Project Goal
Giving a useful second life to Norwood's excess clear acrylic was the teams main goal. The school didn't give any specific product they wanted us to create, so the design team was free to explore a variety of avenues.
Design Constraints
Our main design constraint was that we had to use the acrylic that the school district provided us with. This meant working with strange measurements, an unusually thick material (5/32 of an inch), rounded corners, and scratches in the acrylic. That was not the only size, however. Norwood also provided us with 1/8" thick acrylic dividers. It seemed the 1/8" dividers were in better condition.
We were also faced with a decision as to who we were designing for. In the beginning we designed for both teachers and students, however as we refined our designs, we decided to design for the students. With them as the target consumer, it gave us more opportunities.
Sketching Process
A number of sketches were drawn up in preparation of this project. The school board did not give us any constraints on what we were allowed to design, simply that it had to be useable by the school in some way.
Modeling Process
For simplicity sake, our final design was the stencil set design. The school board expressed the most interest in this design and it would be the easiest for us to manufacture.
Final Models
For the final stencils, 1/8" acrylic was optimal. This thickness would allow for pens and pencils to reach the paper when drawing. 5/32" would was too thick.