Lines on Paper

The idea struck after days of frustration, idleness, and thought. It was in English class today, though, that the faint idea came to a more definite shape. I had been sketching out shapes: triangles, circles, rounded squares, in search of a nice logo for a calculator. During this, I wanted to draw a perfect equilateral triangle. I reached for the protractor in my bag… And then struggled using it. I suddenly came to realize how unreasonably complicated it is to use!

Caption: Sketches in a spare page of my English journal. I hope it’s clear that I’m really bad at sketching.

On the previous page, I was examining the humble compass and various minimal symbols that could be used to represent it. Why? Boredom, of course. How minimal? Just two lines connected at a point, forming an angle. Unconsciously, my brain connected these two elements, and I posed a simple question: How can an instrument enable the user to draw any specified angle in a single sweep?

Caption: The initial design challenge.

As many introductory engineering course would teach, all good engineering should stem from the design challenge—the defined user need. It is from the need that one should start, and produce a solution or product. A project that begins with the solution or product and then attempts to fit a need to it is inherently doomed to failure.

With these thoughts in mind, Lines on Paper began to form the many shapes that a solution could take. The fundamental issue in the design challenge quickly surfaced. Any design that relies on a hinge in the middle of two arms cannot produce a sharp angle; the hinge has to take up some amount of space at the joint; thus, there cannot be a central pivot.

Caption: The fundamental issue with pivots.

Questions to ponder, sketches to make, the brainstorming phase commences.