Title: Dog bowl 2.0
Size: 12 cm. x 18 cm. Medium: Modeling clay Completion date: December 2021 Exhibition Text: The objective for this piece was to utilize the design process to better the life of pets and their owners. Traditional dog bowls acted as the basis for my design and I worked to use clay to make improvisations. The base of the bowl is pre-made and purchased and the modeling clay was also purchased from a local craft store. |
Planning and Investigating
Blogger, ID. “What Is Industrial Design?: Industrial Design: Spark Innovations.” Spark Innovations | A product development and Industrial Design company which offers the benefits of strong intellectual patents and exceptional product design., October 17, 2017. https://www.sparkinnovations.com/what-is-industrial-design/
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Industrial Design
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Murph!Lawrence Murphy, an industrial designer who works for Milwaukee Institute for Art and Design came in to speak with us about industrial design and creating product. For this specific project, we focused on pets and how to improve their lives and the lives of their owners. We started by creating an "Empathy map", a table showing the sights, thoughts, hearings and feelings that come with having a pet.
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Empathy mapsShown to the left is my empathy map, showing things I hear, see, feel and think regarding my pets. Some of the points are things I believe my pets see, hear, feel and think too.
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From my empathy map, I decided the most prevalent problem in my family and therefore, the one I chose to focus on, was the water on the floor around my dog Nashville's water dish (See #3). This is an issue that my family hasn't found a solution for other then an ugly tray under the water bowl. This is also a problem that causes a lot of stress for my father and negatively impacts his relationship with Nashville. If you look closely, in the picture to the right, behind my god, Nashville (right), and Lucy (left), you can see the water bowl with the low class, hideous tray underneath. As you can see, this situation is not ideal.
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POV Statement: |
I met a family with dogs that need to drink water to survive. I was surprised to find that when the dogs went to drink, they slobbered everywhere leaving a mess that annoyed the owners. It would change things if someone found a way to create a water bowl that created the least amount of spillage as possible.
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Inspiration
A typical dog bowl was the basis of my project or the thing I seeked to improve. Dog bowls have been a staple to any pet owner since then. Since they are used by so many, I wanted to do my best to make them even better. I had found the problem I wanted to solve through my investigation with Murph and the next step was deciding how to expand on dog bowls to apply to my needs.
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To the left is a digital sketch I made to show the water bowl I wanted to create. On the bottom, it just will be almost identical to a normal water bowl however intruding out of it is a lip that allows for a dog to reach in and drink water but then slobber back into the bowl when listing their head instead of slobbering onto the floor.
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Process
Creation processTo make matters a little easier for myself, I went to Goodwill to pick up a pre-made dog bowl so I would only have to make the design changes and not the entire dog bowl. After buying a bowl, I headed to Blick Art Materials to purchase sir dry clay to build the lip of my bowl. Then, it was time to start building.
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Pre-made Dog Bowl
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To allow for the clay to adequately stick to the pre-made dog bowl, I sanded down the finish on the top of the bowl to create a rougher surface. This will allow for the clay to have something to grip to. I sanded about a half of an inch down and until the bowl felt rough to touch.
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Sand paper ^
Bowl with sanded top> |
Next, I rolled the clay into worm like strings before flattening it to create a lasagna noodle-shape. I then rested it on the top side of the bowl and used my fingers to press it into the bowl, blending the hardened, baked clay with the new stuff. I did three stretches of this to cover the entire circumference of the bowl. Then, I pulled the clay lip out so it would have that diagonal trajectory. I did my best to keep the clay smooth.
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Critique
Some similarities between my piece and the inspiration dog bowl that I built my project off of are the shape itself of the bowl at the bottom. Regarding how the bowl is going to look on your kitchen floor and where it's going to sit, those things remain the same with the bowl as the difference between the use is not really existent. In addition, the material the bowl was made out of was the same.
Some differences were the different in creation, handmade versus factor made. Another difference, considering I did a good job, would be the existence or lack thereof of water outside of the dog bowl after the dog takes a drink. |
Overall, I think I created a good trial for my invention. I believe I could work with different mediums or types of clay to possibly make my project even better. This could create a bowl with a more seamless look, and something more aesthetically pleasing. I was very successful in identifying the problem I wanted to fix and refining what materials and process would be needed in order to address the issue. My planning and research phase was really successful. I grew as an artist through this project because clay wasn't something I was super well versed in. In addition, the act of taking something already made and trying to make it better was new to me. I really enjoyed the deign aspect of this project.
ACT questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration acted as a basis for the development of my design piece. The original dog bowl physically and conceptually was the starting point for my design proccess.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Murph taught us a lot about taking an inspiration industrially designed object and approaching it with an open mindset that fosters change and overall better-ness.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Through my investigations with Murph, I've learned that ideas and designs can always be bettered and in that same thought process, everything around us is a feature of product design that has been remade and tested and remade again countless times.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main theme for my research was how to make pets lives better as well as pet owner's lives better.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
My research taught me about how to design and the design process.
My inspiration acted as a basis for the development of my design piece. The original dog bowl physically and conceptually was the starting point for my design proccess.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Murph taught us a lot about taking an inspiration industrially designed object and approaching it with an open mindset that fosters change and overall better-ness.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Through my investigations with Murph, I've learned that ideas and designs can always be bettered and in that same thought process, everything around us is a feature of product design that has been remade and tested and remade again countless times.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main theme for my research was how to make pets lives better as well as pet owner's lives better.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
My research taught me about how to design and the design process.