Award
The
Humber 2019 Thesis Show Award
The Award was a contracted design & fabrication project with Humber College for their 2019 Thesis Show Award. I was commissioned to design and build 39 awards out of acrylic.
Role
Industrial Designers
Context
The Design
The contrasting black against the clear acrylic interior highlighted with the frosted Humber college logo provides a striking and seamless design. The layering factor provided depth without adding overall mass allowing them to be easily stored by recipients or fit comfortably on their shelves.
The awards come in 3 colors based on your award status.
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Gold for 1st Place
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Silver for 2nd Place
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Rose Gold for 3rd Place
Create a dynamic laser cut/etched award using only acrylic.
Design Brief
Concept Development
During the design process, I worked with many complex colors and shapes. I was inspired by the contrasting appearance of black and clear acrylic. A lot of their previous awards in the past were relatively simple and reserved, so I wanted to push the envelope and create something eye-catching. I wanted you to feel honored to receive this award.
The Details
The balance of curves and harsh edges created a balanced design language. This, coupled with the contrasting Black against clear acrylic met with the pop of color on the edges, provides eye-catching detail and sophistication.
FABRICATION
REMOVAL OF METALIC COMPONENT
One difference between the prototypes and the final design was the removal of the metallic components. This was achieved by using metallic-colored acrylics wrapped in Black Satin Polycarbonate. (Polycarbonate was used instead of vinyl due to the toxicity of laser cutting vinyl) The wrapped acrylic was then cut, and the Polycarbonate was etched away to create the metallic components.
Due to budgetary constraints and logistical issues, this element was replaced with black acrylic components.
Design Challenge:
How to quickly assemble them without using adhesive glues?
I utilized acetone for welding the two surfaces together chemically. This created a shattered effect on the edges, so I used a series of etched grooves in the pieces that fit together. I filled the inner grove (depicted below in orange) with acetone, then clipped the two half of the sandwich together. The secondary groove (shown as gray below) prevents any overflow from reaching the edges, creating a smooth and clean finish.
Gray is lasered etched
Orange is where the acetone is placed.
The base place was fabricated using a piece of 1/4" Clear Acrylic friction fit to the vertical portion and a 1/8" acrylic base plate welded to the bottom using acetone.