Plastic Prototyping

Posted: November 3rd, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: DesignWork, Personal | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
Study of a custom typeface in 1/2″ frosted acrylic. Each letter was cut to be 12 inches tall.

Plastic Prototype of a commercial booth
Study for a commercial booth in a 1/2 scale model to test the assembly system.

While at NC State University’s College of Design I was encouraged to consistently prototype. Even though we had access to a full machine shop and a laser cutter, I always prototyped in paper. I loved the quick success granted by playing with some post-its and markers (I have to say my friend Valentina was the grad-school queen of markers who got me into the habit of using them again).

Now, a few months after leaving NC State, I am still consistently prototyping. I have to say that now, because I am trying to establish a multidisciplinary practice, I require more quick iterations than ever before, be it to keep my mind fresh or to be able to collaborate with another designer on a project.

Here I want to show a few images from two projects that are currently underway. In each of them I have prototyped using a laser cutter and some acrylic.

Custom typographic family study
Currently I am trying to make the case for a custom alphabet to be used in a company’s corporate headquarters. To make my case stronger, I decided to prototype a few of the custom letters by laser cutting them out of 1/2″ thick frosted acrylic to illustrate the presence and graphic authority that such a strategy could grant. I have yet had the opportunity to share this, but here a few images of what came out. I am now using these to study the vertical and horizontal stresses caused by the rough joints I have in my letters. I will use these models to re-shape the original hand drawn designs.

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.

Prototype out of frosted acrylic made to study a custom typeface that I am developing.
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Commercial Booth Project
For another client, Miguel Ortiz and I collaborated to design a commercial booth out of laser cut acrylic that can be re-used in many professional conventions. In order to be sure that the design would be made with precision, we made a 1/2 scale model of the final piece to study its structural system. We underwent two rounds of changes and adjustments before going into final production.

Detail of plastic prototype of a commercial booth.
Detail of plastic prototype that allowed a study of the anchoring system
Plastic Prototype of a commercial booth
Plastic Prototype of a commercial booth
Plastic Prototype of a commercial booth
Commercial booth made out of laser cut frosted acrylic
The final product, measuring 7 feet tall. It can be assembled with no ties or adhesives and reused.

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