Week 1: Final Project Proposal

This week’s assignment was to think of and somehow express (draw, CAD up, render) a possible final project. I considered a lot of things but the ideas I'm settling on all have to do with lunchboxes. Specifically - an interactive lunchbox with some sort of compelling experience. I thought, if your lunchbox is novel and amazing, and intriguing... maybe people would pack their lunches more? Which is always a good thing from financial, health, and picnic points of view.


I made a few drawings of some ideas, which are below:


A few possibilities

Drawings of some ideas for the lunchboxes

Inspiration came from several sources: wooden puzzles, origami folding, unfolding, and responsive textiles (like this class, which a friend of mine took). Ideally, the lunchbox would respond to an input (a fingerprint reader, someone blows on a pressure transducer, maybe a finger snap) and it would unlock/unravel/unfold to reveal a delicious lunch. It could also have lots of little compartments, like a bento box or a tiffin tin.


The following are several youtube videos, mostly for my own reference, regarding what the box might look like. Hopefully, by having several ideas simmering, I'll be able to figure out how to make some compelling lunchbox using the technologies we learn.


Box of wood

The pieces would somehow come apart on their own. The idea is that the box is very hard/impossible to get apart without the mechanism.


Rose Box

I don't think this idea could quite be translated into a lunchbox, but I do like the idea of the lunchbox looking impenetrable unless you know the technique/mechanism to open it, kind of like this origami box.

Unfolding Flower

I liked the elegance of a box that 'blooms', revealing delicious lunch inside. But this also changes volume... and my box needs to hold the same lunch when it's open and when it's closed...

Origami box, lots of layers

I thought this would be a cool bento option, that the box could expand to a higher tower, with lots of shelves. I think I would name this the 'snack attack' since the sections would probably be smaller. This youtube contributer also has a long list of modular boxes that will be a welcome resource.