Tabletop Tripod

This week, I was tasked with building a mobile phone stand for shooting video of an object below it, such as a paper prototype or mobile app demo.

The requirements:

• must be cut from a single sheet of 18" x 24" chipboard
• must not use any glue, tape, or other fastening materials to assemble
• must be able to be dissembled into pieces that can be stored flat and transported (as in a backpack)

Design

I began with some sketches.

The next step was to make a lo-fi prototype to decide how pieces fit together.

Lo-fi prototyping with my #2 favorite breakfast cereal. #1 is Honeycombs.

My biggest trip up was not examining the material before beginning.My initial designs required much folding– I learned that chipboard is not folding-friendly. This was my first attempt! Scoring along a fold did not work nor did the jagged locking mechanism.

Attempt #1

I modified the design so pieces interlock with notches instead. Here is the final design.

Final lasercut prototype

Testing and Feedback

Two main concerns emerged from testing:

• This would be difficult and tedious to disassemble
• Stability can be improved by adding a base piece

My biggest struggle was reconciling form with function. How can I design something that is works, is robust, but also visually interesting?

Peer feedback

The world may never know — Tootsie pop owl