Phase I : Ideation
Inspiration
The freshman ring project was to create a ring with a purpose. It had to have the form and elegance of a ring but be functional in a tool capacity. After ideating for multiple rounds a function wasn't arising, until one night I awakened from a dream to be called to create a ring that enables users to hold a book open while reading.
Phase II : Concept
Functionality
Once the inspiration and functionality had been dealt with, I moved onto figuring out how I was going to design the function as an aesthetical piece. Through several thumbnail sketches I started building unique forms that were slowly adopting both function and form.
Phase II : Concept
Concept Ideation
Concepts A, B, and C were the most convincing and unique forms I pulled from the thumbnailing phase.
Phase III : Prototyping
Version 1
I took the 3 concepts and brought them into Autodesk Fusion360 to model the initial forms I had from my concepts. This allowed me to understand the sizing and feasibility of the designs I had drawn.
Phase III : Prototyping
Version 2
From the first prototypes, I continued with Concept A and B since I found C to be uncomfortable while wearing it and not as stable while holding the book. I took my insights from the last round of prototyping and iterated on both designs to be a more comfortable fit on the finger.
Phase III : Prototyping
3rd Version
For the last prototyping, I was now tweaking details in a very fine way. My objective was now to arrive at the final form while the functionality has been executed already.
Phase IV : Final Deliverables
Shapeways
Each student uploaded their ring to Shapeways to get them 3D printed out of a specific metal. My final model was made out of aluminum.
