DESIGN NAME: insectOrama
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Drawing templates
INSPIRATION: Loving insects myself - The concept of lasercutting
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: InsectOrama is a set of 6 drawing templates containing 48 shapes. Children (and adults) can use them to draw imaginary creatures. Contrary to most drawing templates insectOrama doesn’t contain complete shapes but only parts: heads, bodies, paws… Of course insect parts but as well pieces of other animals and humans.
By using a pencil one can trace an endless series of creatures onto paper and afterwards colour them. And no one said you are limited to the shapes presented in the templates. You might as well use a leaf of a tree, the shape of your hand or any other thing that comes to mind or that you are able to draw.
There are no rules. InsectOrama was made to stimulate your imagination, to make you draw things that are perhaps too difficult to draw and to design things that you were not aware of that you could actually draw them.
More images and resulting drawings can be found at http://insectorama.be/
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: -
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: -
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Clear Acrylic (PMMA) - 2 mm - Lasercutting
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: One set contains six templates. Each template measures 15 x 24 cm.
TAGS: -
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: -
CHALLENGE: I started this project early 2010. I got challenged by seeing Ponoko.com and the concept of user created laser cut items. I wanted to create something that wasn’t a final product but rather a tool that would be a starting point for others to create an unlimited number of things with.
A prototype was made in May 2010 and was beta-tested during summer. Both children and adults loved it and I decided to start up a production.
In November 2010 I launched the www.insectorama.be website (and webshop within Belgium) with a production of 100 drawing sets. They are sold out already and a second production run is currently being sold. I only outsource the production of the templates. Packaging and distribution is still done by me.
Production cost is the main obstacle within my budget limitations as a novice designer. I want to keep high detail within the shapes to allow young users to draw things that are beyond their drawing capabilities. This seems to sort out production techniques as injection moulding. Die cutting might be a future option but involves a high startup cost to create the cutting moulds, again due to the detailed nature of the templates.
The greatest reward are the resulting drawings that indeed show combinations that I couldn’t imagine myself when I designed the drawing templates
ADDED DATE: 2011-01-20 00:39:44
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Stefan De Pauw, 2010.
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