Brief

Redesign the IKEA Ljusa torch using the original internal components.

Strategies & Solutions

I started with many sketches of various possibilities, then surveyed people’s opinions. The top three designs were modelled on SolidWorks and 3D printed. This made it easier to see how each product might work and to fix any issues. Experimenting with designs to find a more interesting or better way of designing them, this twisted design was the best and most practical solution. I designed it to be injection moulded using HDPE as it is very cost effective to manufacture and sustainable over the life cycle of the product. For it to be injection moulded, I redesigned it on SolidWorks so that it could be made in two halves with internal pins holding it together. This proved slightly challenging as, due to the twists, the thickness of the material was not uniform and too thin in parts, which would have been impossible to make or leave inconsistencies in the final product. However, this was easily solved by increasing the thickness of the parts.

Technical Skills

• SolidWorks: model design

• Keyshot: model renders

• Adobe Photoshop: presentation layouts