DEGREE PROJECT

Craft fused furniture range for SPIN

Sponsor : Made with SPIN, New Delhi

STUDENT : HARSHIT TAAK

PROGRAMME : Master of Design (M. Des)

GUIDE : P. RAMAKRISHNA RAO

2020
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN FACULTY (FURNITURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN)
 The Evaluation Jury recommends HARSHIT TAAK for the

Degree of the National Institute of Design

IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN (Furniture and Interior Design)
Herewith, for the project titled "Craft fused furniture range for SPIN" on fulfilling the further requirements by*

Chairman
Copyright © 2020
Members :
This document has been written and designed by Harshit Taak

Student documentation publication, meant for private circulation only. All rights reserved.

No part of this document can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronically or mechanically, including, photocopying,
xerography or video recording without permission from Harshit Taak and National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India.

All Illustration and photographs in this document are copyright © 2019 by respective people/organization.

Edited and designed by: Harshit Taak

Jury Grade :
This document has been published in Ahmedabad
*Subsequent remarks regarding fulfilling the requirements :

This Project has been completed in ________________ weeks.

Activity Chairperson, Education

ORIGINALITY
STATEMENT
I hereby declare that this submission is my own
work and it contains no full or substantial copy of
previously published material, or it does not even
contain substantial proportions of material which
have been accepted for the award of any other
degree or final graduation of any other educational
institution,
Except where due acknowledgment is made in
this graduation project. Moreover I also declare
that none of the concepts are borrowed or
copied without due acknowledgment. I further
declare that the intellectual content of this
graduation project is the product of my own
work, except to the extent that assistance from
others in the project’s design and conception or
in style, presentation and linguistic expression is
acknowledged. This graduation project (or part of
it) was not and will not be submitted as assessed
work in any other academic course.
Signed Harshit Taak
Date: 24th June 2022
COPYRIGHT
STATEMENT
I hereby grant the National Institute of Design
the right to archive and to make available
my graduation project/thesis/dissertation in
whole or in part in the Institutes’s Knowledge
Management Centre in all forms of media,
now or hereafter known, subject to the
provisions of the Copyright Act. I have either
used no substantial portions of copyright
material in my document or I have obtained
permission to use copyright material.
Signed Harshit Taak
Date: 24th June 2022
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would also like to thank my guide
Ramakrishna Rao for mentoring me and
guiding me throughout the process. I’d
also like to thank Mr. L C Ujawane for the
knowledge which helped me during making
the furniture range. I’d like to thank Mrs.
Neelima Hasija for providing me a thorough
prerequisite information on craft sector.
At SPIN, I would like to thank Mr. Avenish
Jain for giving me an opportunity to work
at their company. I’d like to thank him for
making sure I’m going in the direction
compatible with the brand’s identity. I’d like
to thank Mr. Ashish Jain for providing me
all the support that I required to work at my
full potential. I’d like to thank Mr. Vishwajeet
for always helping me with his engineering
expertise. I’d like to thank Mr. Vikas Vats
for all the unlistable effort he made towards
making the prototypes happen. Alongside,
I’d like to thank Mr. Gurdeep, Mr. Anil, Mr.
Pradeep, and all the workers of the factory for
making this project a success.
At the Delhi office I’d like to thank Akhil and
Anamika for the various discussions related
and unrelated to project. I’d like to thank Mr.
Neeraj for the design talks which led me to
a very strong brief after knowing the context
from him in all aspects of the company. I’d
like to thank Amita, Aamir, Faiz, Meenakshi
Ji, Tarun, Imran, Sukanya, Rachit, Raj and
everyone else for making the duration at the
office homelike. I’d also like to thank the two
kids at the office for keeping it real funny.
I’d also like to thank my classmates for the
interactions we’ve had through the entire
duration at the campus which I believe led
to the person I am today. I’d like to especially
thank Munindra Mohanta, and Nallaballi
Rajesh for helping me discuss the technical
aspect of the project. I’d like to thank everyone
who indirectly collaborated for the project.
This is not JUST my project. I’d like to thank
Sai Shankar, Devansh Bhuttani, Geet Saini and
Niveditha for bringing NID to Delhi.
I’d like to thank my family for believing in me
and trying not to worry about future.
CONTENT
1. Project brief 1 b. Different directions for a possible range 42
2. Abstract 7 I. Embellish 57
3. About the sponsor 9 I. Pilotis 57
4. Project Framework 11 II. Tactile 59

Y
5. Introduction to the project 13 c. Prototyping of Pilotis 60
6. Research 15 I. Symbology 61
a. SPIN 16 II. Joinery evolution 63
I. Design ideology 16 III. Translations 68
I. Target Audience 17 IV. Final prototype 75
II. Material choices 17 V. Prototype Analysis 81
III. Colour space 24 d. The way forward 94
IV. Form ideology 24 9. Reflections from the project 95
V. Industrial processes 32 10. References 99
b. Craft 33 11. Glossary
I. Why crafts? 33 12. Image credits
II. Which crafts? 33 13. Appendix
c. Features of the Range 37
I. How much craft? 37 /s/
II. Functions of the range Meaning: the sun
37
7. Evolved project brief 39
8. Design Development 41
a. Experiments with different crafts
PROJECT BRIEF
To design and develop a range of residential furniture fused with a craft following SPIN’s
ideology and visual language.
 PROJECT BACKGROUND
SPIN the sponsor is the partner company
of Shark Shopfits which has been in the
business of shopfitting since 2003. Such a
long successful journey led to the eventual
emergence of SPIN in 2017. The furniture
brand follows a mix of Japanese and Nordic
minimal aesthetics and principles. The
furniture stands for simplicity, utility and
beauty. A combination of modern materials,
techniques and audacious creative thinking is
used to achieve the same.
The company started with an idea of
combining crafts with highly industrial and
THE CHALLENGE
Over the years the brand realized that as of
now the product and furniture catalogue
serves the ideology very well. Over time they
realized that the ideology might need a warm
disruption though. The brand offering right
now is cold in both touch and aesthetics.
This makes the range of furniture suitable for
ABSTRACT
a commercial, corporate environment and
even as an accent piece but not a “home”. The
project will be an attempt to induce warmth
while following the same aesthetic guidelines.
The furniture’s observation shouldn’t end
minimal style. It took about two years for
SPIN to create a minimal identity to mix the
craft with. This was due to the intense hit and
trials which went to come to a point where
A
they could notice that the image is pretty
much and the next step which is to come
up with different furniture and products
following that identity is more important for
the business. Since then the brand has been
following the same but strong philosophy
of theirs which is also strongly based on
the industrial processes available at their
workshop.
in an instant but should be a conversation
starter which builds bonds. Focusing on
these pointers, one is left with an interesting
brief which tries to follow the existing design
philosophy with a dash of warmth and /u(:)/
responsibility of a craft. Meaning: rain, now, dross
4
 BRAND STATEMENT
SPIN is the only furniture studio label that the world and are conscious about themselves
offers smart and fun furniture line which is and the surroundings they live in.
relevant for today’s new age global citizens
who live in metros and progressive towns of

INTENT
To produce atmosphere of joy, fun and representation of this idea that one can
creativity around us and our products are experience in its physical form.

BELIEF
That the world is already full of unnecessary
products and offerings. We are not looking
at adding to that clutter by creating another
me too product. At Spin, we reinterpret
function and aesthetics. We are also trying to
create products which connects with todays
consumers and help them simplify there life.

ABOUT THE
designs principle in a new light, adapt
them to our consumers needs and carefully
manufacture products that please both

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

SPONSOR
At Spin, we reinterpret designs principle in with todays consumers and help them simplify
a new light, adapt them to our consumers there life.
needs and carefully manufacture products that
please both function and aesthetics. We are
also trying to create products which connects
6
 Picture 1: SPIN history

• INCORPORATED IN 2012
• FY 2017-2018 TOP LINE 13.0 MILLION USD
• ONE OF THE TOP 5 COMPANIES IN THE INDUSTRY WITH VERY STRONG
GOODWILL AND BRAND VALUE
• SUCCESSFULLY DOING BUSINESS FROM THE PAST 16 YEARS WITH A VERY
IMPRESSIVE CLIENT BASE
• MANUFACTURERS & SUPPLIES SHOP-FITTING EQUIPMENT (FIXTURES &
FURNITURE) TO RETAILERS AND BRANDS
• 2 MANUFACTURING UNITS BASED SPREAD ACROSS 1.40 LAKH-SQFT IN NCR
• 400 EMPLOYEES
• FEW CLIENT : MARKS & SPENCER’S, SAMSUNG, APPLE, ADIDAS GROUP, PUMA
INDIA, IDX CORPORATION, H&M, FOSSIL GROUP, GOOGLE INDIA, AMAZON
INDIA

7 8
 • BRAND OF SHARK SHOPFITS PVT LTD
• BRAND LAUNCHED IN THE YEAR 2017
• NEW BUSINESS INITIATIVE FROM SHARK TO VENTURE INTO HOME,
COMMERCIAL FURNITURE & LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS HARNESSING ON SHARK’S
STRONG DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES
• DESIGN + BUILD + RETAIL MODEL
• CURRENTLY BEING RETAILED ONLINE WWW.MADEWITHSPIN.COM
• EXPANSION IN TERMS OF BRICK & MORTAR EXPERIENCE STORES AND B2B
BUSINESSES
• MANUFACTURING OF PRODUCTS DONE AT SHARK’S INFRASTRUCTURE

9
 The project was divided into multiple phases encompassing different aspects of the project.
Looking at a project from a macro perspective promises that all the aspects which would
influence the end product are well thought out. After reviewing the design brief and the
workshop in which the products were to be made following timeline was created:

1. Research: Includes learning about the brand and its factory provisions. This will also
include research about the craft side of the project, which will include questioning the role
of craft and other details.
2. Ideation: After getting a better idea of what the project will be dealing with, we’d need to
ideate number of ideas. From the pool of which we can shortlist a few and work on a very
few.
3. Prototyping: Furniture being a product which is exposed to a lot of ergonomics, visual
scale, and structure stability, in accordance with manufacturing processes; prototyping
exposes things which drawings and not even mock-ups cannot reveal. This stage will
be crucial in coming up with product(s) which suffices all the various requirement and
expectations from the project.

PROJECT
4. Documentation: The stage will conclude the project documenting the process in detail in
order for other students to learn from it.

FRAMEWORK Picture 2: Timeline

12
 NARRATIVE
The brief needed an ability to see SPIN’s
catalogue as a collective and see the
shortcomings of the same. The current
offerings of the brand follow the minimal
design language inspired by the Japanese and
Nordic design ideologies. While following
that it seems to forget to integrate the warmth
factor which makes furniture an integral
part of our household. A piece of furniture is
like a marker for the resident in his absence.
For that to be achieved the furniture should
contain the mask which the user has for the
society but at the same time a vulnerable side
which just the resident and his immediate
circle know of. The range should attempt to
be a conversation starter by a specific feature
of the range which will be its highlight. The
range should also explore the multi-sensory
design approach, starting off with a sense of
INTRODUCTION
touch which the current offering lacks as bare
metal is obviously cold to touch. The furniture
range also has the potential to move beyond
just form-based translation of the ideology
followed by SPIN.
TO THE PROJECT Image source: https://uxdesign.cc/revisiting-the-ux-double-diamond-539f34ea9360
The functional aspects of the range should
also be in conjunction with the intent of the
furniture being a conversation catalyst.
Also, being the moment of birth of
collaboration with the craft sector in this
organisation, it is crucial it takes place in the
closest to the most holistic manner. This could
be a stepping stone in making SPIN one of a
few contributors to the betterment of the craft
sector.
FRAMEWORK
The project followed a standard framework of
double diamond during the project timeline.
This ensures that the right amount of control
and loss of it is maintained and that there’s a
possibility to come up with design decisions
which are based of research insights instead of
the other way around.
Picture 3: Double Diamond
14
 SPIN
DESIGN IDEOLOGY
The intention of making furniture needs Like the Scandinavian design ideology, SPIN’s

C
to be justified to be able to be a responsible philosophy attempts to come to a middle
maker in this day and age. SPIN believes ground by using the machines in a way which
that if the product is smarter in the domain integrates with the craftsmanship which makes
of functionality, ease of manufacturability, the furniture desirable.
price, or desirability then it is a product worth
producing for the world. As long as the next
product is better in all these domains than
what has already been created, then it is
something worth investing in.

As change is the only constant the products

should always respond to the lifestyle and
aspirations of the target audience.
Scandinavian ideology is a product of the
need for the loss of desirability for furniture
and instead focusing solely on ease of
manufacturing. The Scandinavian ideology
attempts to come to a middle ground by using
the machines in a way which integrates with /k, g/
the craftsmanship which makes the furniture Meaning: ulcer, disease, death, malady
desirable.

RESEARCH 16
 TARGET AUDIENCE
SPIN’s target audience is the urban dweller
who is well traveled and educated enough to
see the value in Scandinavian design ideology.
Which is a product of the need to the loss of
desirability factor in furniture and instead
focusing solely on ease of manufacturing. He
celebrates the urban environment and that
is reflected in his possessions. Underneath
his expressive love for urbanism, he’s also
intrigued towards natural finishes. He likes the
raw grains of wood and stone as it connects
him to his human roots of being tactile with
nature.
17
MATERIAL CHOICE DUAL MATERIAL
The company works primarily with metal
both mild steel and aluminium, in the form of
sections and sheets. It fuses the powder-coated
metal with woods like oak, walnut, teak, steam
beech, etc. Apart from these, the brand also
uses acrylic, Corian, glass, birch plywood.
1. Dual or single material usage:
Depending on the design of the product
there broadly exists products with
one material only or cases where two
materials fuse to form a product. In my Picture 4: Fliss Planter Picture 5: Arial side table
opinion, the fusion of two materials
makes a piece of furniture fall more
under the SPIN’s identity. The fusion of
wood into otherwise metal furniture also
helps induce a sense of warmth, breaking
away from highly industrialized identity.
Picture 6: Cheiro bench Picture 7: Gusto table
18
 Picture 8: Neo Range Picture 9: Nyx chair Picture 12: Infinity Mirror Picture 14: Josh Barstool

Picture 10: Polo barstool Picture 11: Wrap console table Picture 13: Krom centre table Picture 15: Mario centre table

19 20
 SINGLE MATERIAL

Picture 20: Euro storage box Picture 21: Flute chopping board

Picture 16: Cole Stool Picture 17: Cora wastebin

Picture 18: Creo candle holder Picture 19: Eco storage locker Picture 22: Infinity trolley Picture 23: Intact storage box

21 22

Picture 24: Jaw wall hook
Picture 26: Rekken wall clock
23
COLOUR SPACE
SPIN has a colour space which is fun, urban,
and expressive. It tries to capture the emotion
of quirkiness to it. The colour palette embraces
the constructional aspect of the furniture and
does not tries to hide anything.
Picture 25: Otte stool
FORM IDEOLOGY
The company’s products try to follow a minimal and highly functional physical language. While
doing that it tries to add a bit of flair to it in one way or other. There are certain characteristics of
the product lineup which can be traced back to its ideology.
1. Tapered structural members or straight structural members: Spin’s catalogue consists of
furniture with both tapered as well as straight members. While straight members are easy
to manufacture, the tapered members are proven to make furniture lighter and stronger
due to material usage being made following bending moment diagram of any structural
Picture 27: Tyson drawers member.
2. Simple and expressive joineries: The furniture refrains from hiding the constructional
aspect of the furniture. This also expresses the beauty of construction making the user
appreciate the work which has gone behind making his valuable possessions.
24
 TAPERED MEMBERS STRAIGHT MEMBERS

Picture 28: Josh barstool Picture 29: Neo study table Picture 32: Aster dining table Picture 34: Cafe chair

Picture 33: Cheiro bench Picture 35: Cole chair

Picture 30: Nyx chair Picture 31: Nyx lounger

25 26
 Picture 36: Gusto table Picture 37: Iso bench Picture 40: Ted bench Picture 42: Theo bench

Picture 38: Ness coffee table Picture 39: Polo stool Picture 41: Wrap console table Picture 43: Zyle dining table

27 28
 SPIN currently follows no single rigid directions but the catalogue can be perceived into two
major categories:
1. Dynamic: This composes of the NEO, JOSH, COLE and NYX series
2. Non-dynamic: This includes quedro, breo and polo range as an example.

DYNAMIC

Picture 44: Cole stool Picture 45: Josh barstool

Picture 48: Cole stool Picture 49: Nyx chair

Picture 46: Neo mini stool Picture 47: Ted bench

Picture 50: Neo chair Picture 51: Josh Barstool

29 30
 NON DYNAMIC
Picture 52: Breo centre table
Picture 54: Polo barstool
31
Picture 53: Wrap storage
Picture 55: Quedro dining table
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
SPIN has a number of in-house machines
which enables them to produce a variety of
products, catering to both Shark and SPIN’s
needs. These include CNC punching and
blanking machine, laser cutting machine for
metal sheets, panel bender, hydraulic plate
bending machine, threading machine, lancer
machine on the metal side. For the wood and
board material the available machines are
Picture 56: Metal bending machine
5-axis and 3-axis CNC machines, laminating
press, lipping machine, etc. Apart from these
the facility situated in Greater Noida also has
in-house assembly area, logistics area, powder
coating plant, paint shop, and hardware and
material inventory.
Picture 57: 5-Axis CNC cutter
32
 CRAFT
The decision of fusing crafts with highly nature and integration of a craft along cultural overview, number of districts and
industrious furniture and products to create with its social and cultural background craftsperson, access transport, description,
a unique offering in the furniture world was will bring the necessary warmth to the products and other information about
present in the brand since the beginning. But range. the crafts of India, I referred to the book
they needed a strong identity to merge the 2. The USP of the range: The craft bit Handmade in India by MP Ranjan, and Aditi
crafts with. Hence, after 3 years of making the needs to be like a cherry on the cake. It Ranjan which is an encyclopedia of Indian
necessary identity required, the project will be should enhance the value of the range Crafts.
an attempt in the same direction. through its richness. There was a void for The craft also had to fulfill a set of
a range in SPIN’s catalogue which moves prerequisites for it to be implementable in
WHY? away from the sheer industriousness SPIN’s range
to something more humane and a craft
In the world where highly industrial furniture oriented furniture will bridge that gap. 1. Close proximity from the factory: To
is making good design accessible for the 3. Be a conversation starter: Surely the ease coordination between the cluster
masses, there exist a need for a differentiating furniture offering is a spectacle in and the client.
factor for a brand to make it in the market. itself. It’s attitude and precision speaks 2. Material and style: The material involved
Being an Indian brand, the craft seems to be for itself. Every furniture currently should be fusible with SPIN’s material
a no-brainer in this regard. And being able being offered by SPIN expresses its library and its style.
to integrate Indian crafts with the modern philosophical roots perfectly. But there 3. Processes: The craft should be in
aesthetic is something which could be a always exists a way to do the same on accordance with SPIN’s existing
win-win situation for both the craftsmen and much greater extent. The range should industrial process.
SPIN. This will also be a return to the initial focus on the user’s love for the Nordic 4. Shipping durability: The craft shouldn’t
ideology of SPIN, which was to integrate crafts design roots. It should embrace that love be too fragile for it to be a hindrance in
into highly industrialized furniture making it and physically manifest it somehow. shipping and packaging.
a unique offering to the world. The craft will
be having the following roles to play in the Following the deciding conditions the crafts
WHICH? which were shortlisted were:
project:
• Wood carving
To learn about the processes involved,
1. To add a sense of warmth: The existing • Thathera craft
the visual samples, the locations of the
SPIN’s catalogue is seemingly “cold” in • Metal casting Picture 58: Page from Handmade in India
clusters, districts, tools required, social and
• Woodblocks
Image source: Handmade In India. By MP Ranjan and Aditi Ranjan
• Metal engraving
33 34
 The surface crafts on the likes of inlays were
not considered due to their nature of taking
over the identity of the furniture. The same
will be discussed in the ‘how much craft’
section of the document.

Picture 60: Clockwise from top-left: Thathera craft, metal casting, metal engraving,
woodblock making
Image source: Handmade In India. By MP Ranjan and Aditi Ranjan

Picture 59: Wood Carving

Image source: Handmade In India. By MP Ranjan and
Aditi Ranjan

35 36
 FEATURES OF THE RANGE
After learning about the brand, its philosophy, functioning, and the possible craft to be fused
with there still exists some unanswered questions to make this project a meaningful one.
D
HOW MUCH CRAFT
The icing on the cake.
After much discussions with the client, we
realized that the craft should be like the icing
on the cake. Meaning, it should be just the
right dash which adds the warmth to the piece
but not taking away the identity of SPIN from
it.
There’s a reason behind this. Soon as the
customer lands on SPIN’s website or its
experience centre, he already knows what its
there for. Hence, the strong identity of SPIN
should still be dominant in the range to be
produced and craft should be like a value
addition to the existing identity. The role of
craft is to be a USP of the range while taking
forward the foundation on which SPIN stands.
/a(:)/
Meaning: Odin, inspriation, wisdom
37
THE FUNCTION OF THE
RANGE
The role of this range will be to ignite
meaningful conversations about craft and
culture. Hence, the functional aspects of
furniture should be in conjunction with the
intent so as to maximize the possibility of the
intent. The furniture pieces should fulfill the
following requirements:
• Should be a focus piece while sitting.
• Should be a conversation starter.
• Should be more observable than other
furniture.
• SPIN’s identity should carry the craft.
• Add warmth to space
 To design a range of furniture fusing craft with the existing design ideology and production
setup of SPIN. The craft should induce warmth in the furniture set, for a customer with a
contemporary taste.

EVOLVED
PROJECT BRIEF
 After the intensive research looking at the language umbrella. This part was necessary so
various factors which could affect the outcome as to make sure that sufficient directions are
of the project, I started off with sketching and
applying the lateral thinking to come up with
as many concepts as possible. This involved
using a craft in different ways, usage and style,
while still trying to fall under SPIN’s visual

EXPERIMENTS WITH DIFFERENT CRAFTS

Getting back to the shortlisted crafts i.e. wood
carving, thathera, metal casting, woodblocks,
explored before finalizing a few designs based
on factors which would determine do-ability,
desirability, etc.

possible designs were tried out firstly by

sketching, which will then be shortlisted and
H
metal engraving. Several concepts of the prototyped.

DESIGN Meaning:
/k/
torch, fire, mallady, death

DEVELOPMENT Sketch 1: Ideation Sketches

42
 Sketch 2: Ideation Sketches Sketch 3: Ideation Sketches

43 44
 Sketch 4: Ideation Sketches Sketch 5: Ideation Sketches

45 46
 Sketch 6: Ideation Sketches Sketch 7: Ideation Sketches

47 48
 Sketch 8: Ideation Sketches Sketch 9: Ideation Sketches

49 50
 Sketch 10: Ideation Sketches Sketch 11: Ideation Sketches

51 52
 Sketch 12: Ideation Sketches Sketch 13: Ideation Sketches

53 54
 Picture 61: Thathera oriented initial concept
The idea was to use craft as a utilitarian part
of furniture rather than just aesthetics. The
thathera craft would act as a binder of pieces
of SPIN and would be a USP of the range
Sketch 14: Ideation Sketches

55 56
 DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS FOR A
POSSIBLE RANGE
After numerous sketching sessions spanning prototype level. This will inform us about the
over several weeks of duration, and after manufacturing challenges and physical and
consulting the company’s engineer and structural limitations (if any).
the brand owner, we converged on three
broad ideas which will be taken further to

EMBELLISH
SPIN already had some series which manufacturing. The resultant is a piece of
manifested the ideology of the brand really furniture which embodies the language of
well. One of them was the existing Neo range SPIN with a craft and cultural touch.
by Akhil Raj. The idea was to sandwich
the craft in between metal in order to
possibly outsource the craft part for ease of

Picture 62: Embellish initial concept

What if the craft could be a modular part of the furniture?
The idea was to sandwich the craft between metal pieces (as an craft oriented neo range). The
same can be translated in other pieces. Picture 63: Embellish concept renders

57 58
 PILOTIS
The idea comes from a charpai (surprisingly).
The idea was to replace the four legs and rest
of the furniture with something contemporary,
What resulted was a piece of concept furniture
consisting of folded sheet metal and the legs,
which are kind of a strong identity of the
charpai, which also act as a nice placeholder
for a woodcarving craft. The top of the leg was
cut-off to make it more ergonomic and less
intrusive to movement. The top surface of the
leg was made into a square which provides a
nice place for Nordic motifs which resonates
with the ideology of the brand. And lastly, the
legs themselves were tapered off to save weight
and follow the brand ideology.
The fold of the concept also increases the
effective depth of the metal sheet which
increases the strength of the top by the power
of 3 (following the bending moment formula)
TACTILE
The concept of this stems from an observation The wood base is supported on a knockdown
that we all move our seaters before seating. metal structure. The furniture seems like the
The tapered sidewall provides a surface for the SPIN character is trying to lift up the craft
woodcarving craft to be displayed on. When element.
the user tries to sit on the stool, he’d feel the
tactility of the craft and then try to observe
it in greater detail due to its hidden nature.

Picture 64: Pilotis initial concept

The idea evolved from making a metal top from single sheet of MS sheet. The folded sides
would increase the effective depth of the seat making it strong by just sheer nature of origami
based construction. Picture 65: Tactile concept renders

59 60
 After analyzing the three different concepts, we decided to proceed with Pilotis due to several
reasons.

1. It goes really well with SPIN’s style.

2. The concept portrays the new direction of craft infused furniture really well.
3. It is easily mass manufacturable.
4. It has a good scope of being translated into other furniture functions as well.

PROTOTYPING OF
PILOTIS
I
Meaning:
/i(:)/
ice, challenge

62
 SYMBOLOGY
The company decided to incorporate Nordic
L
symbols in order to express the Nordic roots
of the brand physically as well. This would
help the brand express Nordic history and
culture through the furniture.
In Nordic language, every symbol has a
meaning in itself. And though the symbols
were chosen based on their visual value, we
chose to have a different symbol on each of
the sides of the furniture to express more. This
was done in order to make the user observe
more of the furniture and in turn learn more
about the Nordic culture.
/a, ae/
Meaning: plenty, bounty of frey, good harvest
63
The motifs were made by the 5-Axis CNC
machine in the factory. The perfect width and
depth were achieved after much hit and trial.
The intent was to make motifs appear after the
user observes the furniture.
Despite the immense freedom of a 5-axis CNC
machine we decided to mimic the natural
profile of a wood carved by a wedge and
hammer so that it can easily be imitated when
real craftsmen are involved in the process.
Picture 66: Nordic symbols
Image source: https://sonsofvikings.com/blogs/history/
viking-runes-guide-runic-alphabet-meanings-nordic-
celtic-letters
64
 M
Picture 67: Selected Nordic symbols for four legged
furniture

Picture 68: Selected Nordic symbols for three legged /b/

furniture Picture 69: Different profile options available for
Meaning: birch tree, birth, liberation
CNC’d prototype

The symbols were selected primarily on their identity and the three legged stool of the same The profile used for CNC was intentionally picture). This ensures that the prototype can
visual nature so that they can complement range used a single line in the centre as a chosen as the one imitating the profile be replicated and is in accordance to the
each other in a piece of furniture. The Four common visual feature amidst their meaning. achieved by a craftsman when using a craftsmen which will be used to make the
legged furniture had a two parallel line visual chisel and hammer (one on the left of above eventual products.

65 66
 JOINERY EVOLUTION
The joinery evolved by learning from the
different problems which we faced during
the prototyping process. What started from a
simple idea of creating the entire top surface of
the furniture using a single sheet of laser-cut
metal which will be folded. We started with
creating a stool first, as it was the one which
required the least material which enabled us to
make multiple prototypes easily.

FIRST ATTEMPT
ISSUES
• The bends are uneven and difficult to
mass produce due to presence of two non
standard bends in a single piece.
• The current screws are not appropriate for
the loads the furniture will be exposed to.

Picture 71: The first step was to create a exact

prototype of the conceptual and find out the
Picture 70: The numerous attempts made with various depth and angles to achieve a desirable marking outcome
issues associated with it

67 68
 SECOND ATTEMPT

CHANGES

P
• The joinery is made of two parts ensuring
there’s only one non-standard bending
angle in each making it easier to mass
manufacture.
• The side screws are removed in favor of
three rear screws.

ISSUES
• The lack of side screws makes the joinery
succeptable to bending making it highly
unstable.
• Adding a screw hole on the side will make
it difficult for assembly due to clearance
issues.

/w/
Meaning: joy, pleasure, harmony, kinship

Picture 72: First prototype. Notice the uneven bends and harsh edges Picture 73: Second attempt of joinery. Exploded view

69 70
 THIRD ATTEMPT

CHANGES
• The rear plate and attachment is extended
below making space for a screw-hole on
the side.
• This ensures that the joinery is locking
in 2-axis making the joinery extremely
sturdy.

ISSUES
• The increased metal on every edge
increases weight overall.
• The joinery is dependent on welding skills
for finish.

Picture 74: Second attempt of joinery

Picture 75: Third attempt of joinery. Exploded view

71 72
 FINAL JOINERY (RENDERS)

Picture 77: The final joinery through various angles

Picture 76: Third attempt of joinery

73 74
 TRANSLATIONS STOOL
After the final joinery was finalized, the next step was to translate the knowledge obtained in After the joinery was finalized the decision
creating a stool into making a bench, side table, and a coffee table. Every furniture came with its was made to create a stool first. This would
own challenges. allow for multiple protypes to be made quickly
and at relatively lower costs considering
that it uses the least amount of material. The
tie member at the bottom was embedded
5mm(check drawings for details) into the leg
75
to ensure snug fit and restrict its movement (as
shown in detail drawings). The creation of this
prototype and making sure the joinery works
with human loads and movement made us
confident to move forwards and create other
translations.
76
 COFFEE TABLE
The coffee table was quite a large flat metal
surface. We decided to cover the top with
a tapered Corian top. This was done in an
attempt to reduce the amount of cold metal
exposed to the user. It also adds a bit of
exclusivity to the furniture. The Corian top
may be replaced by actual stone. The table
could also be made with wooden horizontal
77
supports underneath the metal top in order to
add an additional flair of wood. This option
takes away the knockdown feature of the
furniture, but the empty space can be used
to accommodate side tables when purchased
together.
SIDE TABLE
Made to complement the coffee table. It is
essentially a smaller version of the same. It
uses the joinery to make it extremely light
and knockdown. Being knockdown in nature,
during packaging it can be shipped along with
the fixed centre table.
78
 BENCH
The long span of the bench brought a the horizontal member exponentially (by
challenge. It was solved by extending the a factor of 8) while keeping the weight low.
triangular support section used in the coffee The resultant was a bench which is light but
table and effectively increasing the depth incredibly sturdy.
and adding members in between (see picture
on right). This increased the strength of

Picture 78: The increase of depth of the horizontal member

The depth of the horizontal member in an extremely sturdy structure while still
was increased just from the inside of the maintaining the minimalistic aesthetic.
product to reduce its visibility. This results

79 80
 PILOTIS STOOL

FINAL PLAN

PROTOTYPES
SCALE- 1:5

82
 FRONT ELEVATION
SCALE- 1:5

FRONT ELEVATION SIDE ELEVATION PLAN SIDE ELEVATION

SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5

TOP DETAIL

83 84
 PLAN

ISOMETRIC VIEW
(NOT TO SCALE)

UNFOLDED TOP PLAN VIEW TIE-MEMBER DETAILS

SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5 ELEVATION SIDE
ELEVATION

LEG DIMENSIONS DETAIL-A

SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:1

85 86
 SIDE FRONT
ELEVATION ELEVATION

UNFOLDED JOINERY PLAN VIEW

SCALE- 1:1

PLAN

JOINERY DETAILS
SCALE- 1:1
87 88
PILOTIS SIDE TABLE

ELEVATION 2
PLAN ELEVATION SCALE- 1:5
SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5

89 90
 ELEVATION 1

PLAN ELEVATION 2

UNFOLDED TOP PLAN VIEW TIE-MEMBER DETAIL

SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5
TOP DETAIL
SCALE- 1:5

91 92
 ISOMETRIC VIEW
PLAN
(NOT TO SCALE)

SIDE FRONT
ELEVATION ELEVATION

ELEVATION SIDE
ELEVATION

PLAN
LEG DIMENSIONS DETAIL-A JOINERY DETAILS
SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:1 SCALE- 1:1
93 94
 PILOTIS CENTRE TABLE

UNFOLDED JOINERY PLAN VIEW

SCALE- 1:1

PLAN
SCALE- 1:5
95 96
 ELEVATION 1
SCALE- 1:5 ELEVATION 2
SCALE- 1:5

97 98
 TIE-MEMBER DETAIL
SCALE- 1:5
PLAN (TOP)
SCALE- 1:5

99 100
 ELEVATION 1 (TOP)
SCALE- 1:5

ELEVATION 2 (TOP)
SCALE- 1:5

UNFOLDED TOP PLAN VIEW

SCALE- 1:5

101 102
 PILOTIS BENCH

PLAN

SUPPORT MEMBER SECTION

SCALE- 1:1

ELEVATION SIDE PLAN

ELEVATION SCALE- 1:5

LEG DIMENSIONS DETAIL-A

SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:1

103 104
 FRONT ELEVATION SIDE ELEVATION
SCALE- 1:5 SCALE- 1:5

105 106
 TIE-MEMBER DETAIL
SCALE- 1:5 PLAN (TOP)
SCALE- 1:5

107 108
 FRONT EVEVATION (TOP)
SCALE- 1:5

SIDE EVEVATION (TOP)

SCALE- 1:5

UNFOLDED TOP PLAN VIEW

SCALE- 1:5

109 110
 PROTOTYPE ANALYSIS
The furniture range came out as intended brand a new expression of its roots. The range
due to listing out expectations initially which also contains some of the lightest furniture of
PLAN acted as the performance benchmark for the the brand. Due to time constraints a couple

R
project. The staff ’s suggestion to use 2mm of decisions were not experimented with
was defeated due to efficient structural use properly. We will talk about this in the next
of 1.5mm MS sheet. The fold/bend which is section of the report.
common throughout the series increases the
effective depth of the surface which increases
strength without increasing the weight. The
Nordic motifs came out nice and will give the

SUPPORT MEMBER SECTION

SCALE- 1:1

/t/
Meaning: the one handed God

ELEVATION SIDE
ELEVATION
DETAIL-A
SCALE- 1:1
LEG DIMENSIONS
SCALE- 1:5

111 112
 THE WAY FORWARD CRAFTMARK
The primary concern throughout the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a very secure
Given the short duration of the project, the influence of design and design principles was limited project was about not being in contact with position. Especially, when the new generations
in the organisation. The following explains the different suggestions made to the brand in order a craftsman for carving. The approach was of such families are leaving their crafts due to
to maximize the outcome. Design-led instead of craft-led which has its lack of economic opportunities in it.
own set of advantages and disadvantages.
It’s recommended that SPIN adopts Craftmark The Craftmark collaboration ensures that the
CULTURAL SHIFT could be dangerous. This also gives SPIN an guidelines, which ensure that craftsmen are product is genuine and craftsmen are getting
The use of Nordic symbols was a step in the advantage to map the changing brand identity benefited under such a collaboration. The employed by the brand. This ensures that
right direction. The meta plan, which is to and ensure that the change does not ever get Craftmark seal will also give SPIN a good the user receives the product which is not
integrate more of crafts in the ecosystem too far. brand image given that this is their first machine made and being sold as an original
should be done incrementally. This would attempt in craft-based collaboration. craft. This retains the design freedom of
ensure that each step is done with due thought To ensure this the changing Brand identity SPIN while doing so. The collaboration
and there’s no sudden shift in the Brand’s should be done in an incremental manner as The design-led approach ensures that the also ensures that the craft is helped in
perception in the eyes of the users, which explained in the diagram below. organisation (SPIN) is in control of the a practical way of making livelihood
outcome. Which leads to steady employment rather than a romantic way which is
of the craftsmen/clusters. This puts the incompatible with the market’s needs.
craftsmen and their families in a better
financial situation, which when following

Picture 79: Cultural shift pipeline Picture 80: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
113 114
 TESTING

The strength of furniture overtime needs to user. If not, the products should be put under
be tested by some means. The facility had stress testing for at least a month so that the
no provisions of strength and user testing. structural or finishing durability can be fixed
Necessary modifications need to be made after before reaching the real users.

T
learning from consumer response over the
months prior to furniture launch. The right
way will be to have a few testing machineries
in order to provide the best of products to the

/l/
Meaning: water, sea, ocean

115
 The project started out as just an idea and
making sure that the first attempt in this
direction is done right. Making sure the
needs and expectations are met was crucial.
The range needed to be “good” furniture
in all aspects including, weight, aesthetics,
manufacturability, etc. The craft bit added
another set of dilemmas regarding the role
of a designer towards craftsmen, in a highly
competitive commercial company like SPIN.
After a lot of discussions and speculating
different scenarios, it was decided that
giving them work and money is the best an
organization can do. Add that with good
REFLECTIONS
conditions which are ensured by Craftmark’s
guidelines, and the resultant is a better
economic and working condition than before.
FROM THE
PROJECT
SPIN also needed examples of efficient usage
of materials in furniture due to a couple of
complaints regarding the weight. A piece
of metal furniture can be lightweight and
comfortable in all manner, needed to be said
through a range which speaks just that.
A craft is difficult to integrate into a minimal
Z
identity and doing it in a way which doesn’t
hamper it negatively was difficult initially but
came out well after a lot of ideation.
The entire idea of making a series and figuring
out the thread which will tie the pieces
together was a journey in itself.
Meaning:
/r, z/
yew tree, endurance
118