What is this? A chair for ANTS! It needs to be at least... 3 times bigger than this!"

[24/11/2012]

Scale model of The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Who Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too

These are words that no man should ever have to say but I just spent my Friday night upholstering model chairs. And just to add insult to significant injury, I had to miss the Celtic game against Inverness to stay home and continue to work on my models (although in hindsight that may not have been the worst thing in the world).

Although their overall quality belies the amount of time i spent on them, I did find the exercise useful. It's difficult on paper (and sometimes even on CAD) to get an idea of what a design would actually look like in the real world. It's so much easier to get feedback from people if you can show them physical models of your concept instead of showing them a series of sketches. And if you have any moving parts (like the ball at the base of the chair) people will get infinitely more information from something they can play around with than they would from anything you could show them in 2-dimensions.   

 Model 1

This model shows the chair with a mesh backrest and 6 configurable pads on the back rest giving it a customisable curvature. The 3 gold pin heads represent the points along the spine that can also be customised to a user's preferences.

The back of the chair features 3 pairs of diagonal lines and a straight spine giving the impression of stability. The base of the chair is a standard 4 wheel configuration with cylinders to control the overall height. The main criticism i have of this model is that it looks like an office chair. There is nothing particularly futuristic about the look of this chair and probably wouldn't look out of place in an office today.

Model 2

This model shows the same chair with the "node" inspired base. One of the first things i noticed about this model is that the chair seems to have an unfortunate toilet aesthetic. I know that the black seat cushion and white plasticine base isn't helping but I'm still unconvinced about the aesthetic appeal of this concept.

Model 3

Next up is the cylindrical cone base. The main criticism is that the chair doesn't look stable and, even with a wider base, i don't think it would inspire confidence.

 Model 4

Now we have the "fan" back chair in both the classic 4 wheel and node configurations. Although i really like the aesthetic of this model, I'm really struggling to see how it would work. I think i would definitely have to lose the adjustable spine and i just can't imagine how you would get the back panels to curve - especially when being controlled via an app.

It feel like I'm trying to get function to follow form and, inevitably, struggling to make it work.

Last, and by all means least, is a more organic form of chair back akin to the CAD model i showed at the Steelcase event. I had already departed from this idea before making these models and what i saw did nothing to convince me I had made an error in judgement.












Conclusion

From what I've learned from these models I'm definitely leaning towards Model 1. I really like the look of Model 4 but I think its too late in the day to try and figure out how it would work. With  the presentation and hand-in just over a week away, I really need to focus now on my final concept and refining it as best i can in the time that remains.