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Throne for Two
Design Sprint
WHAT WE ARE DOING
WHY WE ARE DOING IT
This activity involves designing dual-seating solutions to promote human interaction, honing prototyping skills with lo-fi materials.
It fosters creative exploration of social dynamics, encourages hands-on learning in prototyping, and cultivates empathy-driven design thinking.
Final Project Expectations
Time: Restricted timeline for prototype development
The prototype is designed for 2+ people and effectively encourages and facilitates human interaction.
Materials: Limited to using cardboard, paper, tape, and other low-fidelity materials.
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You will design something to sit upon that can accommodate two or more people.
Think about the interactions between the people using your furniture: does it promote conversation, debate, play, collaboration?
THE CHALLENGE
10 mins
A precedent is a project done in the real world that can be used to help explain some of the ideas that will be covered in the studio or project.
Students should locate and critically evaluate precedents and demonstrate how the content of the relate to their projects.
Precedents generally fall into a number of categories:
CONCEPTUAL
ASPIRATIONAL
COMPARABLE
There are many ways to sit
Ex. low to the ground, high up, bean bags, stools, folding chair, etc.
Precedent Research
Individually:
Have a look at the Precedents (examples) found in the Toolbox tab and research your own compilation of inspirational images.
10 mins
10 mins
20 mins
1.
In groups:
Share your findings and note down what design details you find inspiring and want to bring into your project.
Think about how two or more people would use these pieces of furniture, and what dynamics and interactions would be created in its use.
1 - ENCOURAGE WILD IDEAS
2 - SUSPEND JUDGMENT
4 - BUILD ON IDEAS
5 - BE VISUAL
3 - GO FOR QUANTITY
Wild ideas can often give rise to creative leaps.
Don’t shoot down someone else’s idea.
Aim for as many ideas as possible.
Build and expand on the ideas of others.
Sketch your ideas.
Now, we're going to brainstorm ideas as a group. Use the list of interaction concepts on the following slide as a starting point.
Brainstorming
2.
~15 mins
Exercise/Health
Culinary
Games
Playfulness
Commerce/Trading
Artistic
Musical
Nature
Emotion/Well-being
Brainstorming
2.
Concept Idea
3.
15 mins
With your group, start by discussing your ideas from brainstorming, and try to hone in on a concept that you all think is worth pursuing. You won't get into details of your design yet, but find common ground in terms of theme and direction.
Examples:
- The group is interested in designing a seat that encourages written communication between strangers. There are some ideas about letter boxes, encoded words, or sound recordings to relay messages from one person seated to the other.
- The group is interested in a "living" seating plan that has plants growing in it. There are different ideas about who would tend to the plants, whether they would be edible or not, and how the plants could encourage interaction.
SKETCH MODELS
ITERATIVE PROTOTYPING
FULL-SCALE PROTOTYPING
1
2
3
STAGES OF PROTOTYPING
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: SHAPING
Bending
Scoring
Curving
Faceting
Layering
Hinging
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: JOINERY
Brads
Flanges
Brace
Skewer
Bend
Hinge
Slots
Butt Joint
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: Mechanism
Gears
Scissor lift
Grabbing
Waving
Tentacle
Curving
Claw
Fanning
It's time to start prototyping! Each group member should make at least one quick prototype. These models will not look finalized and are supposed to be sketchy!
Quick Prototyping
4.
30 mins
Hopefully, you will discover some things through making your prototype. Share within your group as you make to collaboratively advance your ideas.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Cardboard
Colored Acetate
Bristol Papers
Zip-ties
Straws
Metal Ruler
Pencil
Markers
Cutting Blade
Masking Tape
Hot Glue Gun
String
Brads
Popsicles and wooden skewers
Choose one or more of the prototypes to share with the class. This will be a casual "popcorn-style" feedback session, where coaches and class members can ask questions, give ideas, and make suggestions.
Sharing & Testing
4.
15 mins
Desk Critiques
Group Feedback
Kinds of Feedback
There are three forms of feedback. Understanding these can help us understand the conversations we have with our teams and improve our own ability to react to and use feedback to strengthen our designs.
Reaction-Based
Feedback
Direction-Based
Feedback
Question-based Feedback
X
X
Final Prototype
5.
15 mins
Using similar materials from your quick prototypes, build your final prototype!
This time, be more thoughtful of your construction techniques with cutting and assembling.
Presentation
6.
Think about what you would like to present to the class to best show your final design. You should show the final prototype, but also consider including curated photos or collages, use diagrams, gifs, or a blown-up/ full scale detail of one part of the design.
Presentation
6.
Your group will have ~3 minutes to present your project to the group. Feedback during this phase will be more celebratory, with comments from the coaches and group highlighting successes in the process and final work.
End of Challenge!
Prompt
Get ready to design an interactive furniture piece that serves 2 or more people and facilitates human interaction. From researching inspiring precedents to building human-scale prototypes, this studio will challenge you to blend functionality and aesthetics while considering social dynamics.
Competencies:
Collaboration, Concept Development, Iteration, Prototyping, Project Management, Empathy
Materials:
Cardboard sheets, paper, cardstock paper
Tape, hot glue gun, fasteners, zip ties
Box cutters, scissors
Post-it notes (for brainstorming and feedback)
Instructions:
1. Precedent Research:
Individually, compile a collection of inspirational images showcasing various seating arrangements and designs. In groups, share your findings and identify design elements that inspire interaction. Collaborate to envision how these elements can shape your project and enhance user dynamics.
2. Brainstorming:
Generate 10 diverse furniture ideas individually, drawing inspiration from your research.
In groups, consolidate your individual ideas and create three new sketches that combine the most exciting elements from each concept. Embrace collaboration to refine and enrich your designs.
3. Quick Prototyping:
Work in groups to create small-scale prototypes of your three sketches using basic materials like paper, tape, and cardboard.
Share feedback within your team and select one concept to develop further into a human-scale prototype, focusing on construction techniques and user interaction.
4. Cardboard and Construction:
Research different cardboard building mechanisms and construction ideas in the Resources Tab or through independent research.
Sketch out potential construction methods and consider how they can be applied to your design.
5. Detailed Drawings:
Collaborate with your group to create detailed drawings of your design from various angles, including estimated measurements and sketches of individual components to be cut from cardboard.
6. Human-Scale Prototype:
Utilize materials from your quick prototypes to construct a human-scale prototype of your chosen design, paying close attention to construction techniques and user interaction. Challenge yourself to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing piece.
7. Sharing and Testing:
Showcase your sketches, quick prototypes, and human-scale prototypes for peer feedback. Participate in a feedback exchange where students test each other's furniture designs and provide constructive feedback using post-it notes.
Final Deliverable:
A piece of furniture designed for human interaction between 2 or more people using cardboard and other lo-fi materials.