cocoon lamp BIOMIMICRY

Diane Guo8th Jan, 2013

About Design Brief

In the Design stage, I wrote a design brief to help myself later on. In my design brief I mentioned that “I will design and make a biomimicry night lamp with sustainable materials with in 500x300x300 mm. It will be on the floor.” My final product is 450x250x250 mm, it meets with my design brief. The materials I used for this product are plywood and strings. Plywood is manufactured wood panels made from thin sheets of veneer. It is flexible, inexpensive, and most importantly it si sustainable, which meet with my design brief. As the pictures show, the lamp is put on the floor, and the light is not too strong which is suitable for a night lamp. My final product meet all of the objectives of my Design Brief.

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Evaluation of Design Cycle

Investigate:In the investigate stage, I dud the history of biomimicry and construction research, idea ideas research, brainstorm, design brief and design specification. I can improve on the construction and material research I did, because the research were not very clear on the way to construct, the research didn’t help me a lot in the creating process. Also the material research wasn’t helpful as well, because the materials I searched for are not available at school, so next time I can research base on the supplies we have at school.

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Design:In the design stage, I came up with 7 different ideas that were all related to biomimicry. I can improve on designing more realistic designs, because the designs I did were very hard to make. I only focused on the looks, patterns and colors of the design, I forgot to consider the how I will actually construct them, what materials I need and what tools I have to use. Next time I need to consider all the factors to make a product.

Plan:In the planning stage, I did construction plan, gantt chart and material plan. I need to improve on my construction plan, because it was quite confusing, and it wasn’t accurate. I estimated the steps I will have to follow, but it was very rough, I didn’t add a lot of details into the plan. I should think carefully about each step of the process that I have to follow, so I can put them into a construction plan and follow it while I’m making my project.

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Design Specifications

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Size: I measured the size of my lamp, and it is 450x250x250 mm, which is within the size limit.

Target market:The target market on my design specification says that it was for girls under 20 years old. But after I have made my product, I realized that it can be for anybody, any gender.

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Materials:I said I would use long- last and easy to clean materials, but I think I didn’t achieve both. Because the string is not easy to clean, and the plywood is not very long-lasting.

Ergonomics:The switch is easy to press, and I left enough space at the top to reach my hand in.

Function:The function of my product is to light up the room at night, which is same as my design specification.

Aesthetic:I didn’t use biomimicry pattern in my product, but I did include biomimicry shape and color in. The shape of my product is the shape of a cocoon, and the color is also similar to a cocoon.

Safety:My product is very safe to use, because the shape is round, so there is no sharp edges at all.

Cost:In my design specification, I said my product would cost around 20-80 RMB. However I realized that it will cost much more than 80 RMB, because for all the works I have been put into the project, it would at least cost 150 RMB.

Evaluation I think my overall design turned out very good, it looks very close and even better than my original design. Although I changed the covering cloth to string, but I think it is better than putting cloth. I am glad that all of the parts could join together, maybe not all perfectly joined but it doesn’t affect the appearance. If I am going to make this project again, I will change the width of each leg and make it thinner, because there can be more space in the middle.

I like the materials I chose because plywood is very easy to cut, and it saved me lots of time cutting out the material. And I chose to use pine wood for the lamp supportot, because it is thicker and stronger. The string gives the lamp the feeling of nature and soil, the texture of the string looks like a real cocoon. It was a good choice of material.

I didn’t paint my lamp because I don’t need to, strings will cover all the materials and wrap them inside. The color of the plywood is very close to the string, so it is better not to paint it.

The project didn’t take too long to make, mainly because the advanced machines I was using, it save me approximately 3 weeks if I was using hand saw. Also I brought the materials back to home during the winter break, so I continue to make it at home. It was faster to make it at home, because I had more time, and the place was bigger than school so it was easier to spread the materials out. I think I planned my project well for the time because I finished the project quite quickly, and I finished it before most of the others did, that means I used my class time efficiently.

My project is safe, because it is a round shape, there is no sharp edges on the lamp. Also I think it is very stable, it won’t fall or break easily when someone touches it. The only weak part of the project are the

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stings, because they were fixed with glue, if the glue gets weaker, I am afraid that the strings might fall.

I think it would be a good idea to set up a production line for a company or manufacturer, because there are only three different shapes of materials needed for this lamp. A company can have five lines: the circles, the legs, the bulb supporter, lamp kit assembling, and wrapping the string. It can be done easily and quickly.

I think people above 15 will like my project the best, because it is not very fancy and colorful, so the kids won’t like it so much. I think it is appropriate for all the other age groups and all genders, because it doesn’t have a standing out color, anybody can simply use it.

I didn’t make a survey, but I have heard a lot of comments from the others. All of them said it was good, it was well constructed and well finished. The look is very nice and professional, they said that looks like I spent a lot of time on it, because the product looks so well.

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Design Brief My project answers my design brief, it is a biomimicry product made my sustainable materials within the size of 500x300x300 mm. It fulfills my need, which was to have a night lamo in my room. It is the perfect size for my room, and it is very similar from what I imagined.

-Process-

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