Puzzle Coaster

A gift for my extended family together during a memorable family reunion:
My grandma's 80th birthday.

Type: Personal project
Time: 1 weekend
Team: Individual
Tools: Adobe Illustrator, CNC laser, surface finishing, ideation

I thought about daily, mundane routines every family does. This coaster adds to their routine of drinking tea and eating meals and together, which gives it active use throughout the day. The pieces can be used on its own, or pieced together to create a trivet for large, hot dishes, which are shared during meals.

Each coaster is made spare cherry wood, and laser etched with a family member's name, location we visited, and year.

Laser cut file. 4 x 0.25 in. strips of wood were cut at a time. 4 coasters at once. Power & speed were tested with mockups.

A birthday message to my Grandma is laser etched in traditional Chinese, her native language.

Samples of the 4 x 4 in. coasters were (1) too small for an average glass, (2) did not support drinks well, (3) the design & text were swallowed by the cup. I settled on a 4.5 x 4.5 in. design to allow (1) more space for the cup, and (2) names and date can be seen even when holding a drink.

Old vs. New dimensions

Other puzzle designs were considered, but user testing suggested they were too long in one direction, and not suitable for a coaster.

unfinished vs. stained mockups

Signs of wear after a few months of daily use. The use of wood allows for easy refinishing, multiple times if neccessary, without distrupting the design.

Experimented with the best way to prevent the coasters from sliding & scratching surfaces, and settled on cork. 3d printed jig for the main body piece, and laser cut circles for the arms.

photos from family members, after 6 months of daily use.