Origami, Business Card

As I said last post, I have gotten back into origami something fierce. Once I had discovered origami theory, I couldn't wait to make some original designs. When I am folding models now, I like to make variations on them, such as on these two models; a gargoyle designed by Jerry Harris, and Robert Neale's classic dragon.





I also love folding and throwing paper airplanes. I had the idea to make a paper airplane business card that would teach other people how to fold my design. I used Adobe Illustrator to make patterns for both sides such that step by step instructions would appear as it was folded. I tested it on my roommates, and they were able to make it, so I am pleased with the design. It flies very well, and can be gripped and thrown in many different ways: from the nose, the midsection or the tail, or even by holding the top and bottom loosely and then projecting it from the hand like a shuriken dart. It it pretty cool, and I think it will be a great conversation starter. I can talk about how I like origami, or I can mention that I got an aerospace engineering degree, or that I know how to use Illustrator. It is an example of my ingenuity and originality. I wasn't able to find anything similar online; the closest one involved carefully cutting and pasting together a paper plane model. It looked pretty fancy and probably took even longer than mine to design, but I doubt many people would actually take the time to construct it. Mine can be folded on the spot in a couple minutes, and is a simple and fun puzzle that will teach others how to transform other business cards in a similar way. I think it will communicate to others that I am focused on creating high quality, enjoyable products, and on educating others about good design. My final version will have my phone number on it, but I didn't think it would be a good idea to post that online.





To see the full folding sequence, and what it looks like completed, check out my gallery on coroflot.com.

Here are some more origami models I folded recently: "Magic Rose Cube by Valerie Vann, closed and open, a Bowl by Aldo Putignano holding a tiny traditional crane, a butterfly by Akira Yoshizawa, and an original creation of mine, a helmet with an eye on the back of it kind of like the one in Nausicaa, a "Business Card Puppy" by Larry Stevens, a Unicorn by Stephen Weiss, and Cerberus by Robert Lang. The magic rose cube is really amazing, and I think that one would make a great gift. Now, I realize that the last two models didn't turn out too well, but I was mostly just doing a test run before trying them with a higher quality paper. In the case of the unicorn though, I think I'll look for another design, as I didn't like that one very much. The cerberus design is pretty cool, but it needs a sheet bigger than 10" square to work well. For that helmet, I was just doodling with a small square of paper while thinking about how cool it would be to make a helmet like the one the emperor had in Nausicaa, and lo and befold, I had come up with something that actually worked. I'll probably fold it from a larger sheet, and then post the sequence online some time. I'm going to have some good fun with origami, I can tell.