Pen: Hua Guofeng
INDN211, VUW, 2019
Pen: Hua Guofeng
This pen is a form study of what a pen designed for Hua Guofeng might look like, with the concept of the One Child Policy serving as the basis of the form. The project also acted as an exciting opportunity to use metal as a material in digital manufacture through the use of a CNC-operated laithe.
For this project the class was asked to pick between a list of public figures, my choice was Hua Guofeng, Former Premier of the People's Republic of China who had great involvement in the implementation of the one-child policy in China. For this chosen public figure we were to design a pen consisting of both a CNC-operated lathed metal component, and a 3D printed component, (this project was an exploration of form, and the pen did not need function).
For the design of the pen, I decided to focus on the one-child policy. The one-child policy was a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1979 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. The program had wide-ranging social, cultural, economic, and demographic effects, although the contribution of one-child restrictions to the broader program has been the subject of controversy. Its efficacy in reducing birth rates and defensibility from a human rights perspective have been subjects of controversy.
Some of the ways that the government tried to uphold the one-child policy included mass marketing of contraceptives as well as vasectomies and tube-tying after their first-born, and in some cases in some cases, women were forced to use contraception, receive abortions, and undergo sterilization. Families who violated the policy faced large fines and other penalties.
Concepts.
Concept 1: Turquoise Background:
The form of this concept is an abstraction of a pregnant mother, with a cross-section revealing the baby she is carrying. A conical rice patty hat is attached to the top representing the rural population that was greatly affected by the policy, the hat has the symbol of longevity inlaid in the colors of the Chinese flag to represent the supposed intention of the policy. When placed flat on the table the arrowed tip of the pen is on a downward slant showing the projected decrease in population.
Concept 2: Red Background:
This concept uses hierarchy through the circle’s growth in size to symbolize the increase in population, the form in severed after the first circle which represents the spermatic cord and fallopian tubes that were cut in order to sterilize parents after their first-born child, and a stunting of growth leaving the remaining circles empty. The star acts as an abstraction of a pregnancy filling the first of the circles representing wombs, a star chosen as it is seen on the Chinese flag and is representative of communism. With Hua Guofeng, being a highly controversial leader, this pen can also act as a self-defense tool, either using the pointy end or as a knuckle-duster.
Concept 3: Baby Blue Background:
This concept affectionately nicknamed ‘The Dom Rocket’, is rocket shape to represent China’s military might and the huge power they exploited to control their population with the policy. Domes representing unsuccessful pregnancies are funneled by a Shen (Chinese fan) into a condom shape, which is bulging to represent the gigantic number of pregnancies that were forcefully avoided during the policy.
Manufacture.
The chosen concept was 3D modeled in Solid Works, to be CNC lathed in two parts. Tools and tool paths were selected, and the G-Code was exported to the lathe to be cut from an aluminum stock larger in diameter than the intended design. The two parts were then cut from the stock at an angle, the domes were milled flat on either side, holes drilled through flat surfaces, and connected by a rod inset within each part. The star was FDM 3D printed in two parts, painted, and sandwiched either side of the smallest dome.
