Furniture Design Lesson
#8: Learn more about this field and design a piece of furniture
Hello readers,
For this career lesson we’re highlighting furniture design. Fusion 360 and SketchUp are great programs to use for creating furniture, whether the end goal is to 3D print a miniature version, mock-up an idea, or make a construction plan.
There are a few elements and principles of design that are important to consider. I’ve attached an information sheet from Iowa State University with great visuals and definitions.
Each of these concepts will build onto each other, leading to a thoughtful, and functional, piece of furniture.
Fusion 360 Tips
Dimensioning is a fundamental part of making a manufacturable design
Make sure that you make your models to scale
You can always shrink them in a 3D printing slicing software
For now, I would recommend making the whole piece of furniture in one part file
I will post a Fusion 360 lesson in the coming weeks about assembling multiple part/component files into one assembly file
There will also be a lesson about rendering, which allows you to visualize your creation with colors, textures, lighting, and background scenes
Exercise
What piece of furniture would you love to own but have never seen in a store?
Brainstorm unique furniture pieces that represent your style
Start with sketches on paper and decide on a single design
Try to make your designs functional/useable, even if they are unusual
Modify as needed
Utilize previous lessons in the XYZ Lesson Library Archive to brush up on the software’s features
Note: Remember to save your work so you can use it for future lessons
Please feel free to reply to this email, comment on the post, or share it with your friends.
All the best,
Julie