Industrial Design: Floppy Fish Pole
Industrial Design Project (Pets)Name: Floppy Fish Pole
Size: 4 ft (pole + wire) Materials: Foam Board, Electrical Tape, Wooden Skewers, Copper Wire, Wire, Nails, Screws Date: December 2021 |
Exhibition TextFloppy Fish Pole is a toy for cats that I thought of with the idea of entertaining my own pets. It combines a traditional cat toy with technology and basic instincts and can, theoretically, be used without supervision.
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Planning
This project in particular incorporated extensive amounts of planning, largely based on the processes of professional industrial designers and how they typically come up with ideas. The first thing that we did was brainstorm invention ideas under the theme of what could improve life for our pets. The first step was to divide a paper into sections. In each section (Think, Feel, See, and Hear)
The next stage of the process was to create a story-board for how, why, and for whom the device was for. I made a quick sketch about my cats waking me up early in the morning because they wanted to be fed, and an old woman struggling to bend over to put food in her cat's bowl. This was then completed by an image of people too busy to feed their cats, leaving them hungry. I figured these were all valid reasons/scenarios for an automatic feeder. With my planning finished, it was time to begin building.
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Once the mind map was completed, every student shared their "inventions" (which were drawn according to what they had put on their mind map). Since I was torn between two ideas, I drew both. One was an automatic feeder to make taking care of my pets easier, and the other was a multi-faceted cat tree that incorporated tunnels for the hedgehog to also enjoy herself. At the end of the day, however, I discarded the cat tree idea because I figured it would be difficult to build a model of. The next step in the planning phase was to draw different sketches of our design and explore different looks. I made three, of which I put details about the automatic feeder in the mechanics of it.
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Experimentation and Process
The experimentation of this project was rather limited, based more around the ideas and concepts behind making a model based on my drawings. I simply used an exacto blade to cut into leftover EVA foam from a cosplay I had made, then glued them together and sanded the edges to make them even. I then took a Dremel and drilled two holes through the box to represent where the food would go, then cut out flaps in paper to make a bottom for the food to come through when the "alarm" went off. Finally, I cut out some circular pieces to make a lid for it. Below shows the process of how I completed the model.
Planning (Part 2)After completing the project, I felt extremely dissatisfied for the whole thing. So, ever the perfectionist and wannabe-star-student, I scrapped the thing and decided to start the whole thing over. Of course, I couldn't redo the empathy and mind maps, or the things we had done in class to prepare for the assignment, but I could begin gain from parts of the planning process and work from there. Thus began the cycle again, which I used with sketches.
Experimentation and Process (Part 2)The first step in this part of the project was to begin a search for supplies. That meant going to what our family calls, "the dark side" of our basement, where my dad's tools, my baking supplies, and our collective art supplies are haphazardly organized. I looked for anything that looked like it could be of use, and I settled on skewer sticks, some tape, wire, and pink foam board from some of my dad's carving projects.
The first thing that I did was tape together the skewers in a group of three, then two, leaving a single one. Once I felt that they were properly tight against one another, I taped the ends together from the largest to the smallest, so that it was larger and therefore more study at the bottom and thinner at the top (thinking of a regular fishing pole). With this part done, I new I needed to create a base for the pole to rest in, so that it could be played with on its own without someone to hold it and for a way to keep it on display. I started off using the same leftover material from a botched section of the cosplay (EVA foam) and some quick-drying superglue, cutting the pieces to make a similar box-shape for this version as well. However, I wasn't inclined to spend twenty minutes sanding it down, so I switched to the pink foam board, cutting a box shape. I shaved it down as much as I could with a blade, and briefly sanded it to make the edges and faces smoother.
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I saw my cats playing and a new idea sparked into my head, Grabbing my sketchbook, I quickly remade the storyboard, this time with a new product. I thought about how my cats love watching my other pets. They never try to harm them, and they like sniffing and studying Silver (my hedgehog) when we take her out of her enclosure. They are quiet the divas, acting more like eye-candy than anything else. however, there are moments when they love playing. Namely, when I'm trying to plug my phone in. They go straight for the cord and try eating it. They love playing with the ornaments at the bottom of the Christmas tree as well, and generally gravitate towards anything that hangs. So: they like watching my other pets, and they love hanging toys. We also have a fish toy for them that can flop around on its own, which they greatly enjoy playing with. By combining these three, with the base idea of a cat wand, I came up with Floppy Fish Pole, which combines all of these elements together.
Some of the theoretical mechanics of the work was that a battery-powered cell (housed in the reeling part, which I made with an old wine bottle cork), when turned on by "reeling" the thing, would send a current up the wire to the fish, which would then be able to flop around on its own. With my new design (which already looked much better, even in the planning stages, it was time to build and create, and thus began my process and experimentation stage.
I knew that the base would need added weight, so I dug out some screws and nails from the depths of my dad's toolbox and unceremoniously shoved them into the foam, adding more and getting frustrated when the weight still wasn't enough to balance the weight of the pole when I inserted it into a hole I had made in the middle. I continued to add more and more weight, until finally it was able to stand without tipping over. I attempted to put some glue inside the places where the original screws, were, but to my dismay, the glue started eating through the foam. I cursed myself inwardly and tried to get as much as I could out, but the chemicals in the glue burned my hand. I wrapped the whole thing with tape and just prayed for the best, though parts of it collapsed to my touch and it became misshaped.
With it finally heavy enough to balance the long pole, I twisted together some copper wire and attached it to three spots along the pole, along with an old wine bottle cork to make it look more like a real fishing pole. Also, that way, I had a way to thread the other, thinner wire through. It was a bit tangled, which took some time and patience, but eventually I was able to get all the parts of the poll finished. All that was left was to draw the fish at the end of the pole. I used a reference of a roach fish for the color and shape. Thankfully, one of my cats was there to help me with my project by dipping his paw in my water.
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Critique
It was similar and dissimilar in many ways
Reflection
In retrospect, I believe that this has been my worst project to date, due to both the techniques I applied, my planning and execution of the project, and the overall product that I created. The first project was done half-heartedly at best, without any real artistic composition or intent behind it. the second was slightly better, but it was rushed and done out of fear of disappointment.
Connection to ACT
Cause/effect relationship
I looked to inspiration from other designers who make things for cats
Approach
I was looking to modify and combine what I could make with what other people have done in the industry as far as making toys for animals. I tried to put myself in the viewpoint of my animals and think of what they would want based on their natural instincts.
Generalizations and conclusions
People are willing to do anything for their pets most times, and are always looking for ways to improve their lives
Central idea/theme
I wanted to make a new product that could combine technology with the natural instincts and interests of my cats
inferences during research
I made inferences about how people think up of new toys and products, especially around animals. I had to think about saftey, materials, function, and how i could make things for the cat.