Physical product prototyping is an exercise that supplements my digital product expertise. The design and constraint space in the physical world are very different from the digital one, although ultimately the same fundamental principles and goals are transferable. I find that working towards the same usability goals but in the radically different space of physical design helps inform my digital work and keeps my design solutions innovative.
Lasercutting is a great technique for transforming illustration into physical products, and I used the method to develop this ultralight travel laptop stand. The book fold makes this stand easy to pack and store flat with my laptop, I prototyped the overall size and shape with cardboard and then iterating until I got something that had the right fit and height. I mirrored the illustration, cut both sides of the scan and then connected the two halves together using bookbinding techniques.
Original sketch
Laser cut and mirror imaged. Here shown folded open with the storage for cross bracing.
Here shown folded closed for storage with laptop.
Laptop stand in use.
This travel bag is my first textiles project, and I learned to sew to produce this design. I prototyped the bag in a few weeks during a stay in Sao Paulo and then travel tested the prototype backpacking in Patagonia. This test confirmed the dynamic strap system, the internal frame, and the overall size and shape of the bag. A new design, currently underway, will update the strap system and internal storage organization based on the travel test. I’m also currently exploring all natural and recycled materials with the goal of making a zero carbon, zero virgin plastics bag.
The second prototype of the travel bag
The sewing station I set up in Sao Paulo for prototype development
Detail of the hidden, piped, zippers.
In the wild, testing how much weight the bag will comfortably hold.
Testing size.
While I worked at Piper I was exploring ways to extend the Piper computer platform. We had a minecraft mod running on the Piper computer as part of the core experience and many of our educational experiences encouraged product design and creation for our users. I used our minecraft mod to generate these 3d sculptures as a demo of the potential for our users. The archaeopteryx had a motor internalized to make the wings flap and the humback whale included a speaker and minichip to play whale song when triggered. The ultimate goal was to enable the creation of 3d printed electronic product design to our users through our platform.
Humpback whale designed and printed from Piper Platform as a demo of the possible educational experiences for the platform.
Archaeopteryx alongside the Piper platform (Raspberry pi running minecraft) showing key pins for armature allowing the wings to flap.
Carbon neutral energy generation and storage is the cornerstone of the climate movement. This is going to require low cost storage and this battery exploration was to estimate how low the cost of a 5 to 10 kilowatt hour battery could get using off the shelf components. Pretty cheap as it turns out, I built this 7kwh battery for around $2500 dollars or roughly 2/3rds what fully integrated solutions were selling for at the time in 2021.
Battery enclosure showing kill switch and leads for charge controller
Cell bank charge testing
Diagram of solar / charge controller / battery
Charge controller and AC/DC subsystems.