HACK (game design) I've always felt that Hacky Sack lacked a competitive purpose beyond kicking the bag back-and-forth between friends or trying to do freestyle maneuvers by yourself. I set out to create a goal/net/zone that, in the nomadic spirit of Hacky Sack, would be small enough to take with you and customizable enough to suit your surroundings. To achieve this I borrowed the ball-and-socket modules that JOBY uses for their camera tripods and applied them to a proportionally spun metal center. Using a 3D printer I created a contrasting insert whose color and visual language would indicate, in the context of the game, where the Hacky Sack should be aimed.
POST INDUSTRIAL POLYMER FORMATIONS (material experiment) I was thinking about how the long process of rock and mineral formations might be affected by what we as a society are putting into landfills and subsequently into the ground. In geology stalagmites and stalactites are types of mineral formations typically found on the floor or ceilings of caves. Using these mineral formations as inspiration I used expanding polyurethane foam as a material to explore what cave formations might look like in the future if the natural minerals are replaced by synthetic polymers. To objectify this idea I applied the foam to several different types of rigid frames to create a suite of lighting.
BASIN (narrative design) I set out to design a modular set of table top vessels, and having grown up around the Great Lakes I thought it would be interesting to use the depth, latitude and longitude of the five lakes as a launching point. I looked to other modular and organic vessels to study what I liked and disliked about their features and then went about prototyping. First using Rhino to create renderings and then a tangible object using a CNC machine and high density foam. The end result was six different modules, manufactured from 4" thick solid surface acrylic, that are reconfigurable to create interesting visual forms either as sculpture or for serving.