My goal for this project was to design an experimental radio that utilizes unusual form and materials to engage the user in active, exciting interactions. For a novel aesthetic yet familiar interaction, I chose to reference the age-old activity of hammering nails into a board.

Exploration

I began with a loose drawing exercise in which I sketched reference artifacts of interest to me. I thought about material properties, explored interactive mechanisms, and also developed abstract form factors in search of a concrete design concept:

From this I identified several themes that I could explore further. I was interested in engaging the user in an act of creation or destruction through the use of the radio, so as to engage them in dynamic action in using it and to help them develop a meaningful connection to the product over time through altering it’s form.

The activity I chose to reference was hammering nails into a board: something ubiquitous, intuitive, very active. My next step was to think about how I could translate the different interactions of using a radio—turning on/off, tuning, and adjusting volume—into the steps of using a hammer and nails. I sketched different platforms for this process to take place, focusing on how the composition could give order to the steps:

Concept Development

I arrived at the following translated interactions: you lift up the hammer to turn the radio on, pull on an embedded nail to scan for a station, and finally hammer nails into wood blocks to change the volume (big nails are up, little nails are down). After finalizing these interactions, I was able to further develop the overall form.

I decided that all formal characteristics of the radio should follow the theme of the interaction. So, I wanted the radio to have an overtly constructed look. I started looking into different fasteners and hardware, such as this joist hanger that I could use to hold the wood blocks in place.

Refinement

For the final form I wanted to have interesting material interactions. I chose to combine the three common construction materials: wood, cement, and metal. The radio would have a cement base, a wooden platform for interaction on top, and metal fasteners and fittings. I wanted to hide the traces of the mechanism so that the process of discovering the interactions would be exciting and rely on intuition.

The final composition was based in part on the proportions and position of the hammer I selected. I wanted the form to offer the handle up to the user for easy access. When they lift it, the head completes a circuit between two sunken nails, turning the radio on.

The final layout of the radio’s top surface. The anchor point for the hammer is set in the back, while the protruding nail used for scanning is conspicuously placed at the front (much like the on-off interaction, scanning happens when the hammer completes a circuit between sunken nails in the base). Finally, the the volume-up and volume-down blocks of wood are held in the center, with different-sized nails in each to differentiate them.

Finally, I had to look to the plan-view of the radio to make sure I had enough space for the fasteners and electronic components. I designed a cavity in the cement base to fit most everything, as well as one on the underside of the wood platform for the wiring to connect to the nails that would act as the incomplete circuits.

Fabrication

This fabrication process was rather complex, and even after my planning I had to do quite a bit of experimenting as I went. I also got to try a few making processes that I had never done before, such as casting a complex cement piece, customizing existing metal hardware, and modifying a store-bought radio’s components.

I started by building the two-part mold for the cement base. I included angled inserts for the shape, a channel for the power chord, a cavity for the electronics, and four hollow inserts to screw the wooden platform into later on.

The pour went smoothly and the mold went together well. However, I had a difficult time separating the parts. By the time I was done, the base had fractured into several pieces. I epoxied them back together, and sanded the finished part on the pavement:

I took on the added challenge of re-wiring an existing radio instead of trying to create all-new hardware. It was an interesting exercise that allowed me to further my understanding of how modern mass-produced electronics function.

Similar to modifying the radio, the process of customizing hardware to fit my design was an exciting challenge. I cut, ground, and drilled the joist brackets to custom specifications that I had drawn out in the concept refinement phase.

I started by milling out the channels for the volume blocks. I decided to use offcuts of a standard 2x4 board so that the blocks could be lifted out and replaced after filling up with nails. Once the channels were sized, I cut the platform down to it’s final shape.

Next came drilling the registration holes for the nails and screws. I also decided to hand-drill some randomly-placed holes all across the surface. The main purpose of these is to let the sound come out from where the speaker is housed inside the cement base. However, they also add to the DIY/constructed look of the piece.

The most difficult part of this project by far was translating each whack of the hammer into an adjustment of the volume. My solution was to use industrial foam between two copper-plated blocks to create a pressure-senitive platform for the wood blocks to rest on. When the nail is struck into the block with sufficient force, the underlying metal platform is depressed and completes a circuit that changes the volume.

I also had to thread the power chord through the channel in the base and then connect it back the plug. Finally, I wired all the connections from the radio’s circuit board to the metal components in the wooden base.

Above is the final configuration of the inside of the radio. After I completed all the wiring, all I had left was arranging everything so it fit in the cavity. Lastly, I screwed the two halves of the radio together and glued the power chord in place:

Final

This project was an way to experiment with my concept of what product design can be. I wanted to see how far I could push the limits of what is considered a functional product, and create something that turns a mundane interaction into a fun and energetic one. The final form is unrecognizable as a radio upon first inspection—apart from the power cord—to prompt curiosity and hands-on exploration. It’s aesthetic is simply based around honoring the tools that make it work: a hammer and nails.