The Loop

The Loop is an occasional statement chair designed for fabrication in the Kansas State University Fabrication Lab. Its intended environment is an eclectic, high end home.

Year

2023

Timeline

15 weeks

Inspiration Across Mediums

The Loop concept development and ideation was a unique process that began with understanding my own style as a designer. To start, I created a mood board reminiscent of my identity as both a person and creative. From this mood board, my colleagues and I curated the following list of adjectives I began to visually conceptualize.

Serene
Vintage Modern
Poetic
Free
Imaginative
Flowing
Urban Midwest
Eclectic
Soft yet bold

Using AI as a design tool

After this initial exploration, I used vizcom.ai to come up with different variations of the concept model, adding these adjectives into the written portion of the prompt. Although I found this exercise beneficial in understanding the use of AI as an ideation tool, I felt that the iterations generated just didn’t have the eclectic, unique look I was going for. From here, I moved into 3D Modelling using fusion to finalize the form concept.

Intial Image Input

Written Prompt: Please create a chair design that is flowing and eclectic.

Image Influence: 60%

Written Prompt: Please create a chair design that is flowing, eclectic, and bright.

Image Influence: 35%

Written Prompt: Please create a chair design that is flowing, eclectic, and bright.

Image Influence: 25%

Seating Usability Test

Initial dimensions to be tested. Measurements shown in inches.

Participant A | Height 6 ft 2 in*

Comfort while Sitting:

Sit to Stand Comfort:

Notes: Back height is a little lower than desired, but it’s still comfortable regardless.

From this initial concept, I fabricated foam models of the seat, back, and the specified dimensions of the seat’s pitch & height using a seating buck. From this, I asked colleagues of varying body types to rate the chair’s comfort level when sitting, and while moving to and from the seated position. Based on user feedback, I adjusted the seat length, back height, and pitch of the chair.

Participant B | Height: 5 ft 7 in*

Comfort while Sitting:

Sit to Stand Comfort:

Notes: Seat is an inch or so too long, back height works well. Seat texture is more comfortable than one would assume.

*All participants heights were self-reported at the time of testing. Each participant was informed and consented to their photo being displayed.

Participant C | Height: 5 ft 11 in*

Comfort while Sitting:

Sit to Stand Comfort:

Notes: Pitch could be angled more to prevent slipping off chair since it will be polished wood, but overall very comfortable.

Seating buck setup adjusted for chair dimensions.

Participant C | Height: 5 ft 5 in*

Comfort while Sitting:

Sit to Stand Comfort:

Notes: Seat is a little big long, but is comfortably wide enough to use when pushing up to stand.

Fabrication: From raw material to finished product

Gluing & planing wood pieces to CNC. After preparing the 2 1/4” strips for gluing, I realized the wood planks varied dramatically in color & grain pattern. Because of these, each piece was placed intentionally to form a pattern within the finished chair. This pattern became even more defined after CNCing and finishing.

Joinery & Sanding. To create a strong and invisible connection between the seat and back, I used floating tenon joints. From there, the chair was once more clamped and glued. With no entirely flat edges or right angles on the chair, belt clamping proved to be the best option. Once dried, all sanding had to be performed by hand for similar reasons.

Welding chair legs. Due to constraints in the shop, I wasn’t able to bend the legs at the specified diameter. In order to achieve the desired look, I used plumbing elbows welded to straight pipe. From there, I ground down the welds and manufacturing markings. These pieces were later welded together with a rectangular pipe.