the short

During a product design summer camp at Stanford Summer Arts Institute (SSAI), we were tasked with designing a product of our own choosing to fill some sort of need within a market. As a watercolor painter myself, I wanted to design a travel watercolor kit that is stylish, portable, and can carry all the necessary tools needed to create great paintings on the go.

ideating/research

The initial ideating phase of product design was highly valued at this camp, so much of our time was spent creating sketches and models of our projects. From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to create a modern, easily portable kit, so I turned to bento boxes as a source of inspiration. I also researched multiple kinds of portable silicone containers and existing watercolor travel kits in order to get a feel for the best way to distribute space within the kit's interior. As my sketches evolved, I began to look into laser-cut wood exteriors, taking inspiration from Japanese shoji screens and traditional bento box designs. Once all of these influences began to come together, I was able to take some of my sketches and begin modeling my ideas to test out dimensions and physicality.

prototyping

Most of my prototyping process was carried out through the digital modeling tool Sketchup. Though most of my design transferred pretty seamlessly from drawings to models, I used the modeling phase to tweak dimensions as well as cement the number and configuration of internal compartments. Once I got an initial go-ahead from my instructor, I created a physical model out of foam-core, laser-cut plywood, and a miniature watercolor kit that my instructor gifted to me (shown in the first and second pictures). By creating this model, I could better understand and demonstrate the kit's functionality, which in turn helped me to slightly tweak my digital model as well as give more thought to the materials used.

finalizing design

Following feedback from our instructor, I made some minor tweaks in design that mainly consisted of conceptualizing the closing mechanisms of the box. The rest of my design was approved so I used this final stage to make small final edits on the layout of my digital model to make the design more visually accessible to my peers.

pitching

After we had finalized our products, each student gave a presentation on our product, market needs, building materials, cost, and relevant marketing techniques. Through this final process, I was able to grow more confident in my presentation and marketing skills, as well as learn about verbalizing user and market needs to an audience.