Research & Concept

I initially had some trouble coming up with an idea for what I wanted to use as my original object, until yesterday when I was washing the dishes. I came to the realization that my roommates and I are desperate for a sponge holder in our kitchen. The sponge is always missing when you need it, whether it’s under the dishes or somewhere on the counter. We have a double sink so I decided to add a playful aspect to a sponge holder that would rest in between the double sink.

Above are pictures of the original kind of sponge holder I would like to base my self-expression object off. One of my roommates really likes baby Yoda, so I thought it would be fun to create a sponger holder that had baby Yoda’s face on it. The basic outline of the object would stay the same, but I would add a different shape to the piece that holds the sponge in and add indents to that piece to create an image of baby Yoda’s face.

Iterations

For my original design, I wanted to make the type of dish sponge holder that went over the middle of a two-compartment sink. After reviewing my design and our sink I came to the conclusion that this was not the most practical design for our sink because the two compartments are very small and we need as much space as we can get to wash dishes. I then decided that I would do a sponge holder that the sponge can rest on, on the side of the sink instead. I took the face side of the original idea and used that to model my new idea.

I began by attempting to create a vector in Adobe Illustrator, when importing this into Tinkercad it did not turn out the way I had hoped. I tried printing it anyway and as you can see in the slideshow, something was not working right. I ran into multiple issues trying to print and when I finally got it to print it, the print did not turn out. I came to the conclusion that these issues were due to the fact that I made it with shapes, so I thought I would try making something on Adobe Illustrator using the drawing feature on my iPad. It ended up working very well and I really enjoyed the way it came out in Tinkercad. I added a bottom portion and a circle to outline baby Yoda’s face. I used his eyes, eyebrow, and worry lines to act as a draining portion so that the wet sponge could dry once it was placed on the sponge holder. I was able to print with no problem once I tried out the new vector.

My first print with the new vector came out well, but it came out with a support plate which I did not want. It also came out with bumps on the surface, which I didn’t like the look of. I decided to print one more time and my last print came out perfect! I really am happy with the way it turned out and I know my roommates will love our new sponge holder!

This is my final self-expression creation, I chose to make a Baby Yoda sponge holder for my sink. This design worked really well and turned out better than I had hoped. I was not able to go with my original idea, but I really enjoyed the final piece. I chose this as my final design because I think it works well and looks aesthetically pleasing. It holds a sponge perfectly and could possibly be used as a soap holder as well. The holes are made with the details of the face so that the sponge can dry. After iterations, I didn’t run into much trouble creating the final piece. I smoothed the edges so that the dish would be more round. Overall, I had a lot of fun in this process and am pleased with the final piece.