Testing the Service: Final Idea Booklet

After receiving the booklet and having a discussion with Morna about what she wanted from the stool, a final idea was sketched up and put onto another booklet that will get sent out to be okayed by Morna. This is shown below:

Testing the Service: Getting the Initial Ideas Book Back

After posting the first book out to Morna with my initial ideas sketched onto it, I got it back from her 2 days later with some ideas and sketches done with the red chinagraph pencil. The photos are shown below:

A final idea booklet taking these ideas into account will now be made and this will then be sent to Morna. When a reply is received I will start going ahead with the manufacturing process.

Designing the User Interaction: More Packaging

Now that the size and shape of the box has been designed as well as the sleeve and the branding on it, the right material for the packaging still needs to be chosen. Ideally a gray box would be made. This worked however it was mounting board that was used with a colour layer glued on top. Even though the colour was perfect the top layer peeled off. Another two different materials have been tried and these include a thick card and single core cardboard. I feel this should work better than the double core cardboard.

Images of the card and the single core cardboard are shown open, closed and with a sleeve on them:

At the moment the cardboard is the best option and provides a clean finish and still fits in with the sleeve, however, I am going to test a double core cardboard and see if this gives better results and a cleaner fold.

The Stool: Initial Ideas Booklet

As a new project has been started in order to test the service, an initial ideas booklet has been made and will be mailed as a pack to Morna. Pictures of the booklet are shown below, followed by the packet.

Packaging

Booklet with inlay and sketching utensils

The logo was initially laser-cut in but it did not suit the tone of voice

A sleeve design was decided on, keeping the same typeface

This was then wrapped in parcel paper

This has been sent to Morna and I am now waiting for her to send it back to me.

New Project: Stool

Now that a service has been designed around the previous side table project it needs to be tested. In order for this to take place a new project needs to be embarked on. Morna is going to be used again as I feel it will be most beneficial using the same client to test the service. She has found a stool that she kind of like but it will need some work to get it the way she really wants it. There are some pictures of the stool below:

The Finished Table

After the legs were attached, the table top had to then be re-attached. This was done by using wood glue, and the original screws which go through the frame and into the table top itself.

I will get some better pictures shortly!

Testing the Service

In order to make sure the service that is being designed around this first restoration project actually works, the pack is going to be sent out to the same user, Morna, and her feedback will be used to improve the design of it. She has something else that she wants to alter and the packs will get sent back and forward. Due to time constraints this will be a smaller restoration than the side table but will be kept to a stricter timetable. This will hopefully start on Monday the 18th, let the fun and games begin!

Designing the User Interaction: Packaging Mark 3

With the design chosen for the packaging I decided to try and remake it using a thinner material. The cardboard was a tad too thick and this meant folding it was quite difficult. The thinner card turned out to not be robust enough but it was definitely easier to fold than the cardboard, all that needs to take place is to find a happy medium that can survive the postal service.

The next stages of the box are to fit two layers so there is a set place for the pens and the instructions to the user. As well of this some kind of printing onto the box, maybe etched with the laser cutter or a stamp of some kind.

Concrete Legs and Metal Brackets

Now that both of the concrete legs have been made they need to be reattached to two remaining legs and the rest of the frame. This was quite tricky and all the ideas that I had previously thought of could not work for various reasons. First brackets were made using old scraps of steel. An L-shape bracket and a flat steel plate were made for each leg. These were screwed into the wood and then the holes were marked onto the concrete legs.

Holes were then drilled into the concrete legs using masonry drill bits, designed to drill into stone. These were made bigger than the screws that were being used with the idea being to fill the holes with a fast-setting epoxy glue and gluing the screws into the concrete as well as gluing the legs onto the brackets.

Now that the legs have been attached the only remaining task is to attach the table top. This will be done using wood glue and the original screws that screwed through the frame and into the table top.

Designing the User Interaction: Packaging Mark 2

After choosing which box I wanted to use I then made it again out of cardboard, these are shown below:

The problem with this prototype was that the card was too thick, this will now be tried out of a thinner material.