Teaching Sample
Furniture Design
Course Overview
As a teaching assistant for the course, I coached students through the entire design and build process of furniture design. Students learned to develop a concept for a piece of furniture, portray it through free hand sketching, create renderings, and make a prototype of the finished product. Students worked with various power tools including a table saw, miter saw, jig saw, drill press, vertical saw and other hand tools.
Project One: Learning the Basics
The initial project focused on getting students familiar with the wood shop and using the tools safety and effectively since most of the students had limited to no experience with furniture design or power tools. We taught students how to prototype a concept and how to test ideas quickly. Students were also introduced to the basic concepts of joinery and structural support.
Project Two: Visual Communication
Project two challenged students to visually communicate their ideas through hand sketching and 3D rendering. They learned to share their design process visually by showing their idea development in a clear and concise way using line weight, color, motion, and compelling layouts.
Final Project
For the final project students brought their sketches to life. They worked with power tools and hand tools to craft their final piece of furniture that was meant for small or temporary, living spaces.
