When designing a piece of furniture for a child, cardboard is not the first material that comes into mind, however manipulating the cardboard in ways that both look comfortable and strong, creates a product that I would buy for myself. As the second 2nd year project, we were tasked to create a cardboard furniture piece, for a child. It had to meet four main requirements. The piece had to be load bearing in some way, incorporate an interactive graphic, had to be sustainable, thus the design had to fit on a maximum of 2 2x1M sheets of double fluted cardboard, and finally ease of assembly had to be considered, yet strong enough in my case. The piece also have to be flat packable so that storage is not a concern for the parents with many children.
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The Design Process and Design Thinking
Research
My research began by looking at the different types of cardboard on the market. Cardboard is a cheap and strong material, thus is the perfect material to create a piece of furniture for children yet targeted to first time moms. Double-fluted cardboard is very strong, in fact, it has the same strength as super wood, yet is much cheaper, thus was an ideal material for the product. The flute orientation plays a big role in adding strength, as if the force is exerted in a parallel force, the cardboard will buckle. However if the force is applied perpendicularly, then the cardboard will hold its shape.
Next I focused my research in the existing cardboard furniture, focusing on the supporting structures. Keeping in mind our sheet size limitations, I realised that lamination would be very wasteful and would not allow for the product to be flat-packable. The folding technique created a lot of strength if the folds were positioned correct, however this method created a lot of sharp corners and edges, which is not ideal for children whose motor reflexes have not been developed properly yet. The slot technique seemed most ideal as I can cut the shapes to any size and ensure that the orientation is perpendicular so that a lot of support is created, however a lot of material can be wasted. Thus the most ideal form of support would be a mixture of the folding and slot techniques as that would maximize the strength and design opportunities.
I then had to decide on my age group i would be designing for. 4 to 5 year olds have enough cognitive, motor, and sensory developed skills that they are able to sit independently and work on their own, in their own time. This created the options of a chair, stool or table. This age group prefers bright colours, fun shapes and a mixture of fun and educational games.
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Ideation, Development and Refinement
These were the turning points in my ideation phase. I started developing a table, with a 'V' slotted support system. I found that this supporting system provided the most support with the least usage of material, making the product the most sustainable for its size. However when I took the concept in to a model, I found that the two 'V's did not allow for the legs to fit in comfortably, however I like the 'V' supports therefore I changed my direction from a table to a stool.
Then proceeded to make many developmental mock ups and continued to refine the design based on feedback I received from users and participants. Based on the feedback I received I found that the seat could be made into a package to carry all the components of the stool, thus packaging would also be a way of considering sustainability. There were also gaps in between the seat and the leg, which I realised would pose a problem to the fingers of children. so then then changed the shape of the legs to match the bent shape of the seat. this also allowed for the assembly to be easier as the seat folds around the legs, as appose to the user pushing the seat over.
Using all the feedback I got from users, I created a mock up to see the last bits of changes I needed to make, I realised that there was not many, and the problems I did notice, I could quickly change in the final prototype.
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The Final Prototype
the image placed above shows the final design concept and prototype. The design involves two 'v' Shaped legs, slotted into each other with a slight curve on each end, the curve creates a playful look to the stool, almost like an animal. The slots are placed 100mm away from the center bend as this creates the depth so that the seat can slot into the legs without interfering with the supports. I then made the seat that slots into the legs and wraps around to the other side. the seat has two handles on either side so that the stool can be folded up and carried around. There is the two bends on the front and back of the stool so that the child legs do not make too harsh a contact with the seat. it also provides a face for the different graphics.
When the stool is made, the total height is 300mm high and 280mm across. This is plenty space for the child to sit comfortably
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The Graphics
There are 6 Graphics on the stool. on the top, where the child sits, there is the full alphabet and the first 10 numbers. I incorporated these as a 4 and 5 year old is starting to recognize the alphabet and can count up to the first 5 numbers. Then on the smaller angles faces, there is a pace to write his/ her name and their parents number as they can recall a telephone number is taught to do so, this is important for safety. then the two downward angled faces are a under the sea scene and a country side scene, the child can draw pictures on the faces that best match the scene. This teaches the child environment allocation, so that a rabbit does not go in the sea and a fish does not belong on the hills. Located underneath the seat is a milestone list so that the parents know what their 4 to 5 year old can do at this stage in their life.
I also added colours so that the child can match the same colour when assembling the product. The blue side slides into the blue slot etc.
These graphics will be screen printed onto the cardboard so that the colours the child uses will not erase off and that the child cannot pick the graphics off the stool.
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Cutting Template and Measurements
As we were tasked to only use a maximum of 2 2x1m cardboard sheets, I nested the different components over the two sheets to maximize the production output with as minimal wastage as possible.
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Assembly guide
I finally included a simple assembly manual so that the child and parent can build the stool together in 3 easy steps. At the end I also included the maximum mass the stool can hold, and although a 4 to 5 year old will not weigh as much as that, the parent can also uses the stool to put books or other products.
Thank you for viewing my project and taking the journey with me in creating the Hexastool.
