For this laser cutting project, I wanted to create a pencil holder that could be compact enough to take up only a small amount of space, but can also fold out to use on the desk when needed.

Due to my personal aesthetic taste as well as the limitations of a flat surface wood material, I wanted to craft a design with a more geometric, edgy shape. I found most of my inspiration from pinterest-

- INITIAL DESIGNS -
Here, I generated several design options. They varied in terms of shapes (square, triangular, octagonal, jagged/organic), the side details (solid vs cut out stripes), as well as the folding options (most with base coming in from the bottom)

- PROTOTYPING MY CHOSEN OPTIONS -
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Octagonal (Detatched base that you tuck in)
Rectangular (glued base that folds inwards)
Triangular ( only uses two pieces which fold into each other
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- THOUGHTS OF INITIAL PROTOTYPES -

Dislikes: Both the octagonal and the rectangular holders seemed too simple (the template that they were folded from basic 3d shape templates. The pyramid base (2 flat pieces) was quite unstable (could not hold my pens).

However, the features I did like were:  the folding in of the base in the rectangular holder and the shape of the triangular holder





- SECOND DESIGN IDEA -
A pencil holder which has a large base which pulls open the holder.
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- THOUGHTS -
Although I really liked this design- it was clean and simple -, but I wanted to add a little bit more spice.



- THIRD DESIGN IDEA -
I decided to combine some features that I liked - Both the folding out base with the pyramid shape

- REFINING THE DESIGN -
I tested some small elements such as the size and the side tabs to see which prototype would look the best and be the most stable (hold pens well). I chose the 3rd one.

- CHOICE OF MATERIAL -
The 1.3mm Cardstock paper was the clear choice of material, as the thinness would be able to make the folded piece more compact and easier to bend. For card-stock paper, the 'etch' lines create indentations for folds, whereas wood would require two seperate sheets and a connector.

As shown below, I made the outline 'red' lines (cut lines), and made the fold lines 'blue' (engraving).
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I feel like this object is- in its' current state - would not really impact my everyday life. My main purpose for it being 'compact and clean' when folded was I believe, only partially achieved (I actually prefer my card prototypes). 

What I should have done when prototyping, was to possibly use a thicker card/cardboard that was more like card-stock, to check its' 'clunkiness'. For greater stability, I could use magnets (or some metal) to attach to the base weight. Also, as suggested by the technician, I could use a thin plastic which would be able to have etched fold lines.

In this experience, I learnt that less is more. Because if I were to redo my design, I would actually choose design 2 (circle base), as it was clean and simple. I also learnt that I should pay more attention to the potential problems in my design (e.g. laser etching creating only one-way folds)
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