TABOO - Graduation Project Logbook

TABOO Graduation Project Lucy Danby

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CONTENTS

1. Initial Scoping

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Finding a direction Historic Architecture Machine vs craft Pain and Torture Prejudice Unusual Furniture Feedback Summary

4 6-11 12-17 18-23 24-27 28-31 32 33

2. Research Alterophobia and Hate Crime Goth and Subculture Initial Sketches Taboos 7 Deadly Sins Product Change Dressing Table Mindmap Feedback Initial Sketches 7 items people need Traditional Dressing Tables Contemporary Dressing Tables Jewellery Storage Other Storage Brief

34 35 36-37 38-39 40-52 53 54-55 56 57 58-59 60-61 62-63 64 65 66-67

3. Initial Design Inspired by existing products Dressing table with meaning Iteration Introducing Drawers Mirrors Frame Strength and Stability Test Bin Leg Bin leg and bin insert Mirror and bin leg Internal Frame Review

68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

4. Design Development CAD Representations Colour Table Top Shape Mirror Arm Stand Mirror Stand Types of Pride Mirror Stand Mirror Accessibility Mirror Size Mirror Design Bin Insert Bin Leg and Base Fixing bin leg to frame Nipple Handles Nipple Mould Nipple Handles Handle bolt fixing Drawers Frame Laminated Plywood Fixing the table top Maple Legs Colour and Finish

80-81 82-83 84 85 86-87 88-89 90 91-92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99-100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109

5. Final Outcome 110-115 6. Bibliography 116-123

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INITIAL SCOPING 4

Finding a Direction Finding a direction for this project was difficult because there were so many different topics the project could focus on.

This project needed to be of a high quality to best highlight my strengths, personality and to help me stand out from the crowd when looking for employment after university.

Ensuring the project is interesting and completed with passion is also very important to help drive the project and make it successful. The furniture piece designed for this project will be conceptual and needs to have meaning and the wow factor to make

a statement. Deciding on this meaning and statement was the difficult task that took a lot of research and thinking in order to finalise the direction and brief.

At the start of the project the intention was to design a chair, but as the project developed and progressed it proved inappropriate for portraying the meaning and message. So, once the direction was decided, the furniture product was changed from a chair to a dressing table. A dressing table was a more suitable product to correctly and successfully portray the chosen meaning and statement.

The Different Directions 1 Historic Architecture 2 Machine vs Craft 3 Pain and Torture 4 Prejudice 5 Unusual Furniture

2 Machine vs Craft

1 Historic Architecture

3 Pain and Torture

4 Prejudice

5 Unusual Furniture 5

1 Historic Architecture The first possible direction for the project was to take inspiration from the forms, shapes and structures of Gothic and historic architecture such as churches, cathedrals, castles and temples. These shapes would then be included in features of the design.

The buildings visited were: • Temple Church, London • St Paul’s Cathedral, London • Crown Court, Lincoln • Various other buildings in London.

Primary source research was done by visiting these types of buildings. Doing so allowed me to take photographs, to fully experience and make reflections on the magnificent architecture.

St Paul’s Cathedral

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Temple Church

Crown Court, Lincoln

Research

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Research on Gothic architecture in books To gain a wider view of the different types of Gothic Architecture in the UK and worldwide, books were used to further the research. This provided much more detailed and varied information than visiting the buildings in person.

The books contained some very interesting shapes, forms and structures from architecture in the UK, France and Prague. Findings from this research were that Gothic architecture is very symmetrical and balanced which is achieved through the use of geometry. The diagram (fig.3) shows examples of the geometrical patterns in the designs for cathedrals all over the UK. The diagram in fig 1 explains how complicated and intricate these pieces of architecture are and how many different components make up the whole building.

Windows and arches are very important to the structure and style of the buildings. The windows are also based on geometry by using the tracery of tangential curves that are fitted into the arch of the windows (fig 2).

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Key Insights Gothic architecture is very symmetrical and geometrical with lots of ornamentation that is not seen in contemporary architecture today. This design style is very complicated because of the level of detail and number of components needed to achieve this look.

Patterns and structures from this style could be used in the design for this project. However, it could prove difficult to create something that isn’t too contrived or looks as if it belongs in a church.

Symmetry and balance is an interesting topic that could be explored further. A possible route would be to create something beautiful and perfect which is actually very complex or to protest against this by designing something unbalanced and asymmetrical.

Fig 1

Books used in research • The Gothic Cathedral by Christopher Wilson • Gothic Architecture in France, England and Italy by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson

Fig 2

Fig 3

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Initial Sketches Designing a chair in this style proved difficult because of the sketches looking too literal and contrived by the strong visual aesthetic of Gothic architecture.

What is the meaning? Why design in this way? These were questions that I struggled to answer.

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Key Insights The design needs be less about the aesthetics and needs to have a key meaning and statement for this project to be successful. There needs to be reasons why the product is the way it is for it to have gravitas and importance. Could the project be more about the manufacture of the furniture than it is about the visual similarity of the forms from historic architecture?

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2 Machine vs Craft Focusing on the manufacturing processes of furniture was another possible direction for the project. This idea was inspired by the furniture found in historic buildings which were highly decorated and intricate.

Research showed that there are some companies who do manufacture 3D printed furniture using a robotic arm to achieve a larger scale (Fig 4). However, this is still quite a new technology in terms of using it for furniture.

This style of furniture nowadays would be too expensive to manufacture, therefore not being an affordable option for consumers. But, what if there was a way of manufacturing this style of furniture using modern technology like 3D printing and a 5-axis router?

Wood carved using a 5-axis router (Fig 5) is another way of manufacturing intricately carved furniture with less man-power. Some would argue that this type of manufacture takes away from the skill and craftsmanship of hand crafted furniture.

Fig 5

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Fig 4

Research Fig 6

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Research on Gothic furniture in books The book, Gothic Forms: Examples of ancient and modern furniture by B.J. Talbert, showed examples of furniture that would be found in the types of buildings from the first project direction idea. The furniture was very decorated with carved elements, decorative chair back rests and similar forms to those in Gothic architecture.

These could potentially be manufactured using a 5-axis router like the example on the previous page. This process could add a contemporary twist to a classic style. It could also provide consumers with an easy way of personalising the furniture by having carved elements that reflect their interests and personality.

Key Insights This style of furniture has a very strong visual aesthetic and would need some updating for it to be widely accepted and desired by today’s society.

Another issue with doing a project like this would be sourcing a 5-axis router big enough to create the piece.

Experimentation and development of the furniture piece could also prove difficult because of sourcing, accessibility and the cost implications of the machine.

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3D Printed Furniture by Drawn Based in France, Drawn are a company who 3D print their customer’s designs, mainly producing furniture that is minimalistic and simple. This leads me to think that they may not be capable of creating the intricate designs for this project. Being a fairly new company this would pose a need for great experimentation with the process on my behalf to see whether this could be achieved.

Fig 6 on page 13 shows an example of another 3D printer that is capable of making furniture. It seems they have the means to produce more intricate details. However, it still poses the same uncertainties and risk factors.

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Key Insights Manufacturing intricately detailed furniture could be possible with 3D printing but the means of developing and testing this could prove difficult because of it being a fairly new process when it comes to making furniture.

Therefore, accessing a machine that is actually in the UK but large enough and affordable enough could be unlikely. This process has similar issues with the 5-axis router because both machines are not readily available, to the required scale, in the university facilities. Funding would be required for this project to be a possibility.

Initial Sketches These sketches show what a contemporary take on intricate carved furniture could look like, whether 3D printed or cut on a 5-axis router. The furniture piece could be fairly minimalistic and simple design with just a few decorated elements. For example, the back rest of a chair or the way the chair legs are attached to the framework?

The idea for the leg design below was inspired by the ceiling support in Prague cathedral, found in the book The Gothic Cathedral by Christopher Wilson. However, this type of joint could potentially be quite weak and over complicated. The ideas at this stage were, aesthetically, struggling to have gravitas and meaning.

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3 Pain and Torture Pain and torture was a topic that was inspired by the exhibition of US death penalty punishments when visiting the Temple Church in London at the beginning of the project. Seeing the models of an electric chair and gallows lead to doing further research on execution and torture devices.

This birthed ideas of creating furniture that featured elements that would portray danger such as spikes and sharp angles. This would give users a sense of

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uncertainty of whether the chair, for instance, is safe to sit on. For example, the chair could include spikes which look sharp and painful to sit on when in fact the spikes are made from rubber and are the opposite of their first impressions.

This is an interesting topic which could provoke varying reactions from people. It would be intriguing to see how people react and interact with the piece, whether they would be scared to sit on it or are fascinated by it.

Research

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Research on Death Penalty Punishments The photos above are scale models of execution devices for people on death in America. The use of the gallows and electric chair have massively declined today in favour of the lethal injection.

The electrocution chair in particular was very interesting because of all the straps and restraints to hold a person to the chair. As well as the part that attaches to the head to electrocute the body. This chair must strike so much fear into the people on death row because they know what is associated with it. However, when you think about it, it’s just a chair...

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Key Insights The fear associated with these devices is created through the knowledge of what will happen when they are used. But, it is also about the visual aesthetics that makes them something to be afraid of. The idea of being strapped down or hung from a height.

The furniture piece created in this project could be something that plays on people’s judgement. Something that looks dangerous but in reality, it isn’t, it’s just a chair.

Research on Torture Devises Chair of Torture The chair of torture, also known as the Judas Chair, was used in the late 1800’s to get victims to confess.

Sometimes the fear of the chair alone would cause a person to confess, especially when the person was forced to watch someone else being tortured in the chair. (Medievality.com, 2008) The victim would have to sit in the chair and be tied down. The metal bars on the arm rest would be tightened to force the spikes into the person’s flesh. Hot coals could also be placed under the chair to further torture victims. (Medievality.com, 2008)

Judas Cradle The Judas Cradle was a horrendous way to be tortured.

The victim would have to sit, naked, on the pointy end with his/her feet tied together or with weights hung from their ankles. The Judas Cradle that is in a triangular shape would be inserted into the victims anus or vagina.

(Medievality.com, 2008) This method of torture was also used to retrieve information from victim’s and could last anywhere between hours or days, with death being very slow.

This is ultimately a horrific and cruel way to die.

(Medievality.com, 2008)

Key Insights Torture devices that look more aggressive and dangerous normally are just that. But they also strike more fear in the victims because of how pointy and sharp they look, especially if there are spikes involved.

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Initial Sketches Sketching ideas for this topic was somehow difficult because they were quite contrived and overloaded with spikes. However, with some development of the design and the meaning behind it this could have become something very interesting.

Although this is a very interesting topic that could have been a great project, my ideas were running thin when it came to designing a piece of furniture that would create the effect needed.

Certain elements of this topic could be carried through the project such as: - People’s judgements based on appearances - Fear and danger - Exploration of uncertainty

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Key Insights Ideas for this topic are diminishing which is proving difficult to push it further and develop a product. The topic needs to be more meaningful and potentially more personal to me for it to be successful.

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4 Prejudice Following on with the theme of judgement, another topic that the project could potentially focus on is prejudice.

Particularly the prejudice towards people based on their appearances or association with certain subcultures or religion.

Relating myself to the Goth subculture, this is a topic that is very personal to me. Prejudice towards people of alternative subculture, especially Goths, has resulted in some people becoming victims of hate crime just because of the way they look. Sophie Lancaster, pictured below, is one of these victims who lost her life

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because of hate crime towards her and her boyfriend while they were in a park together. Two teenage boys attacked the 20 year old and her boyfriend back in 2007, killing her and leaving her boyfriend severely injured.

It’s this type of prejudice that is unacceptable and should be stopped. This project could help do this by creating a piece of furniture that encourages people to think in a different way and to become less judgemental. Instead, we should celebrate those who are different and don’t follow the crowd because they choose to be themselves no matter what others think.

Scopophilia Chair by Fiona Roberts Scopophilia, meaning ‘the love of looking’, is a chair with many eyes that is designed to make you feel uncomfortable and exposed. The “excessive ‘gaze’ haunting the flesh” (Mikocki, 2012) is generated through the hundreds of embedded eyes in the upholstery. This piece also explores scopophobia which is ‘the fear of being looked at’.

One could say that this chair makes ‘normal’ people know what it feels like to be stared at for being or dressing differently to others. This is something that people of alternative subcultures experience on a daily basis and have to get used to.

This chair is a brilliant example of a piece of furniture making people feel a certain way and think a different way. Why can’t a chair have eyes? Who says they have to be a certain way? At the end of the day it is just a chair.

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Squiddies Squiddies are a range of tables that favour the darker side of life. The table legs visually resemble the tentacles of a squid and are designed to look creepy and monster-like. These tables look even more amazing at night because of the shadows they cast. Lights are situated on the underside of the tables which create this amazing effect (Beaumont, 2010). These pieces aren’t as meaningful as the scopophilia chair on the previous page. However, they still look unusual and different and provoke thought. It does follow on with the question of: why does something have to be a certain way? Why does a table only need 4 legs, why can’t it have more?

Why can’t furniture look alive and a bit creepy?

Initial Sketches Key Insights This topic is the first one in the development of the project that has really taken off and gathered some deep meaning with some great visuals to accompany it. These sketches are a good start but potentially need to be developed to be less obvious and contrived with more hidden meanings.

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The sketches to the right are ideas of what the furniture piece could look like. These concepts were heavily influenced by the research on the squiddies and the scopophilia chair.

This has resulted in the designs looking very eerie, creepy and monster-like. Tentacles, eyes and swirls are featured to create an alternative Goth style. As well as creating a sense of being watched or judged by the chair. The concepts also explore the comparison of a ‘normal’ appearance to an alternative one. They are trying to portray that to be different is a positive thing and being normal/following the crowd can be a negative thing, making you very close-minded.

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5 Unusual Furniture After finding the squiddie tables I was intrigued to see what other unusual furniture there was. One of the furniture pieces found was a creepy looking table with skeletal-like legs. Another was an illusion table that looks like paint is dripping from the table top which makes it look as if it is floating.

A lot of the unusual furniture that was found online were pieces that looked like creatures or monsters. There was a sense of movement and fluidity in them which made them look as if they’re alive.

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This type of furniture is fantastic and in a way celebrates being different, although a lot of these pieces won’t be to many people’s taste. However, if I were to create a piece like this then there would have to be more of an underlying meaning and reason for it being this way.

Buitenbeentje By Anna Ter Haar Buitenbeentje translates from Dutch as ‘odd man out’.

Haar was inspired by human freaks and how disgusting and ugly they can look. She experimented with stretching material and dripping different resins to create something that captures the “moment of movement in material” (Haar, 2007) Instead of creating something which is made up of lots of strange looking parts she has decided to keep the majority of the chair normal with just one leg different.

This chair by Haar is also quite creepy because of the dripping, deformed leg.

“comes out of my fascination for everything that differs the normal: the odd man out, the freaks. Certain appearances that are so ugly and disgusting that they become interesting. Like “the man with the elastic skin” I found in a book about human freaks.” (Haar, 2007)

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Initial Sketches These sketches continued on from the ideas related to prejudice as well as being influenced by the research done on unusual furniture. The influence from the Scopophilia Chair can easily be seen in the chair and table sketches on the right-hand page. Haar’s work gave me the idea to try making parts of the furniture alternative and wacky rather than the whole thing.

This tones down the look and makes people question why the chair/table has one leg different to the others.

Doing this makes the unusual leg stand out more and is eye-catching. This celebrates being different because without that unusual leg the chair would just be a normal, boring chair with nothing special about it.

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Key Insights The sketches above are a great concept that can definitely be taken forward and developed at this stage.

More research and development is still required in order to give the product more meaning as well as making it possible to create and manufacture in a 3D form.

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Feedback - Concept Presentation In the concept presentation all of these different project directions were shown to tutors and peers. The general feedback was that there were some very interesting topics that I’d chosen to explore. Opinions were, to my surprise, quite positive even on some of the topics where I was struggling to sketch ideas. Advice given was to not dismiss an idea just because I’m having trouble sketching for it.

One tutor suggested being more careful when sketching, drawing slower and paying more attention to intricate details found in the baroque style of carved wood. Tutor’s thought I’d shown some great examples of furniture that was related to each theme. They especially liked the spiked chairs, brightly coloured baroque styled plastic garden chairs and the chairs with one leg different.

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Some interesting suggestions that were made for thought were: • Could I implant a highly crafted leg onto a really standard ikea chair to raise the value of the piece?

• Do spikes but more subtle • Can’t afford for the meaning to be too hidden, it needs to slap people in the face otherwise it’s going to get lost.

• People could get involved and interact with the piece in exhibition • Don’t need a demographic on it.

Feedback - Tutorial, Direction In the first tutorial after the concept presentation the whole group of peers and tutors were asked which ideas they thought were the ones that had the most potential.

Most people said the prejudice topic and only a few preferred the pain and torture topic. I was advised to look into further topics to help develop and expand the ones currently explored.

Suggestions made were: • Explore what people are comfortable or uncomfortable with.

• Taboos and fetishes • 7 Deadly Sins • Use traditional forms and reimagine them.

• Make the seat and backrest different but keep everything else the same.

Summary - Initial Scoping The number of different directions that this project could have taken was quite overwhelming. However, the project finally has a solid direction to continue developing the prejudice topic. More research will be done into new areas introduced to me in the feedback gained from tutors and peers.

One thing that will definitely be done moving forward is to create a deeper meaning to the piece. Making the representations less obvious and more hidden is another

thing that is important to do. Some feedback from one or two people said that the meaning needs to be obvious whereas others tell me it needs to be hidden.

My opinions on this conflicting feedback is to potentially do a bit of both. Have some representations obvious to create intrigue which will lead people to then explore the piece. Only then will they find the meanings hidden under many layers to give the furniture piece deep meaning that is only discovered through exploration.

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Research - Alterophobia and Hate Crime

RESEARCH

“‘Alterophobia’ is defined as prejudice directed towards members of ‘alternative’ sub-cultures including those who are, or are perceived to be, chavs, goths, moshers/ rockers, and emos.” (Minton, 2012) A study was done in schools in Ireland to see whether alterophobia was an active issue when it came to bullying. Results of the study showed that people who were members of the alternative subcultures were more likely to be bullied. And people of nonsubculture groups were more likely to bully others. (Minton, 2012) This form of prejudice could span from the bullies having a closed mind and not understanding the people who are different.

Or perhaps the different way in which they were brought up by their parent’s.

But something must lead people to not understand certain people so much that they decide to attack that person just because of the way they looked. This is an act of prejudice and hate crime where someone acts without even knowing the real person under the difference in appearance.

This, unfortunately, was the case for Sophie Lancaster who was killed in a hate crime attack purely because of prejudice and alterophobia.

The judge Anthony Russell QC from the sentencing of Sophie Lancaster’s attackers released a statement: “This was a hate crime against completely harmless people who were targeted because their appearance was different.’

Sophie Lancaster did not die because of her race, religion or sexuality. She died because she was a goth.” (Hodkinson, 2008) Since Sophie’s death her mother, Sylvia, has set up The Sophie Lancaster Foundation to help tackle and reduce hate crime. 12,000 black wristbands with ‘S.O.P.H.I.E’ written on them in white letters have been sold. This stands for ‘Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere.’ People wear these to show support and to help raise money for the charity to educate others about “the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures” (Sophie Lancaster Foundation, 2010).

This foundation has seen councils and the government changing their policies on hate crime to include people of alternative subcultures who have a different lifestyle and dress code. This has seen the decrease in hate crime, especially in the town where Sophie was killed, Bacup Lancashire.

(Hodkinson, 2008)

Key Insights Hate crime and prejudice is something that should be stopped. Raising awareness has proven to reduce such a negative thing as prejudice. If the piece of furniture designed

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in this project could also help to raise awareness, reduce hate crime and to change how people think then that’d be a really amazing thing that would make a difference.

Research - Goth & Subculture “A lot of people turn to the Gothic subculture after having a difficult time in school, feeling alienated, and looking for a way to express themselves that mirrors those feelings. Others find the scene through literature, still others want to be shocking.” (Robinson, 2014)

“Goth music often deals with thought-provoking topics, concentrating on societal evils, like racism, war, hatred of groups, etc. Their music tends to concentrate on the very “nasty, unhappy” topics that “North American culture” wants to “ignore and forget.”” (Robinson, 2014)

“[Goth] is the ability to find the art where art seems to be lacking; to find the light in the darkness and embrace it for all its worth...” Jennifer Mason (Robinson, 2014)

“It is up to the individual to define what Goth is for themselves ... The mentality is, ‘I want to be left alone but I want to be seen. I want to see the shock on other peoples’ faces.” Wendy M. Fontaine (Robinson, 2014)

Key Insights Goth’s just have a different way of thinking about life and a higher appreciation for things that are normally taboo or unpopular with the majority of mainstream society. Is there a way this can become part of the product for this project? Could taboos and shock factor be a good way to catch people’s attention and potentially encourage them to change the way they think?

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Initial Sketches These sketches were trying to create furniture that looked alternative and provoked thought about why they are different. But why does a chair leg have to be straight? Why can’t it be a bit weird and wacky?

However, these still weren’t portraying the right message. Is a chair the right piece of furniture to be designing for this project and the deep meaning that it now has? Is just designing a chair being too restricting?

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Key Insights At this point in time, the visual ideas still weren’t good enough. More research needed to be done into topics mentioned from the tutorial feedback and from the research on Goth subculture.

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Research - Top Taboos in the World Top 10 Taboos in society: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Disabilities Mental Illness Being overweight Stomach issues/Poop Female sexuality Sexism Racism Drugs Periods Unpopular opinions

(Booth, 2016)

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These are generally topics that people find uncomfortable to talk about. But they are all issues that people experience in their lives because we don’t live in a perfect world. Are these taboo because some people don’t understand them or find them disgusting?

But surely talking about these topics would make the situation so much better. Especially when it comes to the misuse of drugs, which is something that could be improved by having discussions about this with our children to help them understand. If society was more understanding and less judgemental, the world would be a much better place.

Research - Things that used to be taboos 9 common things that used to be taboos: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Visible bra straps Girls making the first move Living together or having a child outside of marriage Keeping your maiden name Asking a lady’s age Phone calls after 9pm Girls wearing trousers Tattoos Being anything other than heterosexual

It may seem strange to think that these used to be taboos whereas they are quite normal and widely accepted nowadays. This proves that people’s opinions and views on life can change if given the opportunity and motivation to do so.

Hopefully, our views will change and improve once again in the future to make the world a less hateful, racist and judgmental place to be.

(Shah, 2014)

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Research - 7 Deadly Sins The 7 Deadly Sins are also referred to as ‘cardinal sins or capital vices’ in the Christian church. They are there to guide us, keep us on track and to stop people being excessive in the things they do. As said in the bible, if these sins are commited then it is forgivable by God. The only sin that isn’t forgivable is rebelling against God, otherwise known as blasphemy. (Bibleinfo.com, 2012) Society isn’t as religious as it once was but these sins are still, to some degree, part and parcel with today’s laws.

This also links back to hate crime and prejudice which would come under wrath as well as possibly pride and envy too.

The sins do seem a reasonable thing to live by in order to not become a bad person. But on the other hand, who has the right to tell you what you should be? These sins are just another way for people to judge you. Should you just judge yourself and decide what you want to be or do in your life?

But saying that, there becomes a limit when others must do something to stop your actions. For instance, excessive lust could lead to rape, or excessive wrath could lead to violence and war.

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Making mistakes is part of being human, without that we would all be the same, all be doing the same thing and acting the same way. That would truly be a pretty boring world to live in.

The main point is that it should be your choice whether you want to stay celibate or whether you do feel lust for your partner. It’s ok for you to binge watch Netflix and be a sloth for a while as long as eventually you go back to doing stuff again. It’s all about the balance. But it should be your choice and your judgement to improve yourself, not other people or some unseen being. *Please note, this is just my personal opinion as an atheist who is also a Goth. No offence was meant to be given by these comments.* These sins are a very interesting topic that follows on well with the running theme of this project. It would be interesting to see how these sins relate to the more modern aspects of life today.

7 Deadly Sins & their definitions 1 Envy Desire for something someone else has 2 Gluttony Excessive ongoing consumption of food/drink 3 Greed Excessive pursuit of material possessions 4 Lust Uncontrollable passion/longing, especially sexual desires 5 Pride Excessive view of one’s self without regard to others 6 Sloth Excessive laziness or the failure to act and utilize ones talents 7 Wrath Uncontrollable feelings of anger and hate towards another person Source: (Bibleinfo.com, 2012)

The 7 Sins and their Cures/Virtues 1 Envy 2 Gluttony 3 Greed

1 Kindness 2 Temperence 3 Charity

4 Lust

4 Chastity

5 Pride

5 Humility

6 Sloth

6 Diligence

7 Wrath

7 Patience

Source: (Bibleinfo.com, 2012)

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Research - 7 Deadly Social Networks With modern day technology comes social media sites that can also be related to the 7 Deadly Sins. This is an interesting way of modernising these sins in a format that is easier for people of today to understand.

One thing that social media has given us is self expression. People now can, and feel the need to, voice their own opinions online for everyone to see. This has lead to people doing things online that they wouldn’t do or say in public. Is our modern day sin self expression?

Other things that can be related to some of the sins are: • Envy - Marketing and social media • Gluttony - Anorexia and obesity, fuel consumption,

alcohol, drugs • Greed - Fraud, Black Friday, bribery • Lust - Adultery, rape, pornography, prostitution • Pride - celebrities, bullying?

• Sloth- unemployment? Walking past homeless

people without helping.

• Wrath - Domestic violence, war, bullying,

environmental damage

The 7 Social Media Networks 1 Pinterest

1 Envy

2 Instagram

2 Gluttony

3 Linkedin

3 Greed

4 Tinder

4 Lust 5 Pride

5 Facebook

6 Sloth

6 Netflix

7 Wrath

7 Twitter

Source: (Meyer, 2016)

Research - Invent a new sin Is our modern day sin self expression?

Do we judge people more today because we feel we can voice our opinions more opening through the use of the internet? Has this fed into the way we act in public?

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Everyone expresses themselves in different ways.

People of the Goth subculture like to express themselves through the way they dress. Could this link into the furniture product design choice for this project?

Research - Colours of the sins We’ve covered what topics are related to the 7 sins but what colours are best associated with them? Based off two articles about this topic the findings are as below.

Myself, along with some tutors and peers, don’t fully agree with the results found. Some colours are obvious and quite well known, for instance, green is envy and red is wrath. But it’s gluttony and lust that don’t seem to fit.

Before this research was conducted the expected result was that lust would have been red or pink and gluttony could have been a brown, for example.

It is odd how all the colours are quite bright, with no mention of black, white, grey or brown. The idea behind doing this research was to see what potential colours could be used in the final product to add even more meaning and clarity to the piece.

But if all of these colours were put into one product then it may look more like a child’s piece of furniture.

The 7 Sins and their Cures/Virtues 1 Green

1 Envy

2 Orange

2 Gluttony

3 Yellow

3 Greed 4 Lust

4 Blue

5 Pride

5 Violet

6 Sloth

6 Light Blue 7 Red

7 Wrath Source: (Evin, 2015) (Burd, 2010)

Key Insights When it comes to colour choice for the end product it needs to be carefully thought out in order for the piece to portray the right message. Should multiple colours be used throughout or would it work best with just one colour running throughout?

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Key Insights In these mind maps a connection was attempted to be found between the 7 sins and bullying. Although there were interesting connections, there still wasn’t anything solid enough to put into a design for a piece of furniture.

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Key Insights However, when the topic of bullying is accompanied with alterophobia and discrimination there is definitely more solid information that can be used in the design process.

Things like body image, self esteem, sexism, eating disorders and perfection vs imperfection.

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Market Research - Deadly sins furniture Market research was done on existing products to get a better idea of how the 7 sins can be related to furniture.

Collection Seven, by Maria Bujnakova, is a range of 7 different furniture and product items that each represent the 7 sins.

But the furniture doesn’t just represent the sins, they also aim to counteract the sins and encourage people not to commit them. For instance, the range does this by having a modest table to stop you from being too gluttonous, and a coat stand, inspired by a beggar, to encourage people not to be greedy but to give to others.

This is a fantastic idea that could make people more mindful of their actions and everyday lifestyle. This furniture doesn’t look too contrived and still has a contemporary, minimalist aesthetic. Some of the representations are obvious whereas others are harder to define because they could fit with a few of the sins.

This is something I want to experiment with in this project because it really seems to work.

(Setia, 2015)

Wrath

Pride

Sloth

Lust

Greed Gluttony Envy

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Market Research - 7 sins furniture remakes Unlike Bujnakova where she designed 7 different items, Arne Jacobsen created a range of 7 sins furniture but in a different way. The range remakes an iconic chair design by altering all 7 to fit with each sin. These alterations included adding more legs, extending the legs and placing the chair in a provocative position as just a few of them.

This piece is more of an art piece than a product because a lot of the examples shown below are not functional due to the alterations made to them.

Could this be possible to do with a cheap ikea chair?

But how would mine be different?

Could this project be more of an art piece for exhibition?

Key Insights These examples are all very inspirational that should help with creating better sketches and designs.

But, what is important is to be mindful of creating something different to the examples found.

(Dornob Staff, n.d.)

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Market Research - Deadly sins wine glasses Another interesting product that is related to the 7 Deadly Sins is this range of glasses by Kacper Hamilton.

“The ‘7 Deadly Glasses’ are about celebrating passion and encouraging the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion.”

The sins are revealed through interacting with the glasses and drinking from them. This is a very interesting way of revealing the sins because there’s only so much of the meaning that can be read from the appearance.

Key Insights Interaction with the piece is something that I definitely want to include in the design for this project.

Further development and exploration of whether the 7 sins can be incorporated into one product needs to be done. If not then what type of furniture would be fit to represent the sins, will it be a range of 7 different products or 7 of the same?

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Again this example was a range of 7 items with yet to find an example that incorporates all 7 sins into one piece. Is this even possible without it being too confusing? Would this make the sins even more hidden?

(Voyatzis, 2008)

Decision - Product Change After much thought and consideration the decision was made to change the product from a chair to a dressing table. This is because there’s not much interaction that can occur with a chair whereas a dressing table can have many different uses. The dressing table also poses the opportunity to include all 7 sins into the design. And if this doesn’t work then more items could be designed to put onto or into the dresser to represent some of the other sins.

Designing a dressing table opens up lots more opportunities which should help with sketching ideas after struggling when designing a chair.

Another reason for choosing a dressing table out of all the other furniture products was because of the idea to invent a new sin, the sin of self expression. A dressing table is where people would get ready for the day ahead. This is where they would choose what they want to look like today. What person do they want to be? This in itself is a form of self expression. In a world where there is makeup, jewellery and varying styles of clothes; we can literally be a different person each day depending on our mood. Here at the dressing table is where you can judge yourself and choose to improve as a person. This way we can all be who we want to be without the prejudice of others.

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Feedback - Tutorial Feedback from tutors was very positive. They really liked the idea so far and thought it was something good to work from and develop further.

Advice for what to do next was to create some visuals of what the dressing table could look like. Don’t be scared when designing, especially when it comes to lust. Could there be a stool for the dressing table that has four penises on the end?

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Initial Sketches These are the first sketches for the dressing table idea.

Some of the sins are easier to represent than others. In the drawing above there is an organiser drawer and a blank drawer. This gives the user the option to either put in the effort and be tidy or to be a sloth and use the blank, messy drawer. However, this still allows people to be a sloth as well as encouraging them to be tidy. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Greed could be symbolised with jewellery storage and pride with a mirror. Lust could be represented through phallic looking components. This could create a shock reaction from people which is what it’d be intended to do to catch people’s attention.

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Research - 7 Items people need A small research survey was conducted to inform this project. People were asked what 7 items they need to get ready in the morning. Only 4 people, 1 female and 3 males, participated in this research. The study would have been more balanced if there were an even number of male and females. However, the results were still helpful and gave some great insights.

When it came to the men, one of those insights was that they mainly only need hair tools and products and deodorant in the morning. Other answers were the obvious things such as clothes and shoes. It was surprising how common jewellery items were among some of the men as well.

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Some women need make up in the morning and the one female who was asked listed that as one of her items.

Other items include hair tools, bags and rings.

These are all useful findings that should help with designing the dressing table. This shows what people need from a dressing table and what features need to be included in the design.

There could be shelves for things such as deodorant and hair tools, drawers for makeup and hair products, a jewellery stand for rings, watches and other jewellery.

Female 1

Male 3

1 Makeup

1 Music

2 Hairbrush

2 Hairdryer

3 Deodorant/perfume

3 Deodorant

4 Hair styling tools

4 Hair gel

5 Clothes

5 Hair products

6 Bags

6 Toothbrush

7 Rings

7 Cup of Tea

Male 2

Male 4

1 Towel

1 Clothes

2 Clothes

2 Shoes

3 Hairdryer

3 Deodorant

4 Hair gel

4 Rings

5 Deodorant

5 Watch

6 Aftershave

6 Bracelet

7 Comb/brush

7 Coat

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Market Research - Traditional Dressing Tables This research helped to get an idea of form and the different features and components that can be included in the dressing table. They normally include a mirror, drawers and table top surface for laying out makeup and hair products. The traditional dressing tables have a more decorated aesthetic that can have surfaces at different heights.

The majority of dressing tables are used with either a stool or a chair. Not many are used at a standing height.

This surely just encourages people to be lazy.

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Almost all of the dressings tables shown here boast a large mirror or even 3 mirrors. For practical reasons this makes sense to be able to see the sides of your face and to make it easier to apply makeup, for example. But in relation to the 7 deadly sins these large mirrors just encourage vanity and pride.

The many drawers that are quite popular in these examples just encourage people to be greedy and to hoard material items.

Key Insights This research has shown that, to keep the design following the theme of this project and to portray the right meaning, the dressing table needs to be very different to existing ones.

There needs to be less drawers, smaller and fewer mirrors and potentially be at a standing height. This will really make it stand out from the crowd and make a statement.

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Research - Contemporary Dressing Tables Contemporary dressing tables are more minimalist compared to the traditional looking ones. The contemporary ones also tend to have fewer or smaller drawers and mirrors. However, they also have more table top storage for makeup and brushes. Could this displaying of belongings be worse than storing things in a drawer? Is this to make others jealous?

It would be interesting to see a totally stripped back dressing table with only the essentials and no belongings adorning the table top.

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Market Research - Jewellery Storage Due to some people from the research survey saying they needed their jewellery to get ready in the morning it seemed a good idea to look at storage.

The sharp, spikey ring holders look so striking and eye catching. Would they represent wrath, because of the aggressive shape, or would they be greed? This is the issue when adding more little items into the product like this because some could mean more than one sin. The meaning then gets confusing and hard to distinguish.

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One jewellery storage example was to have a hidden compartment behind the mirror. It may be hard to incorporate into the design of the dressing table though seeing as this particular piece was a singular wall mounted item.

The laser cut organic looking jewellery stands look lovely but would probably be too literal if it was done with this theme.

Market Research - Other Storage Dressing tables can also contain other storage in the form of glass containers for makeup brushes. Trays for small items of perfume, eyelash curlers and compact mirrors are also common. However, these products would just clutter the table top and would display belongings which would go against the 7 sins.

The hidden storage, however, is a very neat feature that doesn’t display belongings and keeps them a mystery.

However, one could also argue that this is greedy because it is hiding the wealth from others. Hiding the storage is quite deceitful and an untrue representation of that person’s situation in life.

The hairdyer holder is a good idea for keeping the area tidy and would be useful to some of the participants of my survey. This could be a possible thing to use in the design but is not essential.

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Brief - Specifications To design a dressing table that represents the 7 Deadly Sins with the aim to encourage people to be their own judge rather than being wrongly judged by others.

Through using and interacting with the dressing table, people will be given the opportunity to re-evaluate themselves and be mindful of their actions. This is in the hope that it’ll make people think twice about being judgemental towards others and will create awareness of the effects that prejudice and hate crime can have.

The dressing table needs to have some element of shock factor to get a reaction from people. It needs to be eye catching and different but at the same time quite stripped back and minimalist.

Other details include: • • • • • •

Standing height Small mirror Small amount of storage Something shocking and perhaps sexual for Lust.

It needs to question the norms, be different.

It needs to make people want to ask questions about why it is different. It needs to create intrigue.

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INITIAL DESIGN

Initial Sketches Inspired by existing products

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The sketches below were those inspired by the existing products found in the research.

This just helped with sketch improvement and learning the shape of a dressing table.

The sketches are much better now that there is a clear direction, constraints and a strong meaning to the product. The angles from some of these also inspired future drawings.

Initial Sketches - Dressing table with meaning This is the first sketch of the dressing table that has been successful in including all 7 of the sins. Some of the sins are more obvious that others. The thin legs represent anorexia to compare it to the large bin leg which represents obesity. This is to symbolise how society is always fat shaming women, they’re either too thin or too fat. Someone always has something to say no matter what, it’s unfair, but now it’s in your face to show how wrong this is.

Inside the bigger leg is a bin for tissues and makeup wipes, for instance. The bin runs through the inside of the leg to represent the wrath and damage that is done to the environment because of waste. This should make people more mindful of this.

The fact that the bin is inside the large leg is to also play on the leg’s representation of obesity. Even though the leg probably knows it’s too big, it still keeps eating junk anyway. The height of the mirror stand is envy because the mirror is so tall that short people can’t see into it and are therefore envious of taller people.

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Initial Sketches - Iterations These iterations below developed the concept into the idea at the very bottom of the page. This concept has 2 small drawers, shelves for perfume and deodorant and a ring stand. The design has also kept the tall mirror, thin legs and the bin leg. But the best bit is that the handles for the drawers are nipples! This is to create the shock factor and to see how people react to having to touch a nipple to be able to open the drawers. For some this would cause discomfort, disgust and apprehension whereas others might find it a guilty pleasure to squeeze.

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The nipple handles also symbolise how women are objectified in today’s media with heavily photoshopped celebrities and models to fit in with the perfect body shape. (Goh-Mah, 2013) The nipples could also represent the bad rap women get for breastfeeding in public even though it is a perfectly natural thing to do. Lastly, the touching of the nipple handles could symbolise sexual harrassment. There are so many hidden meanings that can be associated with this concept, it’s brilliant.

Initial Sketches - Introducing Drawers Removing the mirror for a second and focusing on developing the frame and drawers was the priority here.

The thin legs were now slotted through the table top in a bid to create the ring storage.

The table top was changed from a kidney bean shape to a rectangle which would be stronger, more stable and easier to make a frame for.

One sketch experimented with the idea of having stepped shelf storage but it looked hideous.

Some sketches also show the dressing table with different sized drawers to represent that all women with natural breasts have ones of different sizes. Could these drawers also represent envy because the small drawer is envious of the larger one? Or do the drawers that are the same size represent envy because women could be envious of other women with perfect breasts? This whole cross-over of meanings is just getting confusing and possibly too deep for others to understand. Each sin needs to have it’s own component or feature.

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Initial Sketches - Mirrors Even though in the brief it stated to do a small mirror to reduce pride and vanity, I decided to experiment with shapes and sizes anyway.

Continuing on with the tall mirror theme these sketches tried to work out how to give the mirror that height.

Could it have a stand similar to those in the market research? Or could the mirror be attached to the thin legs if they were drastically extended through the table top to the desired height? Doing this would mean the mirror wouldn’t be very accessible because you’d have

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to really lean to be able to see into it. Another design point about the mirror is that it can swivel on the axis of its stand to show the blank back. This is to give the user the option to not be vain and to hide away their mirror.

Rectangular shaped mirrors were also tested to compare them to the circular ones. These made the whole piece look too angular and the circular mirrors were still preferred. The mirror still isn’t finalised because it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the design.

Initial Sketches - Frame The big question was, how will this design be made and what will the frame look like? With the way the dressing table currently is the structure is very weak and unstable.

There needs to be some way to connect the thin legs to the bin leg as well as incorporating the drawers.

The best design for the frame is fig 7. This concept has a box framed drawer which attaches onto the legs.

However, it still needs a lot of development because the bin can’t be accessed in this design. The bin leg needs to go through the table top to allow access from above.

I toyed with the idea of slotting the drawers into the underside of the table top but realised it still wouldn’t be strong enough.

Fig 7

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Modelling - Strength & Stability Test A quick cardboard model was used to ensure that my assumptions about the strength and stability of the design were correct. The initial concept of the legs sticking through the table top was modelled first. This was very unstable because there was no support.

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However, when the second model was made by fixing the legs to the corners and outer edges there was a huge improvement. With the bin being attached to the end of the table this allows it to be attached to the frame but still be accessible.

Initial Sketches - Bin leg With this new information to hand the drawings were altered to improve the bin leg design and to rethink how and where it can be attached to the frame. Through the iterations, the bin was reduced in size because it was just too big. The bin only really needs to be big enough to put your hand and a bit of rubbish in.

The bin could have also been a range of different shapes. But I chose to remain with the cylindrical leg because of its smooth shape, similar to the curves of people with obesity. It might be harder to figure out a way to attach a cylinder to the frame but surely there’s a way. By making the right side of the frame round too?

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Initial Sketches - Bin leg and bin insert Now there is the question of what will go inside the bin leg? A bin bag or a bin insert? A bin bag could be held in place with a wooden ring that the top of the bag is wrapped around and slotted into the top of the table.

Is the bin leg clear or opaque? It might make sense for it to be clear so that people know it is a bin if they’re seeing the product for the first time. But also because it makes people more aware of the volume of waste

Fig 8

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in the bin. This way they can’t turn a blind eye to the environmental damage they’re doing because they are constantly reminded of it. The guilt felt could encourage people to find eco friendly ways to recycle or reuse their waste.

The sketches also show a diagram of how the bin leg tube could be fixed to the frame with a large flange fixing (Fig 8)

Initial Sketches - Mirror and Bin Leg Through the development of the bin leg an idea came to me to make the mirror the same size as the bin opening and to use the mirror as the bin lid. Therefore the mirror wouldn’t be a permanent feature that was constantly fixed in one place. It becomes an optional feature that can be hung up when needed.

By having the mirror this way it lowers a person’s pride because to retrieve the mirror you have to bend down to pick it up. But doing so means you see the reflection of yourself looking down at you. If you are someone who thinks they’re higher and better than others because of pride; then this shows you what it’s like to be looked down on if you aren’t used to this experience.

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Initial Sketches - Internal Frame To complement the curve of the cylindrical bin leg, the mirror was made to be a circle and the right side of the dressing table was also curved. The mirror has remained the lid of the bin which is placed into a recess in the table top to make it flush with the surface. Stretcher rails have been introduced to join the thin legs together.

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Initial Sketches - Review The design has developed lots since the first initial sketch. The design is not contrived anymore, the representations of the 7 sins is stronger and more hidden. The stability and strength issues from before are now well on the way to being resolved also. The next step is to do some 3D CAD modelling and then onto full scale testing to further develop the design.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 80

Design Development CAD Representations Modelling the design in CAD really helped to develop certain aspects like the frame and how the bin leg can be attached.

The curved end of the frame will be a laminated plywood component that is fixed to the back panel of the frame. The drawers will be housed seperately to the bin leg to

allow for full use and access to the drawers without interference from the tube.

Different colour schemes were also tested to see which would work best at drawing attention to key areas. My favourite out of them all is the black and red one below.

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Design Development - Colour Something that was mentioned in a tutorial was why had other colours not been explored. Green for envy and purple for pride, for example.

Another thing that was brought up was about what will be inside the drawers. Will they be empty? Could they have jewellery or coins in there to symbolise greed and wealth? Could coins to set into resin on the inside of the drawers? Or maybe inset into the table top?

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The result of these suggestions put into a render was just awful. The green didn’t look right and neither did the purple. The coins just confused it all and brought the attention to the wrong thing.

One useful thing that was pointed out to me was the lack of stability of the table when the drawers are open. Will the weight of the drawers tip it forward? This can easily be resolved by making the left end of the table wider than the bin leg end.

Design Development - Colour Colour schemes that didn’t include the coins didn’t look too bad. It definitely works better when the same colour is continued throughout otherwise it can look confusing.

Also, colours that are bright and unusual make the dressing table look like a children’s piece of furniture.

The pink one, in my opinion, was the best one out of this selection. But I have made the decision to continue with the black and red scheme because it looks so much better. It also makes the piece look a bit dangerous and mysterious.

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Design Development - Table Top A quick full scale tester model was made to ensure the theory of changing the table shape would cure the instability issues. It was also good to double check the dimensions and scale.

The rectangle table top was definitely a lot less stable, especially when pressing on the points either side of the bin leg. But when the table top was cut down to the new angled design this resolved these issues. It also looked a lot more neater having the curve follow the bin leg.

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The table has a 900mm high table top and is 450mm wide at the left side and 300mm at the right. Full scale testing and feedback from others showed that these dimensions were perfect and worked really well for standing up use.

Design Development - Shape This is the CAD model with the updated frame shape.

This new shape really makes the piece unique.

I suppose you could also say that the larger gap between the thinner legs links back to anorexia and having a huge thigh gap.

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Design Development - Mirror Arm Stand One of the options for hanging the mirror was on an arm stand that is attached to one of the thin legs. The arm would then pivot on that axis so the arm could either be erected for mirror hanging or put away out of sight. But what stops the arm from moving when it’s erected? How will this be strong and stable? Also, does this arm place the mirror at a good viewing height and angle?

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Using the full scale model to test different positions for the mirror arm to go still didn’t improve the situation. It just didn’t look right. As well as looking like a lollipop stick, the mirror arm made the dressing table look really tall and lanky. If the position of the mirror arm changes then how is it going to be attached to the table? This mirror arm stand just doesn’t work.

1) Wrath - Violence

2) Pride - Vanity

against environment (bin leg)

(Mirror)

3) Greed - Drawer

won’t open

4) Lust - Nipple handles

5) Gluttony - Anorexia vs Obesity

6) Sloth - Standing 7) Envy - Person 87

Mirror Stand Development The mirror stand has been one of the hardest things to develop and finalise in this project. Since discovering that the mirror arm stand doesn’t work well enough with the design; the mirror stand is now just something fixed to the back of the mirror to prop it up at different angles.

The mirror stand went through many iterations which ranged from a hinged stand, single arm stand, a dome, and a cone. All of which were unsuccessful, especially the dome and cone which was suggested by tutors.

These just uncontrollably rolled around everywhere and were useless.

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The most successful mirror stands were the angled ones made using blue foam. Many iterations of the blue foam models were made to get the angles correct and to test the functionality. If the angles were too sharp then the length of the block had to be longer so that the angled surface would actually touch the table top correctly.

The stand in fig 9 is the best one so far but still needs to have more meaning and reasoning behind it being the shape it is. The mirror stand is part of the pride mirror so therefore also needs to have meaning.

Fig 9

Key Insights Stands with angles and flat surfaces are the best. More research on pride is required for the mirror stand to also have an interesting deep meaning.

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8 Types of Pride 1 Charity Pride 2 Physical Pride 3 Stubborn Pride 4 Vindication Pride 5 Perfectionist Pride 6 No Excuses Pride 7 Indignation Pride 8 Intellectual Pride Source: (Costanza, 2011)

6 Different Forms of Pride 1 Self-exhalation Pride gives credit to himself 2 Self-promotion Pride takes credit from others 3 Self-justification Pride expects credit fro God himself 4 Self-deprivation Pride tears himself down 5 Self-demotion Pride compares himself to others 6 Self-condemnation Pride judges himself Source: (Cheung, 2016) 90

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Design Development - Mirror Stand After doing further research on pride to find out if there are different types of pride, the mirror stand now has more of a meaning and a purpose. As a result, the shape has been changed slightly to represent the types of pride better. It is now easier to distinguish between them all because some sides are cut away more than others which also offers different heights and angles for the mirror.

The blue foam models below were for testing the usability, angles and making sure the stand slotted into

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the bin insert tube. The shape only just fit into the tube so the design has been change to the renders below.

The original dimensions on the blue foam models were 150mm x 150mm x 100mm which were then changed to 140mm x 140mm x 120mm. This is to allow for a little extra room around the sides.

To make the meanings of each face clearer, the names could either be etched or spray painted onto them.

This is something that hasn’t been fully resolved yet.

Design Development - Mirror Accessibility Another important part to develop was how the mirror could be removed from the insert in the table top. The mirror frame was intended to be flush with the table top so there needed to be some way of getting your fingers a hold of the frame to do so. This detail needed to be neat and to not detract from the whole piece.

Finger tabs cut into the mirror frame were tried but this just ruined the look of the curved frame. Finger tabs were also tried in the table top which was even worse and made it look like the mirror had ears.

A finger tab in the form of a circular recess around the mirror was then trialled. This looked a lot better because it followed the curve of the bin leg and mirror. A small recess of 5mm was large enough to get fingers clasped around the outer edge of the mirror frame to pull it out.

After all of this it occurred to me, why does the mirror have to be flush with the table top? It just complicates things. Surely the mirror should stand proud of the surface because the mirror itself represents pride. With the mirror now standing proud by 6mm it can easily be gripped and removed from where it’s located.

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Design Development - Mirror Size The mirror started out at 200mm in diameter (left) but this looked far too small when the thickness of the frame is taken into account. 300mm diameter (right) was too big for the table top. But 230mm (below) in diameter was just perfect because it didn’t dwarf the table, it complemented it. There was also the right amount of table top material that could be seen around the edge of the mirror.

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Design Development - Mirror Design The original design for the mirror had a removable back like with picture frames. But after seeking advice from tutors I found this not to be neccessary. Instead the mirror now sits into a 5mm recess in the solid maple frame which is fixed down by adhesive. The maple component parts are CNC machined to make them accurate. All wooden components are then glued together using titebond before fixing the 4mm mirror glass in place.

4mm Mirror Glass

12mm Maple Frame

Maple Mirror Stand

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Design Development - Bin Insert The big question at first with the bin insert was how do you get it out? Does it need a handle? Tests were done using the full scale model to see which handle would be best. The handles (top) would need to be recessed into the table top just like with the mirror. This is because the mirror would not being able to fit in its slot otherwise.

Cutting away even more thickness from the table top would weaken it as well as not looking so tidy.

Upon feedback from tutors I realised that the bin doesn’t a seperate handle, just as long as you can get hold of

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it. This lead to the development of the cut-out handle (bottom) which gives a good grip for removing the bin insert. In manufacture, the bin insert would be injection moulded to achieve a clean finished handle.

Another concern was how long the bin insert was and how hard it was to remove. In response to this was making the bin leg base deeper and the bin insert shallower. However, it was then changed back again after feedback from peers. Surely the fact that it’s heavy and difficult to remove just symbolises how it’s not easy to reverse the damage to the environment?

Design Development - Bin Leg and Base The bin leg would also be injection moulded to allow for fixing methods to be introduced into the top and bottom of the tube. The frame and base would then be securely fixed to the leg. Currently this issue hasn’t been resolved for the prototype because the extruded acrylic being used tends to crack. So for now the leg is being glued to and supported by 2 plywood disks as well as being glued to the maple hardwood base.

The leg base could have been acrylic just like the leg, which would have been a lot easier to fix together.

However, this probably wouldn’t have been strong enough or stable enough. The weight of the CNC machined maple base helps to keep the table sturdy and provides a durable surface for the bin insert to sit on without getting damaged.

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Design Development - Fixing bin leg to frame As mentioned before, the fixing of the bin leg to the frame and base has been a slight issue that still needs to be resolved. For now they will be glued together.

But there were other ways to do this, for instance, the leg could have been: • Screwed to the supporting plywood disks. Which would have cracked the plastic • Glued or screwed to a plastic cylindrical flange

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Upon making the prototype it was clear that the fixing would need to be very tidy because it would be visible when accessing the bin. If these fixings were covered then the few drill chipped holes wouldn’t have been as much of an issue.

If the fixing issue was resolved then the bin leg could be replaced if it were ever damaged. It would also then be suitable to disassemble after its product life so it can be reused or recycled.

Design Development - Nipple Handles The nipple handle idea was tested using teats from babies bottles. Some people suggested casting real human nipples to make the handles. I decided against this because these teats worked very well and were large enough to be used as a handle. It is uncertain how suitable a real nipple would have been as a handle, it may have not been big enough.

Just from doing this bit of modelling, these nipples were already gathering attention and intrigue from people.

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Design Development - Nipple Handles The first version of the nipple handle was cast into one of the bottle teats with a bolt inset into it. The process can be seen below. The result was great apart from the untidiness of the teat lip (which is how it fits into the bottle). But, the inset bolt was surprisingly quite sturdy This was cast with red silicone in the hopes that the end result would be squishy and slightly disturbing.

Unfortunately the nipple wasn’t as squishy as I’d hoped.

This was because it was cast into the teat.

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In manufacture these silicone nipple handles would be batch produced components in a similar way to this. It would also be easier to accurately locate the bolt to the centre of the nipple.

Design Development - Nipple Mould A silicone mould of the exterior nipple shape was cast ready for producing better quality handles. Only one mould was made, but in manufacture there would be multiple moulds to be able to cast several at a time.

The casting was similar to the previous page but instead the nipple needed filling with clay to make sure it kept its shape in the mould.

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Design Development - Nipple Handles Casting is difficult and quite unpredictable, especially when it comes to insetting these bolts into the silicone.

All it takes is for it to be slightly off centre and the bolt will protrude out of the silicone.

However, the new handles are a huge improvement on the first version. They look much neater and feel so much squidgier and flexible which is great fun. Some people get really freaked out by these because they look more realistic.

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Design Development - Handle Bolt Fixing The bolt for the handle would need to be something like the diagrams and examples below but as a ready-made part. For the prototype though the bolt is made using: • 1 M5 bolt • 2 nuts (+1 to hold it in place) • 1 large washer • 5 small washers • 2 large star washers • 1 small star washer

Star washers are used because of their spikes which grip into the silicone and stop the bolt from easily coming out. Pre-bought parts similar to this would be used in manufacture.

These bolts would then screw into the insert nuts in the drawer fronts to keep them secure.

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Design Development - Drawers Early in the project the drawers weren’t supposed to open and function properly. This was part of the underlying meaning of being greedy and locking away your wealth. One drawer was going to be locked shut and the other was only supposed to open part of the way to symbolise that it was too full. To do this the opening drawer had angled sides that would cause it to stop at a certain point. However, after feedback from tutors I was made aware that having the drawer angled would mean that it wouldn’t open at all. A drawer stop could be used to reduce the opening amount instead.

Angled Drawers

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The decision has now been made to have the drawer sides straight to allow for it to open.

However, after more thought in regards to the meaning of the drawers I have now decided to have both drawers functional and opening. This is because the dressing table was supposed to be about encouraging people to change their actions and to be their own judge. Well, surely the fact that the drawers are quite small does just this. There is less space and opportunity to hoard material items.

Straight Drawers

Design Development - Frame As the design progressed, it was found that a top panel needed to be added so the frame could be assembled first before attaching the table top. This will give a cleaner finish because all of the internal frame screws will not affect the table top. One of the main reasons for adding in the new panel is so that the laminated component can be glued to the frame.

The maple table top, plywood frame panels and bin leg support rings are all manufactured using a CNC router to make sure they’re all accurate. The rest of the wooden components are batch produced items.

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Design Development - Laminated Plywood In earlier versions of the dressing table, the laminated component was just the ‘U’ curve near the bin leg which joined onto one of the drawer dividers. Tutor feedback informed me that this would be very difficult to laminate such a tight curve. However, if the curve and the back panel were all laminated as one piece it would laminate better. To stop the curve moving and to secure it to the frame, this component will be glued to edges of the curved frame panels.

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The laminated component would be mass manufactured using a 2-part high frequency mould. The laminated component is made from plywood and maple veneer.

Design Development - Fixing the table top The table is fitted with insert nuts screwed into the underside of the table top. This is then fixed to the frame with countersunk bolts. This means the table top can be removed if neccessary which helps it to be a sustainable product.

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Design Development - Maple Legs The maple legs are joined together with a stretcher rail using a mortise and tenon joint. This is a strong joint that will give the legs strength and stability. Before these components are assembled, the legs need to be painted with their red finish so that the stain doesn’t get on the stretcher rail which remains natural.

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Design Development - Colour and finish For a long time the table top was going to be black with the thin legs, bin leg base, mirror frame and stand all being red. After making the deicion I didn’t think to change it. A few people expressed their preference for leaving the table top natural because the wood grain is so beautiful.

After re=testing the black ink on the maple and finding that the grain is almost completely covered by it, the

advice was taken into great consideration. Why is the table top black? Does the table top have a meaning?

No it doesn’t, so why does it have a colour? The red colour on everything else is to make them stand out for a reason but the black just confuses the design. It may lead people to think that the table top also has a meaning which it doesn’t. The black also draws too much attention away from more important features.

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FINAL OUTCOME

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2) Mirror for Pride - Vanity

3) Small Drawers 4) N for Greed Han for

5) Legs fo Gluttony

- Anorexia vs Ob

6) Sloth - Stan

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1) Bin for Wrath - Violence against environment

Nipple ndles r Lust

or y

besity

nding

7) Envy - Person is envious of product.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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TABOO By

Lucy Danby

MDes Furniture and Product Design Sheffield Hallam University B2027539 124