of the table. However, rightly pointed out, this might halt or make the process of manufacturing difficult. 

This was the previous design.

This is the new design with the modifications. As seen, the top part of the cupboard consists of 4 layers. the first layer is the top of the cupboard. The second layer is the desk surface. The other two areas that are in the lighter shade are the layers placed in between the two legs to even out the area. 

This is a sketch when it is open. The two new layers added are in green, These will only be in between as the ends are where the legs fold.

Additionally, I added a green line on the legs to show that they fold in half once it goes back into a cupboard. Therefore, the function for extendable legs will not be used. I will use hinges and screws to connect them together. 

I had to also change the measurements of the design. There are two measurements that changed. The first is the desk layer. It will be of 3cm thickness as I added two additional extra layers (1.5x2= 3cm). 

The measurement circled shows the overall length of the legs. This is when the legs are unfolded and turned into a table. However, when the legs are folded into the cupboard, each one will be divided into half. The green line I added on the sketch of the legs will be where they fold. 

Conclusion: I am glad that my tutor pointed this out. It was a concern of mine as I was not aware how it would turn out with the extendable legs. However, now I feel a lot more confident and safe for my design.

Why is this different from last terms project?

During my tutorial with my tutor, he pointed out that the concept of my designs is similar to last terms.

Last term, I designed a multi-functional table for university students. For this term, at first I had in mind to create foldable products. However, my development showed that my final designs are leaning towards multi-functional items again. Last term, I felt that I did not have sufficient research and development to back up my work. I felt like I was lacking a lot of research and the project was incomplete. Additionally, I created an item which was of neutral colours and in my comfort zone. This term, I decided to take the same concept and enhance it. I decide to target university students as that is the section that I can relate to the most. Conservation of space is a problem faced everyday, so I wanted to explore not only a desk that can conserve space, but multiple items like stairs, cupboard and the chair. 

Additionally, this term I focused a lot on the research aspect to have a lot of research to back up my work. I worked on the aesthetics and tried patterns and colours which are completely out of my comfort zone. This challenged and pushed me to develop my work from last terms.

I understand how my designs can be perceived as the same, however, I tried to take the same concept and enhance it to create more unique outcomes. The table I created last term was fairly basic and usual, however, I tried to approach this term more creatively to create unique outcomes. Next term I am aiming to design something completely out of my comfort zone and creating something that is not associated with this concept.