SCP Boxed Collection
Jack Deighton & Shaun Burke
Brief The SCP brief is based on their Boxed Product Collection; namely, small, standalone pieces of furniture that are seen as affordable, carry-away impulse buys. This fulfils the design-savvy consumer’s desire to buy into a respected and quality design brand, by purchasing a single small piece of furniture, without the need to invest in an entire range or in multiples (such as with dining chairs etc). This could be any small piece of furniture, from an occasional table to a stool, a small storage piece, a coat rack or hallway piece, a bedside table, nesting tables etc, but you should also investigate current changes in lifestyles and emerging trends, and design appropriately
SCP Visit In our trip to the SCP shop, we did learn a few things. One thimg that we learnt was that the products of the box collection are rather small and they should be already assembled for shipping. The reason for this is that it reduces the costs by alot.
Target Audience Our target audience is people that experience consent change in there life and that they are aleays on the move never settling done in home. People that live in small space and can’t fit big one piece furniture in them.
Product Analysis - SCP An minimal design made from a piece of laser-cut rectangular steel three, five or seven cylindrical oak hooks. The hooks fit neatly into the cuts in the steel, creating a design that sits flush on the wall with upward facing hooks. A refined and cleverly conceived design, this is an uno trusive piece for domestic and commercial settings.
This was part of the 2012 box collection. It was made by Kay + Stemmer. This the newer version of their freestanding shelving (one the right). Agnes wall mounted shelves has three shelves and is ideal for books or home office filing. This model is made from Oak, its is also available in Walnut but it costs a little more. The design has the features of classical furniture; details include radius edges, a gentle upwards taper and perfect proportion.
Ikea Trip We decided we needed to go a competitor store to see how they go about making shelving units. We chose to go to Ikea as they have a wide selection of units to choose from. We wanted to analyze a select few of the units so we could see the pros and cons of each, then compare it to our idea. The visit to ikea helped open our eyes to the many possibles ways our idea can work. For instance, we discovered a way the how the shelf could attach to the wall. We also found many more different types of shelving/storage units. In particular there was one on a board that gave us an idea, as we thought we could do it better. In conclusion the ikea trip helped us refine our ideas.
Competitors Habitat Loki - Clean lined with a slender profile, the Loki white 5 shelf bookcase has solid oak uprights and lacquered shelves. Loki's small footprint makes this contemporary design perfect for smaller spaces while its 5 long shelves offer ample storage space. Umbra Hub Ladder Black - It is designed by Matt Carr. Made of solid Ashwood and metal tubing with rubber banding to prevent slipping. An adjustable ladder makes a stylish hanging rack for clothes, linens, and accessories. Designed to be friendly for those who enjoy a multi-functional way to organize clutter in any space. Heals by Case Particle Shelving - Design by Shin Azumi. - Free Standing unit, which can be combined to create wider storage. Multidepth conjoined compartments create architectural diversion to the design. Its is available in walnut and oak.
Habitat
Heals by Case
Umbra
Materials - Woods
Pine is very affordable and lightweight with a pale finish which is great for staining. It is less durable wood compared to hard woods such as maple or oak.
Ash is a tough hardwood which is known for its excellent bending abilities. It is primarily used for bent pieces of furniture such as a chair with curved backrests.
Walnut is a hardwood and is known for its strength, straight grain and its rich chocolate brown colour. Walnut can be a very versatile wood, offering a range of shades and grains to complement your dĂŠcor. Oak is a very popular wood, it is very hard wearing and heavy. It is known for having lovely open wood grain markings. SCP uses this for most of their furniture.
Materials - Metals
A brushed finish is created using bristles or nylon fabric in a fine abrasive action which does not remove the surface layer. This creates what’s referred to as grit and there are a number of GRIT specifications. ‘240 grit polished’ is the finish we work mostly with at Dymond. This is the same as the other brushes stainless steel with just the colour change, this si good ebcause it will suit other peoples preferences and or style. It is because of the chromium that stainless steel does not easily corrode, rust or stain like mild steel does, although it is not fully stain-proof, particularly in adverse conditions such as salt or lack of air. Stainless steel is ideal in environments which need both a resistance to corrosion and the properties of steel, as well as for its aesthetic appearance.
French Cleat We wanted to find a way of attaching a shelf to a wall, without it being permanent. We thought about French cleat joint just because we can put a beam on a wall and the shelf can just be placed on it. It can also be rearranged without any problems. The french cleat also gives thecustomer so sense of control as the can customise the layout as they wish.
Initial Ideas
Development So our first idea was to make a shelf that would have a french cleat on it, to attach to the wall. The first version of the design can be seen in the pictures. We updated this version as we thought it lacked aesthically and it could be imporved, which we then done.
Re-Develop When we were developing/designing the shelf. we realised that we had to design a unit for it to go on. We first designed the unit just so the shelf can be hung, but there was so much more the could be done with it. We then made a list of all the pieces that could fit on the unit. Adaptable Hang items Place items Wallet Keys Coats/long coats Scarfs Hats Change Jar Letter Rack Mirror Noticeboard
Refined Idea When designing this unit, we came to realisation that this unit and all the addons would work better as a product than just the shelf. We did some CAD work to show the diiferent versions of this unit.
Models - Full Scale
Talk With SCP String When we spoke to Tim from SCP he gave some good ideas to improve our product. For instance, he told us to put the side beams at the back, the reason for this is so that the unit doesn’t sit flush against the wall. It gives it some leverage. Another reason for doing this is the fact that if a person wanted to buy multiple units they would be able to put them together to make it look like one unit (we also found this out from research on a competitior). He also told us some competitors that do a similuar products that we can research.
String As we started to develop our new idea we did some more research, on our concept to see if it has been done before. The reason we done this was to see if we could make any improvements to our exisiting design. We came across a company called String, they already have done a similiar product to ours. From this research we learnt a couple of things, that could make our product better. One of those things was that string sell multiple of one unit, but they can seemlessly fit together to look like one unit though. We applied this to our design too, so that if the consumer wanted to purchase more than one unit they can put them together.
Models - Layout Me and Shaun experimented a lot to find out the most functional and stylish design for the orientation of the piece, we wanted to find a design that can work with more than one unit. for example, a series of these laid down the corridor.
CAD Models Possible Material Layouts When we were exploring/playing around with design, we tried to see if we could make the cleats smaller in size. The problem with making them smaller is that it will not be able to go onto the back beams properly. So we put it a L shapped metal bar, that the cleat can go into. This would made it strong. In the end we decided not to go this route as it was to complex and longer to manufacture.
Model With Add ons At this stage we were experimenting with the add-ons and how they would work on the unit itself. We put different objects on it and it managed to stay together.
CAD
500
700
SCP Box Pro
Jack Deighton Shaun Burke
1-5 Scale Model
Final 1-5 Scale Model
Evaluation To begin, this project has been amazing we have explored different ways of developing our work that we haven’t really done before. By looking more into detail about existing prodcts/companies really didn’t help. Something else that was key into finding out out final version was to make countless 1-1 scale models to allow us to see how tall and wide the piece needs to be. This design is very simple yet extremely strong. There is something that we found out with the design as it is symmetrical, the user is allowed to purchase more than one if they wish and they can be placed next to each other to make a continuous design. The key feature of this design is so that the user can change the arrangement of the add-on or even take off the ones they do not wish to use, this is important as it give the user more control. Possible improvments could be to make this product a floor standing design like some of the competitors we looked at, as this will not require drilling into a wall which not all homes allow as people might just be renting. Another idea is to make the design more friendly to allow another piece to be added from any angle. at this point it only works from side on where if we where to extend the back supports the user could add more on top or bottom.