New Website!

I have a new site/wordpress, where my adventures continue…

www.kylestetz.com

check it out!

Seagull Bag Clips!

I have a Seagull messenger bag which I love dearly. I had some problems with a little clip that comes with it, so I redesigned it.

The end of the strap has a D-ring, which I assume is there to make it easier to adjust. It comes with a small black clip, and when I first got the bag I spent an hour trying to figure out if that D-ring was supposed to do anything special. I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t, and have been using the small black clip to hold the strap in place while I am wearing the bag.

The black clip has always annoyed me for two reasons: one, there is a large gap on the back of it which causes it to come off of the strap quite frequently; two, the part that I use to hold the extraneous strap is open at the top, which causes it to fall out as well. Basically the thing is just popping out all over the place.

My girlfriend also has a Seagull bag, but I noticed that she uses her clip differently. She puts the D-ring in the clip, which doesn’t really fit at all.

So I opened rhino, drew up a new one, and shot it over to our lovely 3d printer.

new+old

The space in the back of the clip was reduced so that it won’t come off of the strap, and I added a little hook that allows you to snap the D-ring in (it doesn’t come out unless you want it to, but it still has a little room to rotate). The part that holds extraneous strap has a U shape at the top which holds the strap in place.

Its working pretty well so far. neatooooo

Analyzing Ritual: Confrontational Objects

This past spring (2009) I did a pretty interesting project, working alongside classmates Moa Jung and Erik Squillante.

Our starting point was to analyze the idea of human ritual and explore some interesting rituals that take place around us. It was established that a ritual was not just any repeated gesture, but an action that served or spoke to a larger purpose. We considered things both large and small, from cultural burial rituals to competitive holiday decoration.

Something we discussed that seemed to stick out was the exchange of the Hallmark greeting card.

We closely inspected the greeting card and its various uses, as well as the underlying principles that make them so prominent. While it may seem that they are convenient, writing on a piece of paper and mailing it is easier and cheaper than driving to a store, picking out a card, and paying for it. So why are they so wildly popular?

Hallmark-style greeting cards contain emotional content. You aren’t spending $3 on a piece of card stock and some ink; you are buying an emotionally-charged message which you can simply sign and send.

With this idea as our foundation, we began searching for ways to manipulate and/or augment the system. What if these positive messages became negative? There are offensive greeting cards out there already, but this question warranted more detailed brainstorming. We began coming up with messages that are difficult to convey because of their content. Examples include firing an employee, breaking up with someone, telling someone they have bad BO, telling someone they are bankrupt, telling your teen they were adopted…

The project became focused around using the greeting card ritual to play on the difficulty of confrontation. We compared paper cards to other physical mediums to see how their impact differs. Cards are commonplace, but 3-dimensional objects can leave a stronger impact on someone. Some visual brainstorming:

We explored the use of humor and sarcasm within this confrontation, opting not to take an overly serious approach. We chose three situations that we felt were similar and equally interesting. We designed three physical objects and a system for the use of these objects. What follows is a description of the project in its final form.

The objects are used in a situation where confrontation is difficult and can compromise a relationship. Instead of handing it directly to the person in question, it is recommended that the object is left in a place where the person will find it, such as on a desk, in a locker, etc. This eliminates confrontation altogether.

Since there is no single person associated with the object, the person in question can assume that it is from everyone (assuming this is within a community, such as in the workplace or at school). This can strengthen the power of the message significantly.

You are loud and/or obnoxious.

You are a slob.

You have bad BO.

The design of these objects is such that words are not necessary; their forms speak for themselves. Whether or not the person in question picks up on it right away, I think it is safe to assume that they will figure it out eventually, especially if they keep the thing as a desk ornament (which seems likely).

We named our product the Tell’em (with a subtitle of “the neighborly thing to do”). We created a logo and packages for each. A final shot, placed in a CVS where it would likely be sold:

This was an interesting project for sure. It was my first in-depth study of human interaction and the ways that design can intervene. Something I particularly like about it is the sarcasm it contains. Throughout the project we walked a fine line between comedy and real life; this product could be a joke, but sadly enough I could actually see it being sold in a store. Looking at interaction objectively can be quite difficult, so it was fun to deconstruct situations and understand the underlying ideas.

CNC+Paintbrush

I am part of a group of students at UArts trained on the CNC machine. We have been experimenting lately (as can be seen in the previous post) with some neat results. So we tried painting.

We did a few tests beforehand to find the best height to brush at, the best consistency for the paint, the best way to clean the brush, etc etc etc… It’s an interesting process.

Thanks to Tony Guido & Doug Bucci for starting the conversation that led to this stuff.

CNC+Sharpie

We have been playing with the CNC machine.

Sticking a sharpie in it produces some pretty cool results. The software that runs the machine is pretty flexible; if you tell the machine that the sharpie is a bit (a very small bit– two or three hundredths of an inch in diameter), the only challenge is in getting the sharpie to press down on surface of the medium lightly… The difference between touching the surface lightly and touching it so hard that the sharpie breaks is about one one hundredth of an inch.

Update: The okwagon video is no longer up, but here is some cnc+sharpie action on youtube…

Marble Machine

I made this in the fall for a simple machine project.

My apologies for the crudeness of the video. I will make a nicer version in the near future…

Adjustable Step Stool for Little People

In the spring of 2009 I did a project around biomimicry… I came across the human femur while researching some mechanisms in nature and was fascinated by it. The capability of the arch connecting the ball joint to the body of the femur allows the force being put in the bone from the hip to be displaced a few inches; this allows the bone to have a wide range of movement at the joint without sacrificing its ability to support weight.

My best friend growing up (Mike) is a dwarf– 3’11″ tall– so I’ve had a first hand account of the daily challenges facing little people. The concept of adjustable support through the use of a rotating joint kept making me picture a step stool; I have no desire to design a normal adjustable step stool, but this is something little people could benefit from if it is designed specifically for them.

I did a good bit of modeling to derive the best way of incorporating the femur mechanism into the design of a step stool. I wanted to use a cup-and-ball joint, but this was decidedly too dangerous to lock and support weight, so I eventually came up with a locking system that uses a rod and various adjustment holes:

My first prototype was milled out of MDF on the CNC router. The proportions were derived from some of Mike’s measurements and his vast knowledge of different types of dwarfism and the different sizes/proportions/challenges that arise between them. The steps are seven inches deep and four inches apart vertically; the total height to the top step can be set to 16″ or 24″.

I could have spent weeks making refined models of my design, but taking the jump to full scale made a lot of problems very obvious. The second and final iteration of the full scale model saw a decrease in step width from 24″ to 18″, as well as a third adjustment point, making the range 16″, 20″, and 24″. Generally speaking, all of the parts were edited to allow more collapsibility and a smaller profile. The final model was milled out of plywood, which made it exponentially sturdier than the MDF model.

Mike came to visit and tested it out for himself, giving me valuable feedback and definite starting point for future design.

Some of the issues that will be addressed in the future include: an easier method of adjustment that does not rely on the coordination of individual fingers; a lighter material for portability; an analysis of the best range of adjustment; a rubber coating on the steps with a slight curve, for better grip and a less severe angle depending on the current adjustment point; and overall, an analysis of the most practical mechanism that allows strength, collapsibility, and portability for the end user.

Thanks Mike.

Tyvek Planter

For a project studio class last semester I explored flashspun high density polyethylene (Tyvek) as a building material. I examined its properties and affordances with the intent of designing a product that could benefit from them.

I began to weave the material into sheets, interested in its ability to create smooth forms; it became stronger and more flexible as a result. Throughout the process, research on the material showed that it is waterproof, UV protected, and resistant to mold. My conclusion was that it is well suited for holding plants, which it would be able to do indoors and outdoors. So I began to design a planter.

In thinking about its indoor/outdoor functionality, I arrived at the idea that putting it on a wall would be much more space-efficient than hanging it from the ceiling (or sitting it on something). The weave became the best way to hold a decent amount of weight, and so the planter went through its first two iterations…

This held four or five pounds without any sign of breaking/tearing/etc. I concealed the structural rods and increased the strength in the corners with the second prototype:

Then came the final model, complete with two tiers and a streamlined/resolved template… It functions without any water leaking through.

In addition the fact that Tyvek is weatherproof, it is 100% recyclable. And pretty cheap; the final model costs 3 or 4 dollars, apart from the cost of the soil and plants.

One Year Later

It has been a year since I did this project, and in hindsight a lot of the decisions I made were arbitrary. The boxy shape, the idea of wall-mounting it, and even the weave itself were not necessarily informed choices. I did, however, enjoy balancing a somewhat scientific approach with conceptual design, and I kept myself interested for the duration of the project. It was a fantastic learning experience, if nothing else.