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aka MXDXK (pron. “medic”)

creator of objects and sounds in “vancouver” (unceded territories of the musqueam, squamish, and tsleil-waututh nations) and singapore, creating an intersection between design, audio production, and a multicultural asian heritage.

bdes industrial design finalist @ emily carr university of art + design.

linktree
curriculum vitae
jaithram04@gmail.com








CHRYSALIS











2024.
70x50x86cm (upright).
aspen, spf plywood, canvas, steel wire.
chrysalis (c/o heedo jang + malaika mcduffie) is a seat that transforms between a cozy, single-user upright chair and a welcoming coffee table stool setup for hosting a guest. 

done as part of proposal project for inspiration furniture.


TECHNICAL DRAWINGS



INITIAL RESEARCH




brief: 
explore the benefits of system design thinking within a piece of furniture that can serve the user in many different modes of activities seamlessly within today’s compact living environments.

• the design should have at least two possible configurations/uses
• solid wood, bent laminated wood, leather/fabric samples as three primary material elements
• user demographic 25-45 years old living in urban environments.
• living environment under 800 sqft-74 sqm
• price point under $800 can.

this brief is centered around inspiration furniture, a store in vancouver that sold high-end european and east asian furniture and decor our visits to the brick-and-mortar store grounded our ideas of aesthetics and dynamic furniture. 



after visiting inspiration, we used this mood board to drive our direction, focusing on an organic, sculpted look.



IDEATION





these explorations led to a focus on a tambour as a central dynamic element to facililtate transformation. this was further undertaken as a prototype.


TAMBOUR V1 (SCALED DOWN)


laying out flat and tapered tambour pieces.
preparing fabric and glue for tambour adhesion.
gluing and vacuum bagging.


TAMBOUR V2

our exploration into a tambour as a dynamic element led to us converging on a seat that could transform between two modes: an upright seat and a longer bench.

deliberating kerf bending for seat transformation.
cutting notches into air-ply with the tablesaw.
cad exploration — bench (fusion360).


TAMBOUR V3


cad finalization of seat for cnc (fusion360).
cnc cutting seat in mdf.
attaching legs to seat.
tambour v3 vacuum bag.
making belt to secure a “bench” and “upright” transformation.
testing belt on bench form.
initial prototype — bench.
initial prototype — upright.
presenting upright seat.
presenting bench transformation.


after presenting our prototype to a panel of designers and representatives from inspiration furniture, we came to realize that although the bench form was technically stable it was very bouncy and not very reassuring to sit on. the transformation also didn’t feel smooth, and there was the risk of people getting their fingers caught between the angles pieces of the tambour. so, we went back to the drawing board.


RE-ITERATION — CAD + SKETCHES
cad reiteration 1.
cad reiteration 2.1.
cad reiteration 2.2.
cad reiteration 2.3.
sketch reiteration 1.
sketch reiteration 2.
sketch reiteration 3.
cad exploration of sketch 3.



of the reiterated ideas, the third sketch appealed to us the most, leaving behind the idea of a moving tambour and retaining a structured backing that would be utilized as a table for two small stools when transformed.


RE-ITERATION — CARDBOARD MODEL RESIZING

resizing upright position space.
resizing tambour.
resizing seat.
resizing flattened tambour.

in order to correct some of the ergonomic irregularities with the initial prototype, we also used some cardboard sketch models in order to better understand how to fit each element to scale comfortably. after clarity was gained, we began building the final prototype parallel to our new cad model.


FINAL PROTOTYPE – CAD DEVELOPMENT
wip model — upright.
wip model — table + stools.
quick render — upright.
quick render — table + stools.



the final prototype consisted of two modes — an upright mode for single seating, with the backrest secured into the grooves of the two stools and the belt cinching everythign together by attaching to the hooks on the stools, and a split table + stools setup with the backing pulled out of the groove and set as a coffee table.



FINAL PROTOTYPE – BENT LAMINATE
mold layout.
quick joining with nail gun.
vacuum bagging.
clamping after vacuum.
vacuum bagging with veneer.
trimming veneer.


FINAL PROTOTYPE – STOOL FRAMES
cutting all pieces to rough size.
sorting pieces to three types.
initial miter saw angle cuts were not accurate.
angle jig on table saw.
trimming extra width off some pieces. 
dry assembly.
biscuit joiner for connection to bent lamination.




FINAL PROTOTYPE – STOOL TOP/BOTTOM
splitting cnc cut plywood top panel + trimming off wrong groove to use as bottom panel. 
glued laminated top panel.
unintentional overhang.
flush trim routing overhang.



FINAL PROTOTYPE – STOOL GROOVES
sketching out width of groove.
tablesawing off rough width.
adjusting compound blade height to nick off corner.
assembling top onto frames with thin plywood wraparound to secure backing.




FINAL PROTOTYPE – FEET
applying glue.
ensuring even spread of pressure.


FINAL PROTOTYPE – TABLE/BACKING
using tiltbox.
angle cutting edge of cnc cut panels on tablesaw for fitting.
dry assembly — table.
dry assembly — upright.
biscuit joining table components.



FINAL PROTOTYPE – TENSILE ELEMENTS
stool hook for upright position.
static rivet for home position of belt.
hook made from metal rod to move belt between positions.




FINAL PROTOTYPE – FINISHING TOUCHES
cutting veneer layers.
gluing on veneer for uninterrupted surface.
sanding down groove edge.
orbital sanding surfaces.
wood filling inconsistencies in groove.
osmo oil finish.





FINAL TEAR SHEET