Retirement Gift
Product Design | Digital Fabrication | Graphic Design
My high school math teacher, Mr. Lothrop, greatly influenced me and many others. On his retirement after 35 years, I felt compelled to create a gift that would reflect his profound impact. He was known for his unique phrases, which I included in a laser-cut portrait I made. I collected quotes regarding his influence from students and colleagues, engraving them on the portrait's back. This initiative highlighted the uniting power of art and design and allowed me to honor a pivotal figure in my life.
Design Objective
The objective of this project was to present Mr. Lothrop, a significant mentor in my life, with a lasting memento to commemorate his career and reflect the appreciation of his students. I aimed to incorporate the things that made him memorable to so many people in particular, his unique sayings and popular catchphrases. Additionally, the object needed to be of superior quality and long-lasting as a symbol of his enduring influence.
Ideation
After completing several initial sketches, I opted to create a portrait of Mr. Lothrop featuring his well-known catchphrases in the background. To ensure the durability and high quality of the piece, I decided to use a laser engraver to burn the illustration into wood. With this plan in mind, I fired up Adobe Illustrator to model out the design intended for engraving.
Design + Research
With my sketches as a reference, I proceeded to create the design in Adobe Illustrator, using different tones of gray to indicate the varied engraving depths. In addition, I decided to connect with Mr. Lothrop’s present and former students — whose lives he touched over his 34 years of teaching — to gather their quotes and testaments. While I initially planned to engrave these quotes on the back of the portrait, the high volume of responses led me to incorporate them into an attached book instead.
Test engraving on scrap wood
Close-up of final engraving
Fabrication + Final Direction
The laser engraving process went exceptionally well. I initially conducted a test run using scrap wood before proceeding with the main piece. Mr. Lothrop seemed genuinely moved when the portrait was presented to him on the final day of school. I consider the project a success, as it was an effective expression of my gratitude to someone who had a profound impact on my life.
Retirement Gift © 2022 by Ross Towbin is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0