Project Description
For my final project I was given the freedom to choose a topic of interest and I choose to concentrate my efforts into designing a product I would be able to produce and sell, fulfilling a longstanding desire to experiment with digital manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
In short, the project was to develop a pair of customizable headphones that caters to the eclectic crowd, that desires a strong visual language that is not restricted to only one style, but is a curated collection. This was delivered in a product that finds common elements in many genres’ visual inspirations
Methodology
The shape was achieved by cross referencing visual languages from 5 different and influential artists and identifying common elements that emerged from the sketching sessions. The main challenge was to produce the headband, the initial plan was to steam bend a plywood board, and for this I built a small steam box.
After unsuccessful attempts that displayed poor shape consistency, I decided into switching to a more controllable laminating process. By gluing many layers of prime wood veneer together I achieved a stable yet flexible band. This also allowed to signal to be carried through the band by placing very thin copper trails between two of the wooden layers.
