The Fish Hook (Adjustable Headphone Stand)

Overview: This product prototype is known as The Fish Hook: a sleek headphone stand with a stylish and sturdy fin-shaped acrylic base. The product offers vertical adjustability to fit headphones of many shapes and sizes. The design employs a vibrantly colored, hook-shaped acrylic piece with a long vertical post that cleanly slides downward into the upper portion of the base. The Fish Hook fits casually into any desk environment while displaying your headphones with style and functionality.

Design Process:

I tackled this design challenge by first creating multiple sketches of various appealing designs. Next, I cut small sample pieces with incrementally sized slot thicknesses out of the acrylic slabs I was using in order to find the sizing that would minimize tolerances that are caused by the uncertain kerf of the laser; this is crucial to ensuring a snug fit between pieces. I ended up creating one rough prototype out of yellow acrylic, as shown in the slideshow below, just to ensure the sizing of pieces and tolerances were just how I wanted them.

After a few small tweaks to the design, I cut the final pieces out of an opaque white and vibrant red sheets. Finally, I assembled the apparatus and applied a small amount of acrylic bonding agent to the joint seems to stabilize the final product.