Luna In 3D

To bring our coaster project to completion, I have made a physical version of my design. Here's how we got there!  To start, I took my design and turned it into a 2D map that could be read by the laser. My design only uses the cutting function, with the design work created through the negative space. To accomplish this, I needed three pieces: the main body piece, a top lip, and a smaller bottom lip that allows the coaster to nest. The above photo shows how I laid them out on my material.  For this project, I used teal mirrored acrylic to create my coaster. Mirrored acrylic reflects light, and is both "classy" and decorative at the same time - seemingly a good fit for an office setting. Acrylic is also easily cleaned, another benefit of the material. To protect the surface from burn marks as can happen with laser cutting, I used a paper masking.  As a reminder of what my 3d design looks like, here are some renderings.  I find that the reflectivity of the mirrored acry...

Following our feedback session last week, I decided to head in a slightly different direction than I originally planned, and focus on the idea of decorative nesting coasters. To achieve this, I have three separate pieces that will attach be attached to each coaster.  The top piece acts as a lip for the coaster while simultaneously nesting into the bottom ring. This allows for seamless stacking that will fit each coaster close together, with the bottom ring acting as an extra support for the hollow design on top.  To make these in real life, I will be using mirrored teal acrylic. This allows the subtle design to feel luxe and decorative while still being functional. The pattern I have used is based on traditional Japanese geometric patterns. 

For this weeks blog I have 12 concept sketches of coasters that vary from fun useful ideas to pretty useless.  I have a couple favourites! My first favourite is number 1, in the top left box of the photo above. I called her "coffee & cigarettes" because people say (not me, but people), that having a coffee and a cigarette in the morning is a great way to start your day. For this idea, I think it would be interesting to have the coaster and the ashtray be separates that fit together. The bottom most piece is a flat surface, with some small "railings" on the side - this would act as the coaster. The bottom would be larger than the ashtray portion, so when the coaster is not in use it could be a standalone ashtray, or you can pop off the bottom layer and have your coffee and cigarette. For the ashtray, building it up in layers would be the way I would set it up. Cutting another base layer that fits inside the coaster, then the following layer would have the central...