Disney Monorail Desk Organizer

As an avid Disney traveler and an obsessed Disney fan, the monorail has always held a special place in my heart. It represents the final transition from the "outside" world into the magical world of Disney. I can still remember hearing "Please stand clear of the doors" and its Spanish counterpart from when I was a little kid. Following that inspiration, I developed a model that played on the idea of a monorail's "capacity", but instead of people, it would be pens and pencils. The monorail unit slides along the track as well, unveiling hidden compartments to house other desk odds and ends. In the foreground, to provide more utility, I created specific stands (some of which are adjustable) and compartments for everything a designer needs: a smartphone, a smart watch, and a stack of sticky notes.

La Sagrada Alumbra

On my application to the University of Notre Dame, I applied to both the College of Engineering and the College of Architecture. I spent a large chunk of my non-class time during my first semester of college in the architecture studio, doing perspective drawings, still life portraits, and water color paintings. While I eventually honed in on engineering, I have always had a fond appreciation of architecture and different architects. This hobby has been fueled by some of my travels around the world; in this way, this project was inspired by different works of Gaudi from my trips to Spain. Most notably, La Sagrada Familia is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been - from the sheer size, to the carving, to especially the stained glass. That plot of land in the middle of Barcelona inspired the stained glass style of this lamp and the Bible verse that graces its interior.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

Mom & Dad Mugs

One of the key aspects of this project was utilizing various tools of SolidWorks that we had not had the chance to experiment with yet. In order to do that, we were asked to do a form study on an object that we knew well enough to envision in different ways. As a coffee convert from my work experience last summer, I decided to investigate the form of a mug (or more aptly, drinking vessel). Originally, I was inspired by different forms of art and building materials, mainly this layered concrete look and the mosaic tiles. The materials and further views of this study are inspired by two people: my dad (a former Civil Engineer) represented by the larger, concrete layered mug and my mom represented by the smaller, porcelain vessel marked with different precious stones and building materials as the architect behind our various home remodels over the years. While seemingly dissonant at first glance, the mugs actual form together under the larger lip of the concrete mug to form a great couple. After initial modeling and prototyping, the mug representing my mom did not turn out quite how I intended it to, so I started redesigning it. I was re-inspired by the stacks of wood sitting in front of my mom's car and decided to model the new mug after a vertical composition of the different types of wood my mom has used in different projects around our house.

Brand Re-Design: Boeing Speaker

In order to understood more industrial applications of SolidWorks, our class was collectively tasked with disassembling, modeling, and virtually re-building a spherical bluetooth speaker. My classmates and I each took the lead on our own respective pieces and worked together to ensure homogeneity of parts and that they could be re-assembled with ease.

Following that exercise, each of us was randomly assigned a brand image that would inspire a new bluetooth speaker. As one of the only engineers of the group, I somehow drew Boeing out of our "hat of brands" and got to work brainstorming possible speakers inspired by one of the largest, most successful, and most innovative aerospace manufacturers in the world. After experimenting with concepts ranging from cockpit dashboards and Boeing designs from the 1940s, I eventually decided to continue forward with a concept that emphasized and sleek and sophisticated lines of the newest line of Boeing planes, like the Dreamliner, that combined the aesthetic beauty of the plane's design and the mathematical beauty of its aerodynamic features. This concept came to life in the form of an "Alexa-sized" speaker console that houses a rotating internal speaker tower that responds to the rotated position of the plane's outer shell. As a nod to the history of the brand, a history that i really wanted to celebrate and pay homage to in the same way the company does through its vision and mission, the packaging of the speaker is modeled after the fuselage of one of the original Boeing aircrafts.