DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
: This design project helps us relate to the solar system itself and find our place in the universe. We might all just be space dust in the big picture, but this project gives us a chance to grasp our own individual humanity and ephemeral time on earth. We all are part of the universe, so let's make it count!
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: I wanted everyone to be able to discover the solar system on the personal human scale, using a birthdate, historical or individual achievement, by creating a memento that can be used as a necklace, bracelet or keychain.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: I will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign and will start selling on my site after that.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: I've always loved anything space related, there is a zen quality I find in contemplating pictures of the universe, it helps me relax when I'm anxious, helps me put things in perspective as well.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
: Yes, The Present by Scott Thrift was a major inspiration to this design. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottthrift/the-present
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: Anyone who is interested by space, astronomy or science in general. Adults and kids.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
: The chain goes though the center hole which is the representation of the Sun. One face displays the orbital paths from the commonly used north pole point of view, the other face only shows the celestial objects (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) from the south pole view.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: After extensive research of the subject of time and space, I came up with this name which is really is the definition of a peculiar point in time and space. So, it was just fitting.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: 3D printing service, Rhino3D, Illustrator and Javascript.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
: The personalisation of each design, using a particular date.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
: I collaborated with the great developer Martin Vézina who created the script using the data from NASA to generate an Illustrator file. He created an amazing interactive Solar System. https://open.nasa.gov/data-stories/solar-system-simulator/
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
: Well, this design would have been absolutely impossible without technology! From the work of NASA, to the work of individuals scientists and developers who worked on calculating the exact velocity of each planet and their orbits, and the 3D printing of course!
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
: This design is based of the data coming from NASA, in order to get the most accurate planets positions and up to date data.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
: To be able to fit every orbits and planets within such a small size (25 mm). I would have loved to go even smaller, but with the current 3D printing technology, this is not quite possible yet.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
: This 3D printed schematised design of the solar system use data from NASA's JPL. The four dimensions (x, y, z, t) are used to represent a particular location in time and space. x, y, z are set to the heliocentric north pole view used the most commonly in Astronomy. The orbital paths are engraved and their sizes as well as the distances between them are schematised in order to make all the orbits and objects visibles at this scale.