Critical Question
*How do you have your designs scale for impact?
Design Process
An exploration of paper and taking a line of light for a walk!
I designed my first card "woodland walk" as a test to see whether I could use the laser cutter to its fullest extent.
(NB: Subject to change)
Precedence
Over the course of this multiyear project I've started to encorperate references from the Bauhaus (thanks Josef Albers) to other card makers like Emi Hazlett, Richard Sweeney and PORIGAMI.
Using a laser cutter allows me to experiement with form, light and shadow while incorperating flare in the form of design and execution.
As cards have progressed in complexity over the years I've imposed on myself some restrictions to help refine the process:
- Cards Must be able to fit in a standard envelope
- If the card has instructions they must be able to fit in the envelope
- Parents Card always has gold accents
- Cards must be able to be mass produced
Selected Cards
These are some of the selected cards (and errata) I've designed over the past 3 years. There is a story for each one, and many many hours trying to ideate a new way to integrate a paper mechanism.
Forest Walk
Forest Walk was the card that this project was derived from. Initially I wanted it to be free standing but I realized later on that I needed something to hold the frame together. The fidelity on this card was achieved with masking each layer and slowing the laser speed to ensure clear line cuts.
As an experiement I prescored the paper with the laser cutter...
CanalHuis
Inspired by Emi Hazlett I designed these houses to be combined together as a line of houses. I designed the cards to be scored and folded by hand, as the scored joints got rid of the paper creases created by engraving.
Quiet as A Mouse
Learning how to design a free standing shadowbox was a bit of a challenge, but the quickness and nimbleness of mice made it all worth it. Paper kerfing was measured with calipers before designing the stands. I used the old bellows style cameras as inspiration for the card sub-units. In the end, I ended up gluing together the pieces for a more cohesive final look.
NB: I actually designed rounded card corners for this card design because of a complaint from last year about pricking their hands on the corners!
Albers Ornament
Researching the affordances and architectural properties of paper lead me to the one of the earliest forms of a Bauhaus excersice imposed by Josef Albers in the 1920's.
Using a piece of paper create a dynamic form that shows the affordances of paper.
Inspired by this notion and the 2018 snohetta star design I wanted to create an ornament that looks like a swirling orb in flight.
By taking a circle and making concentric cuts I was able to make the paper curve in 3 dimensions. This created an illusion of an orb swirling in midair.
Peli-Kim
- Context: Baby's congratulation
A card that celebrates my god-brothers new baby girl. Expanding on their wedding identity in reference to their combined last names. I created a Pelican (Peli-Kim) to usher in a new chapter in their life. Congratulations to the both of you!