Koons project - Inflatable object

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Exploration of a material as part of a future tech design course

Who are we ?

We are four students from three different digital masters and we had to explore a material and its manufacturing process for a week.

Our project

We decided to carry out this study by working around the theme of picnic. Indeed, we wanted to create different objects that we use for this occasion and give them additional functionalities such as being able to be inflatable/deflatable.

Moodboard

Our products

We decided to design two objects during this week of exploration.

• A cushion that will be used to sit on so as not to get dirty and to be more comfortable due to its inflatable aspect. It can also be used to rest your head or as a side table during a picnic.

• A basket that will be used to transport objects used during a picnic. Its inflatable aspect will add protection for fragile objects. Secondly, we can even add a thermos functionality to keep food cool in the basket.

Sketches

3D prototypes

Construction process

First, we drew our ideas on a sheet of paper in order to brainstorm and make sketches. Secondly, we took nylon and TPU coating (a kind of plastic) with a cutter in order to draw the shapes. Thirdly, using a straightener and a welder we heated the material in order to glue it. And fourthly we inflated the product using a pump.

Here are our prototypes & research. We made them in order to try the different patterns and see how puffy it looked. This also allowed us to practice with soldering and straightening iron and to better understand the material.