langesth_CCDN384

Final Product - Herb Holder

Thursday 26th May:

Further refinement of my product, packaging and drafts of my advertisement poster.

This is where I am currently at with the refinement of my design:

Comparing my original prototype on the left to my new 3 pot holder to the right you can see the new shapes and height. Masking tape is currently wrapped around the three pots to hold them while the glue drys, holding them in the correct place. I still need to sand back the glue and oil the wood or stain it to seal and protect it from water, also to give it a nice finish. Im still trying to understand what to do with the moisture meter and figure out a way to attach it without it being the center of attention. The design is great without the moisture meter so I just need to way up whether the design would be better and more functional with it or not.

Packaging:

Continuing on from research, I’ve found a few styles of packaging that I really like and that I feel would fit in with the style of the product and really emphasis the purpose behind it. This style will use natural materials and simple colours in the shape of a square box to go well with the wood and black colour of the herb holder contrasting against the circles and curves used.

1. This style of packaging is nice with the slip on brand, logo and instructions onto the brown box. Simple and effective but has no ‘style’.

2. This style of packaging works well. It clearly explains the product and information while give a sustainable look!

3. This style of packaging has meaning. When opening the box it give a detailed story behind it which I love, while still being simple.

Advertisement:

These are a few poster styles advertising various products that I think could work well with my design. I want my colour scheme to be natural with green being the dominating colour to target nature, sustainability, fresh, new, growth, and cutting edge. This examples will be great inspiration. 

http://www.innisfreeworld.com/main/index.do?source=https://www.google.co.nz/

http://canvas.pantone.com/gallery/8586477/Petit-Frutado

http://www.tutorart.com/index.php/86-amazing-examples-of-photo-manipulation/

My draft advertisement for my Herb Holder:

I want the advertisement to look simple and have a bright dominating image of the holder with a couple of herb pots in it with someone holder it so people know the size to scale. I’m playing with all the information down the right side of the page so that it doesn't look too cluttered in white writing. I also really like the use of a blackboard background or similar like concrete, brick or marble as these a grayish colours that a subtle and go well with wood, black and green.  

Creating the wooden stand:

Firstly I collected all the materials and tools that I needed. I wanted to use Rimu for the wooden base because its such a strong sturdy wood and would be able to hold and balance out the pots. I used Ash for the spokes because that wood is easy to bend when thin. 

1. I cut out on the band-saw a 90 mm circle. Originally about 25 mm thick but this snapped the grain when I went to cut a hole in the middle so I made it larger to 50 mm so it was stronger. 

2. I then sketched the design and shape of the curves for the spokes on a scrap bit of plywood to scale. This allowed me to get an idea if the wood would bend to the shape I desired. 

3. From here I sketched over these lines onto sketching paper so I could then trace them onto the block of wood I would be using as a mold. 1 block for the 2 outside spokes and another for the 2 inside spokes.  

4. I cut over the lines on the band-saw giving me a mold to put my thin 2mm ash into. 

5. I found some strong 10 minute glue that expands together when contacted with wood. I applied this to the ash to stick the two bits of wood together (2 mm each). This is the process of laminating wood. Before the glue dried, I placed evenly the Ash between my mold in a device and slowly tightened it until it was clamped together tightly. 

6.  I left these to dry for an hour just to be safe the wood stayed in the shape I wanted. I removed the Ash from the clamp and cut on the band-saw to the size I needed. I also sanded all 4 pieces to look and feel smooth and more curvy.

7. I cut my dowel pieces to size and measured where I wanted each pot to sit where the herb holder was standing up. I glue and clamped these and left to dry.

8. Meanwhile, I cut a 25 mm x 18 mm hole in the Rimu base to allow for the spokes to go into. I used a drill and chisel to do this. When the dowels were dry I pushed all 4 spokes into the base ready to glue permanently into it. 

Creating my 3D waterproof pot holder bowl:

I created from scratch a cylinder pot shape 90 mm x 90 mm x 60 mm. From this I added two identical holes aligned on either side of the pot. These holes will hold the rods connected to the stand, giving the pot plant a holder to sit in.

Time: - Designing the pot in 123 Design took 15 minutes. 

          - 3D printing took 2 hours 5 minutes to print each individual pot.

Thursday 19th May:

Development & refinement of my design responded to previous research.

Having done a little bit of research into the marketing side of selling my own products, I have come up with a few different developments and more of a direction for my original prototype, The Herb Holder to choose from that I think people would want to buy. 

DEVELOPMENT 1: Add two more pots to the original stand catering for more herbs. By taking my original design of just one pot holder, I have though that it may be useful in kitchens to have a couple more pots to hold more of a variety of herbs. In doing so, I am creating product that can altered or adjusted to hold how ever many pots necessary but also giving your kitchen a free flowing simple sculpture.

DEVELOPMENT 2: Make the pot holder upside down like Boskke’s products. By turning the pot holder upside down it takes away the norm, adds character and more of an edge. You would be able to hang this from the roof to save space and was thinking about having it to be able to hold two or three pots for more variety again.

DEVELOPMENT 3: Creating one pot but sectioned into three segments and plant three herbs into these. This keeps the hassle of having three separate pots to worry about. The only trouble here is is could be too large to have on the windowsill, but that may be a selling point where people like to place them on their benches instead of windowsills. 

OTHER IDEAS FOR MY DESIGN:

- Cut out letters from the laser cutter so the plants can be named

- 3D Print the pot to collect the water to give a better finish. Make sure it is waterproof and doesn’t leak onto the stand by wiping it down with nail polish remover. 

- Perhaps I can incorporate the moisture meter into the base or the 3D printed pot this time so it doesn't become the center of attention and take away from the overall design of the holder. 

- Keep with my natural wood theme and black components as this will incorporate with many things in peoples homes. 

- Think about designing a pattern for the top of the ash wood stands to add a feature of texture. 

PACKAGING:

Packaging can be done in so many different ways and types. The research I did earlier into packaging is simply brilliant, they have keep with the ideas of the product and packed the product in safely with materials, colours, and shapes according to what the design is, where it comes from or how it reacts in this world. 

I will keep my packaging simple because I don’t want to overwhelm the customer. I think I will be de-assembling my product and let the customer assemble it once they have brought it at their home. This saves space and cost in packaging with the product inside the real gain and treasure. 

ITERATIONS:

Self-Assessment

I really enjoyed creating my plant pot holder for kitchen herbs. It took a while for me to decide on an idea that I thought would be fun to make but also slightly challenging keeping in mind that I had neither used the 3D printer or the laser cutter before. I love to cook in the kitchen and constantly have herbs sitting on my window sill but manage to end up killing them because I forget to water them. I thought how funky it could be if I made an all-in-one moisture reader pot holder.

 +        The making process applied in the creation of the prototype.

I decided to make the body of my pot holder with wood as it is a material I feel comfortable with and can easily construct. I used rimu for the base as it is a nice strong wood and ash for the stems as it is a long grained wood that easily bends. I started making my prototype later in the project which was a downside to my process as I feel I could have had more time to experiment with different materials and their qualities. I am happy with how the wood has turned out in such short time.

 I really appreciated Gideon’s help during the practicing with the 3D printing as this gave me the confidence with the machines. In the end I chose a bottle cap design and changed the dimensions to fit my prototype and printed this with the help of Rose. I did really struggle though to print something that fitted correctly with my electronic component. It’s not quite right currently but this is something I could improve and change for the next project. The laser cutting was a simpler process as I just cut circles in my themed black acrylic plastic.

 +        What I have learnt from engaging in this process?

Each component to make by itself is easier than you think. It’s putting all these components together that I found the most challenging. Having not really constructed much before I tried to find presentable ways to attach and stick things together without it looking too messy or inappropriate. Of course it would help if I had the right measurements and made the correct sizes, but this is something I need to become more familiar with.  

 +        My insights into maker culture that I gathered as a result of engaging in this project.

How my prototype works?

My herb holder is designed to hold the small herb plant pots that you can buy from supermarkets to keep indoors on your kitchen windowsill.

The plant holder is 225mm tall and 120 mm wide allowing it to fit on all basic window sills that get sunlight. With your plant included it will be no taller than 400mm.  

1.    Place your newly brought basil plant into the black container at the top of the holder. This container for the pot to sit in will catch all the water when your plant needs watering.

2.    Pick a good place on your kitchen windowsill for it to sit, noting that it will require sunlight, access to a tap water nearby and in view so that you don’t forget about it.

3.    To check that you are looking after your basil I have attached a moisture meter to the front of the holder. The moisture meter instantly tells when plants need watering through testing for moisture at the roots where it matters. You no longer risk over watering a healthy plant just because the soil near the surface is dry, or under watering because it appears moist.

4.    Simply insert the special corrosion-resistant probe deep into the soil of the plant.

5.    A tiny amount of electrical energy will be generated by the moisture, which will cause the meter needle to register moisture levels from 0 to 10.