I thought it might be interesting to follow the production of a project from the design through to completion. Design starts with an issue to be resolved or the germ of an idea. In this case a discussion with a couple of my night class students about bedside cabinets was the starting point. Extra motivation came from the fact that at home I had an embarrassing pair of MDF creations knocked up in five minutes fifteen years ago. We established that it was desirable for a bedside cabinet to not be too deep at the side nearest the bed and that a second surface for books would be good. I drew up this sketch as a starting point
As a design evolves, I often find that there are some elements of which I am certain and others which are open to evolution. In this case the columns of ebonized oak and the quarter ellipse shape of the horizontal elements cemented themselves fairly quickly, although the position of the columns would be dictated by the practical requirements of lying in bed and placing a book on the shelf between the columns. At this stage the design can develop in various ways; sometimes an exploration through modelling ensues, sometimes a partial mock-up is the best way to check elements of the design and sometimes a 3D digital model is useful. In this case I modelled the horizontal elements in the computer and produced a full sized drawing to cut out of MDF for the full sized mock up.