THE ARCADE
THE ARCADE was a collective project where 16 designers came together to create a cohesive theme for a gallery show organized for the 10-year anniversary of the Products of Design department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. It consisted of a Connect 4, a Wheel of Dares, and a Slingshot Cornhole.
The team also created cohesive branding for the exhibit which included logos, graphics, stickers, and notebooks all following a unified design language. The project was divided into Research, Branding, and Fabrication. I was part of the fabrication team and Lead on the Connect 4 project.
Throughout the process, there were many long days and nights, changes, disagreements, and opportunities for problem-solving wherein we had to come together and work through them as a team.
[ May 4 2023, 3:41 AM:
Our first time testing the mechanism to see if all the work paid off or not! ]
process >>>
The initial idea included a freestanding Connect-16 that would have the disks/pucks showing the department's graduated alumni from the past 10 years.
The theme was later changed to the arcade and the idea was revised accordingly.
Mockups were created using Illustrator and Rhino to help determine the measurements and to create the files for CNC machining.
The biggest learning in this build was that of a "driving dimension".
The diameter of the puck determines the dimensions of the Connect 4 board. Unfortunately, we had to learn this the hard way and re-cut the board to fit the correct size of the disk that had previously been determined all because the pucks were trimmed by 0.5".
The pucks were made by gluing together cork trivets which I procured on an adventure to Ikea in a rainstorm.
The edges were trimmed using a jig on the router table and the spray painted in the respective colors.
Next steps included clean up of the MDF, painting of the boards and assembly.
We also created a false wall to attach the Connect 4 to as we were not allowed to drill directly into the original wall.
After the final assembly, the Connect-4 was attached to the wall using 2 pairs of French Cleats that I built.
We also constructed a box to catch the pucks when they fall out of the bottom when the game is over.
This project was a true test of skill, problem-solving, time management, and teamwork and I learned a lot about my capabilities not only in terms of being a designer and fabricator but also as a team leader.
