Nomadic Feeder
feed the birds
Sophomore Design Project, Fall 2012
Each student was assigned a bird to design a feeder for. I was assigned the Carolina Chickadee, a small bird with a huge population spanning most of the east coast. They’re fast, nimble, and curious - almost always the first species to check out a new feeder.
Since they don’t need a special feed or complex system to attract them, I felt the feeder should reflect this simplicity. My initial concept sketches became more and more simple, culminating in the idea to build the body of the feeder out of a single planar form.
The end result is a feeder built from a single polypropylene sheet. A braided cord threads through the holes in the top and bottom folds of the feeder to lock the folds in place, and a wooden pin secures everything.
A series of laser cut prototypes helped the final design take shape. This evolution involved adjusting the curve of each wing to perfect the folded shape and the addition of two small tabs that help simplify the assembly process.
The packaging design is targeted at millennials moving farther outside the city for the first time. Imagined as an Urban Outfitters product, and was a collaboration with Matt McBratnie (Graphic Design ‘14)
