MS-Elective-S1-OLIVIA

= Welcome to Olivia's Design Folder! :]=

__Unit Question__
Why and how do people need to organize themselves in different ways? Or how do I stop getting detentions for forgetting my homework?

__Unit Question Interpreted__
Disorganization can have a big affect on a student's life. When kids are not organized, they might forget their books, writing materials, homework, etc., which can ultimately affect their grades negatively.

__Unpacking The Unit Question__

 * [[image:Olivia's_Mind_Map.jpg width="800" height="677" caption="Olivia's_Mind_Map.jpg"]] ||
 * Olivia's_Mind_Map.jpg ||

=**__Research and Development__**= =__Design Brief__=

1. What will you do? Answer : At home, my school supplies and utensils are very untidy. They are scattered all over my desk. I am going to make a desk organizer of some sort to help me organize all of my things. (Specifically pens, pencils, markers, etc.)

2. Who is it for? Answer : This product is for me. I am making it for my own personal organization purposes.

3. How does it solve the problem? Answer : My desk is really messy, which means I have a hard time finding the specific materials I need. Also, I have so much clutter there is hardly any space for me to work because of all the things strewn around. The desk organizer I will make is going to help me keep all my supplies in one place as well as separate them from each other.

=__ Design Specification __=
 * My product needs to be safe (i.e. no sharp edges, splinter-free, etc.)
 * My product needs to be environmentally friendly. (i.e. made of scrap wood or MDF)
 * My product needs to be the right measurements to fit on my desk
 * My product needs to be strong enough to hold my supplies
 * My product should not take up too much space on my desk, as I also need space to work.

=__**Tests**__= Safety - a 'Touch Test' Size - Put it on my desk to see if it fits Strength - Put pencils/pens/other supplies inside it Looks - Ask others if my product is visually appealing Environmentally Friendly - Check to see if I used discarded wood/MDF Efficiency - Put the product on my dest and do my homework. Does the product give me enough space to work comfortably?

=__**Guiding Questions**__=

Answer : Yes, they are. All of the wood I will require is readily available in the DT lab.
 * 1. Are all of the materials I need available to me?**

Answer : I am going to use two types of wood - 1/2 inch plywood and 1/8 inch wood.
 * 2. What kind of wood am I going to use?**

Answer : I am making it for the express purpose of organizing my school supplies. However, I can allow a comfortable amount of space in the dividers so I can fit some other things inside as well.
 * 3. Is my product 'general' enough? i.e. Is it only going to serve one purpose?**

Answer : I could use scrap wood for my product (provided it fits my specifications) and I could also ask Mr. Muller or Mr. Hasan which wood available in the lab is the most environmentally friendly.
 * 4. How will I know if my product is environmentally friendly?**

Answer : Personally, I feel that my product will be appealing. However, after it has been made I could ask my friends or family if they like it or not.
 * 5. Will my product be visually appealing?**

Answer : I will do a strength test on my product to see if it is sturdy enough.
 * 6. Will my product be strong enough to hold the objects?**

=**__Existing Conditions__**= Here are some photographs of what my desk looks like now.

=** __Product Designs__ **=

My first design is a desk organizer with a total of 8 compartments and is divided into 3 sections : a hexagonal section, a circular section and a rectangular section. The rectangle section is divided up into 6 smaller compartments for holding pens. pencils, etc. The circular and hexagonal compartments are large so as to fit my larger items like Post-It notes and my tape dispenser.

My second design is a desk organizer shaped like a dog. It has 7 compartments in all. It is divided up into 3 sections : the first section has two compartments, the middle has one, and the last section has 4. The section with 4 compartments is made to hold 'long' utensils like pencils and pens, and the other compartments I made big enough to fit miscellaneous items like small notebooks, Post-It notes, etc.



My third and last design is similar to my first design. It is a circular desk organizer and has 3 compartments.Two of them are large (for holding bigger objects) and the middle compartment is small (to hold writing utensils).



I decided to choose my second design (the dog desk organizer) because I felt it had the best size of compartments and it is also visually appealing.

=__Process Journal__=

Today I got my parts collected and organized form Mr. Hasan. I sanded them using the sanding machine and now all of the parts are smooth. I am pleased with my work, however I did not get as far as I had hoped because I had some technical problems with the sander and it took a while for me to ask Mr. Muller and Mr. Hasan for help because they were very busy.
 * Day 1; 12th October, 2011 :**

Today I glued the two main sides of my box onto the base, and put screws in one of them. I did not get to finish screwing in the other side, but I will complete this next class. I am pleased with my progress today. Here is a photograph of what my product looks like so far -
 * Day 2; 17th October, 2011 :**

Today I put screws in the side I had not finished last class. I also glued in the last 2 pieces I needed to complete the frame of my organizer's main body. I shall add screws in next class.
 * Day 3; 20th October, 2011 :**

__**Day 4; 26th October, 2011 :**__ Today I finished putting in ALL of the remaining screws! Yaya! I also drew marks on my product's main body so that I will know where to put the legs.

__**Day 5; 1st November, 2011 :**__ Today I glued the legs onto my product.

__**Day 6; 21st November, 2011 :**__ Today I added the head pieces to my product and I cut out the tail.

__**Day 7; 4th December, 2011 :**__ Today Mr. Hasan helped me cut out my divider. Originally I had several dividers in mind for my project, but I thought about it and realized that I only really need two compartments: one for pencils and one for pens. So now I changed my design to make one main, center divider. I finished sanding the divider today and next class I will glue on the tail and put in the divider.

__**Day 8; 6th December, 2011 :**__ Today I glued in my divider and erased all pencil marks on my project. I will not paint it, but I need to put on sealer and gloss.

__**Day 9; 10th January, 2012 :**__ In this class I put sealer on my product.

__**Day 10; 16th January, 2012 :**__ In this class I put gloss on my product. As soon as the gloss dries, I will be finished with my product.

**__Evaluation__**
My product is a dog-shaped desk organizer named Kenneth. I had three different designs for my DT project this semester, but I chose Kenneth as my final. Originally, I had planned to have several different-sized compartments for him. but then I realized that there would be too many compartments, each with too little space. So then I decided to narrow it down to 2 large compartments, which would be enough to fit all my school supplies. I was going to paint my product, but then I thought that the plain wood went very well with the design of the product. I put on sealer and gloss and voila! Kenneth! I am very pleased with how my product turned out. I think it is very neat and well-designed. However, the ears/face part of the product has a slight bump at one end where I made a mistake with the scroll saw. Also, the product is a little lopsided because one of the legs is a little shorter than the rest. I could have managed my time better, because it is one of the last days and I have just finished my product. But, all in all, I am pleased with my product.

Here are the pictures of my final, finished product -