Describing+Practices+-SP


 * Describing Practices**

After my observational research at Destiny USA, I remembered that I was actually the lead designer on a project for Destiny while I interned at Mack Studios. I was tasked with designing lit sign mounts to fit around I-Beams in the lowest floor of the mall. Companies could rent out the space to advertise their products on all four sides of a previously unused space. This was the initial ideation work for a quote but my designs for the project were approved. And so, this is my reflection of my own practice and experience with designing a real-world object. I am only remembering this now after wring about going to the mall but I was actually designing the means for the mall to optimize advertising space to cell to companies. At the time, I just wanted to impress my boss and come up with the best designs possible to meet the given criteria. I never thought of how in doing my job, I was contributing to the consumer culture.

I’ve excluded the refined design for confidentiality purposes but here is one of the iterations of the design:

Here is the bill of materials for this design:


 * ** Bill of Materials - Destiny I Beam Sign ** ||
 * ** Dimensions ** || ** Qty. ** || ** Part ** || ** Notes ** || ** Price ** ||
 * 30"x1"x1" || 4  || 80/20 Quick Frame 9000-1" Square ||   ||   ||
 * 26"x1"x1" || 12  || 80/20 Quick Frame 9000-1" Square ||   ||   ||
 * || 8  || 80/20 3 Way Corner || Light Grey ||   ||
 * || 8  || 80/20 Straight 90° Base Connector || Light Grey ||   ||
 * ||  || EstoConnectors Quick Release #520100QR1 || Light Grey || $9.76/ea. ||
 * || 16  || T Screws #6x 1/2" FHS ||   ||   ||
 * || 8  || Z-Clamps ||   ||   ||
 * || 8  || Clamp Bolts 1/4-20x1" ||   ||   ||
 * || 16  || Weld Nuts ||   ||   ||
 * || 16  || Clamp Screws #8x1/2" RHS ||   ||   ||
 * 14"x30" || 4  || 6mm Sintra LED Panels ||   ||   ||
 * 180" || 4  || LED Strips ||   ||   ||
 * 2.5"x30" || 4  || Sintra Angle Brackets ||   ||   ||
 * 30" || 4  || Strip Magnets ||   ||   ||
 * 224" Tot. ||  || Velcro Strips for Cover Panels ||   ||   ||
 * 480" Tot. ||  || Velcro Strips for Graphics Panels ||   ||   ||
 * 28"x30" || 4  || Graphic Panels 1/8" Milk Plexi ||   ||   ||
 * || 8  || LED MDF Wedges ||   ||   ||
 * 14"x28" || 4  || 6mm Sintra Cover Panels ||   ||   ||
 * || 1  || Power Wire ||   ||   ||
 * || 1  || DC 12V Wire ||   ||   ||
 * || 1  || 200 Watt Transformer ||   ||   ||
 * || 1  || Box Enclosure ||   ||   ||

Looking back on my thought process while designing there fixtures, sustainability was not once brought up. I have designed parts for other products at my internships but I am focusing on this one because of the Irony in having choses a client’s location to conduct a field study without remembering I had done work for them that promoted the very thing I was observing and critiquing. All of the parts were either in-house or standard parts in stock or easily ordered from sites like McMaster-Carr. Cost was the primary consideration and constraint. In order for the quote to have any chance of turning into a production build, the cost had to be reasonable. Under these circumstances, the size of each side panel correlated with standard in stock sheet sizes and cutting capabilities to eliminate waste. This is a sustainable practice but anything like this is only viewed as a way to cut costs. The less material waste, the more money the company saves. Mack studios would do the installation so ease of assemble had to be a priority. They are actually just as easily to disassemble. The design uses standard 80/20 I with friction fit corners that can be pressed together and pulled apart without trouble. They are assembled and wired while on the ground and then raised up and clamped at the desired location. I put little thought into the lifecycle of the product of just but I know that the cintra panels used are just about as toxic as PVC. This being said, after we actually built a prototype and tested it out, it is clear that these signs could last for decades. By using clams to secure the fixture to the I-beams, the height can be easily adjusted and glowing signage interchanged. Long life low energy LEDs are used and specs say they last at least 10 years. I can remember that there were so many compromises made to the design so that it was the cheapest possible version.