A portable fan, a rattan pattern and a small Bluetooth speaker became the starting points for this project.
I wanted to design a holder for my Xiaomi portable speaker, with its circular grille seated flush at the top. The process brought together several ideas I often discuss with students: observing existing products, using SCAMPER, developing a form and checking whether it can actually be made.
It also gave me an opportunity to build an AI-assisted workflow around a real design problem.
Begin with the object you are designing for
Before developing the holder, I examined the speaker from different directions.
Photographs: each view reveals information that a single picture cannot provide.
The speaker measured 52 mm in diameter and 24 mm thick, with a mass of 66.2 g. These figures became design constraints.
The diameter and thickness informed the receiving socket. The mass mattered because the speaker would sit high above the tabletop, towards the front of the holder. Its position needed to be considered together with the base.
Photographs: record dimensions, mass and access requirements before modelling.
For students, this is a useful habit: connect every measurement to a design decision. A measurement becomes valuable when it helps determine what to make.
SCAMPER: combine, adapt and modify
The main form came from a portable handheld fan. Its upright body and curved head suggested a way to raise the speaker and orient it towards a listener.
I combined this with a rattan-inspired pattern to develop the holder’s surface.
Supplied design references: the fan informed the overall form; the rattan informed the pattern.
This is Combine in SCAMPER: bringing selected characteristics together to serve a new purpose.
Adapt followed. The area corresponding to the fan outlet became a socket for the speaker. The woven appearance became a pattern of openings in a printed shell, with shallow patterning over the closed base.
Modify helped develop the proportions, speaker orientation and base.
This follows the approach in my earlier post on concept borrowing and idea development: identify a useful characteristic, then develop it for the current design situation.
There is no need to force every SCAMPER letter into one project. What matters is explaining how a prompt changes the idea and why that change is useful.
Develop the form through specific revisions
I wanted the speaker’s axis tilted 20° above horizontal, aiming it towards a listener seated above desk level. This was a positioning intention; improved listening performance would need evaluation.
The early model also had an awkward interruption around the back of the bend. I returned to the fan reference and requested a continuous circular section flowing into a seamless curve.
I subsequently removed the rectangular access openings so the rattan pattern continued across those areas. This improved visual continuity, but also restricted access for cleaning out supports and handling the speaker.
The developed holder was 160 mm tall, with a 60 mm body diameter and a 120 mm diameter, 5 mm thick base. The wider base addressed the raised speaker’s position. Physical stability still belongs in the evaluation stage.
CAD views: inspect the design from several directions, including surfaces hidden in the presentation view.
As I explained in combining ideas and further refinements, combinations need continued development to become practical solutions.
How I built the AI-assisted workflow
I organised the work into a repeatable sequence:
Measure and photograph → provide references and constraints → generate a model → inspect → revise → check print preparation.
I used Codex to help generate and revise the model, prepare previews and check the geometry and slicing. My role was to establish the requirements, judge the results and give specific feedback.
For example, identifying an interrupted rear contour and requesting a seamless curved transition gave the revision a clear target.
For students using AI, preserve this reasoning in the design journal. Show the input, the result, the issue you noticed and the change you requested. That record makes your contribution visible.
Appearance also affects manufacturing
The perforated body needed consideration during print preparation, particularly around the tilted head and speaker socket. The saved support preview shows where temporary structures were generated.
I also explored a smooth, hollow alternative while retaining the main dimensions.
The reviewed patterned project had an estimated print time of 6 hours 17 minutes. The smooth version was estimated at 3 hours 57 minutes—approximately 37% shorter. These were slicer estimates with retained process settings; the changed geometry and base colour coverage both affected the comparison.
Bring the learning back to evaluation
The finished photograph shows the speaker fitted into the printed holder. A fuller evaluation should ask:
- Can the speaker be inserted and removed conveniently?
- Does the holder remain stable during ordinary handling?
- Is charging access manageable?
- Does the orientation suit the intended listening position?
- Are the patterned appearance and printing time a worthwhile trade-off?
Teachers can use this sequence as a design-journal exercise. Ask students to identify what they borrowed, explain each modification and propose a test for each important requirement.
A convincing design journal shows how decisions develop—and what evidence is still needed to judge the result.
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