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DESIGN PROJECTS
Concept sketching through finished design projects
In Progress
Designing and building a sprinter van conversion in 2023. This is in progress, and we plan to launch into the world and live in this new home full time this October!
Matchbox Design Festival is a day-long celebration of our visual design community in Colorado. This first-of-its-kind conference, held in Denver, featured talks from local creatives, interactive art, and community member projects.
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I designed and created the stage props for this conference, by laser cutting, painting, and assembling plywood into branded Matchbox boxes, featured on the center stage throughout the day.
AJA Hammocks
As a student entrepreneur selected to participate in this competitive, 8-week-long accelerator program, I designed and created a multi-functional hammock. My partner and I worked in a cohort of entrepreneurs and students, and were responsible for the entirety of the product development process from idea conception through cut-and-sew prototyping.
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In this innovative environment, my partner and I utilized a breadth of multidisciplinary skills throughout brainstorming, problem identification, concept ideation, prototyping, and product testing. I learned how to effectively take lead on a project and pitch my ideas in competitive environments. I networked and received feedback from successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and independently attended the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show.
Injection Molded Taxi Cab
As a part of the Mechanical Engineering curriculum, students take a course in Manufacturing. This project challenged me and my team to design and manufacture an injection-molded, matchbox-sized car based on the requirements set by a client. Our "client" was a student at the local middle school, who's single request was, "make me a taxi, you know the color."
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With such loose requirements, my 3 teammates and I expanded on this initial "concept," and used old-style Marathon Checker Cab as inspiration. We created the model with Solidworks, utilized Tool Paths in Siemens NX, CNC machined in house on HAAS machines, and injection-molded our car for a final Race Day at the middle school.
'Not a Spoon' and 'Container' - Combined Project
My exposure to working with wood was in a college Furniture Design class. The project was two-fold: "Not-a-Spoon" as the first part, and "Container" as a complimentary project.
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For the first segment of the project, I was tasked in designing a spoon to be hand-carved out of basswood, using chisels and a bandsaw. After sanding it to a fine finish, I made a container with hand-cut dovetail joinery to complement the design of the spoon. For this portion of the project, I selected Maple Wood as my material, and utilized the table saw, planer, and radial arm saw in addition to chisel and bandsaw.
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Coffee table ("Elevated Surface")
"Create an 'Elevated Surface'" was the design criteria for this project. This allowed creative design, while learning basic technical methods of joinery used to build a structurally sound table.
I used Walnut for the table top and Mahogany for the legs and apron, and implemented Mortise and Tenon joinery. I built the general structure with a planar, table saw, radial arm saw, bandsaw, mortiser, and drill press. Then, I used an angle grinder to transform the table legs from being rigid and angular to continuous and organic. Finally, I glued everything together and applied finish to the final product.
Website Design: Jackie Kuang
Freelance Web Designer
Jackie Kuang is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide based in Sedona, AZ. As she establishes her business, she discovered her need for a website with eCommerce capabilities.
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I met with Jackie several times throughout the website development process. In under two months, I created a product that is used today. It offers her a strong brand, communicates effectively, and is simultaneously functional and beautiful.
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