Wöddha Finale: Part One

For my final project, I was inspired to create some form of user-driven product, one that combines my love for woodworking with my love for creative technology. With a special focus on aesthetics as part of this class, I also wanted the user’s contributions to add to the overall aesthetic of the project in a way that ‘you are part of the aesthetic that you create.’ As I continued along this pathway, I was led towards one of my personal aesthetic hobbies for boosting mental health and mindfulness: zen drawing.

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Wabi Sabi Philosophy

While it’s nearly impossible to fully translate wabi-sabi into words, it’s worth briefly touching upon the rich meaning behind the Japanese philosophy that led to the creation of the Wöddha Board. Originally, the terms ‘wabi’ and ‘sabi’ were used separately as opposing forces, but together they underscore the philosophy’s powerful message of balance and Japan’s perception of beauty. As described on this page, “わびさび (wabi-sabi) comes from わびしさ (wabishisa) and さびしさ (sabishisa).” As further explained in Slow Life Design:

• Wabi is about recognizing beauty in simplicity and invites us to detach from the vanity of materialism;

• Sabi is concerned with the passage of time and how nature manifests itself beautifully in objects. It suggests that beauty is hidden beneath the surface of what we actually see.

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Project Inspirations

To play into wabi-sabi principles, especially since this project took place during a time in my personal life where I have had many recent lessons on loss and impermanence, I sought out existing products and devices that expand upon impermanence and imperfection by way of zen drawing.

The most popular option for current zen drawing practices is the Buddha Board (1), a tabletop product that relies on a special paint that reacts to water atop a canvas stand. Users can dip a paintbrush into the water, create shapes on the canvas, and watch as they slowly fade away with drying time. Naturally, my goal of involving woodworking would lead to some difficulties if I used water in my design, so I began to consider other ways to create shapes and forge user interactions. 

As I started to research ways that I could make woodworking and some sort of zen drawing come together, I looked to past combinations of wood and LED lights. This brought up products like the Wood Block LED Clock (3) and touch-sensing LED coffee table (2). Both products highlighted elements that could be useful to my design, such as resistive or capacitive touch sensing electronics, wood veneer to allow for light passage, and some element of human interaction that adds to the overall design:

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Project Vision

With my research behind me, I began to craft the vision for my Woddha Board, and broke this down into three main goals:

• AESTHETICS FIRST, FUNCTION SECOND
• A MOVING PART OR SOMETHING THAT CHANGES WITH TIME
• A BLEND OF WOODWORKING AND CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY

This led me towards creating a wooden version of a zen drawing board, which currently only exists in ‘disappearing water’ and canvas format, in hopes to positively impact mental health and boost mindfulness practices. In the simplest terms, I knew that the form of my project would need to combine a wooden box + internal electronics + a top wooden face.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, I also wanted the user’s contributions to add to the overall aesthetic in a way that ‘you are part of the art that you create.’ Not only did my project need to fit a certain aesthetic, but functionally, users needed to be able to draw onto the top face of the box with a fingertip and see a temporary colorful line of light (or shape) in the wood grain below. When refining this idea and continuing my project research, I stumbled upon another inspiration for Wöddha, the Wooden Drawing Board by Oren Ailam.

At first, I thought this was the end of my Wöddha ideation because (per usual) someone else had already brought this idea to life. However, Ailam’s creation relied on pre-programming for fixed shapes rather than free-form touch drawings, so I still had room to draw inspiration from his idea and pursue my project.

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Early Iterations and Aesthetics

In order to achieve my vision, I sought a combination of warm minimalist and modern rustic aesthetics for Wöddha, blending the natural texture of wood with the contemporary feeling of LED lighting. I was especially focused on how to shape the wooden box and corners, color the LED lighting, and decorate the sides, as these elements could clearly embody my chosen aesthetics. Again, I wanted to be sure that my aesthetic(s) embodied core Wabi Sabi principles like Datsuzoku and Kanso:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having decided on an aesthetic combination, I began to develop the specifications for my board’s function and form:

• Highlight the natural texture of wood
• Incorporate contemporary feeling of LED lighting
• Embody Datsuzoku and Kanso principles
• Fit on top of a table or desk
• Be lightweight for moving around a house, classroom, or office space

Outside of these direct specs, I also wanted to consider etching a pattern into the sides of the box, experimentations with LED lighting to achieve a certain diffusion and brightness, and some sort of a unique box shape. Only time would tell during my fabrication window if these aesthetic considerations could be brought to life. As a sneak preview ahead of my the Finale Part 2 post, here is a picture of my partner using the finished Wöddha board:

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Image Sources:

1. The Zen Drawing Board by Buddha Boards by Grommet
2. LED Touch-Sensitive Coffee Table by Ubergizmo
3. Wood Block LED Clock by benbrandt22 on Instructables
4. Wooden touch screen by Oren Ailam