INDUSTRIAL DESIGN / STUDENT PROJECT
The Gerald Chair
A concept outdoor lounge chair designed to be a metaphor of my friend Gerald. Inspired by origami swans.
The Brief
For this assignment, we were challenged to design a chair based on the characteristics of our chosen partner. The chair needed to stand as a metaphor for our partner in materiality, form, and process.
Ideation
During my interview with Gerald, I discovered a few key traits about him that guided my exploration. His laid-back demeanor, structured and organized approach, hard work ethic, and simplistic outlook on life all helped guide my exploration into form and material.
Decision
I ultimately landed on using a visual metaphor of an origami swan to represent Gerald and his qualities. Its form reflects this through several ways: 1) it’s resemblance to a swan is a metaphor for Gerald’s outward grace and humility, while under the surface, Gerald’s hard work-ethic and determination; 2) in profile view, the chair has the appearance of an origami swan, which is a simplified representation of a swan. This reflects Gerald’s uncomplicated and simple approach to life, as well as his structured and organized manner; 3) the slatted pieces provide an opaque view from the side, but a more transparent view from the front, resembling Gerald’s tendency to be reserved at first, but open up to others as he feels comfortable; 4) and lastly the form as a chair is reclined, reflecting Gerald’s laid-back and easy-going attitude. The chair will be made out of an unpainted Hard Maple to reflect Gerald’s overall light attitude and authenticity.
HAND SKETCHES
DIGITAL SKETCHES
FUSION 360 RENDERING
Model Construction
To start I planed down a board of hard maple to the width of each slat (1/4”) and then used a laser cutter to cut the exact pattern of each piece out of the board. From there I used a wood glue and various clamping techniques to ensure a solid fit. Lastly I sanded and finished with a finishing wax to preserve the colour while adding durability.
