As prototype 4 comes out of the printer, I am sadly left with just 7 days to wrap up this project and my internship at 3DPhacktory. I have finally come to decide on a product name: hexsound — which is inspired by the consistent hexagonal shape I have stuck with throughout my design process.

My most recent design is by far my favorite. It is the perfect size for sitting on a student’s desk or side table, and I really enjoy the clean, simple and modern design. The functionality, however, could use some work as the sound amplification feature is much less effective than it had been in prototype 2. This is due to the fact that the body is not angled upward, but is rather perpendicular to the table. Therefore, the sound is not being directed at the listener, who will most often be hovering above the product.

Now that I am happy with the overall form, in my next iteration I will focus on figuring out a way to incorporate a path for a phone charger to be used while the phone is sitting in the hexsound. Incorporating cords and electronics is always a design challenge, because it is important to make the product look cohesive and unified, whether that means hiding the cords and wires or incorporating them artfully into the design. I also want to find away to include my logo into the product — I am thinking of extruding the waves out of the back hexagon.

I am looking forward to continuing to finalize my design. Like 3DPhacktory on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more posts!