Shrimp Study — Laser-Cut Cardboard Mobile
A suspended cardboard study translating the anatomy and movement of a shrimp into a lightweight laser-cut mobile.
Outcome. A suspended mobile that abstracts the shrimp’s elongated body, segmented shell, and antennae into a lightweight laser-cut cardboard assembly — balancing structural clarity with a sense of motion.
Role: Individual Project · Dates: Spring 2021 · Context: Furniture Design & Fabrication Studio · Tools: Laser Cutting, Cardboard Prototyping, Physical Assembly
Brief
This project began with the study of a shrimp as a biological reference. Rather than reproducing the animal literally, the goal was to extract its defining features — curvature, segmentation, lightness, and directional movement — and translate them into a fabricated object.
The result was developed as a hanging mobile, allowing the form to be read in motion rather than as a static model.
Concept
The design focuses on the shrimp’s most recognizable spatial qualities: the long sweeping antennae, the layered body shell, and the tapered tail.
Instead of treating the shrimp as a figurative object, the project simplifies its anatomy into a set of laser-cut profiles and layered components. The suspended format emphasizes balance, asymmetry, and lightness, allowing the piece to capture the floating quality of aquatic movement.
Fabrication Logic
Cardboard was used as both a modeling and fabrication material. Its thinness and flexibility made it possible to create lightweight curved elements, while laser cutting introduced precision in the repeated body segments and slot-based assembly.
A key part of the project was translating an organic creature into flat cut pieces that could be assembled into a coherent three-dimensional form. The design therefore balances two systems at once: a biomorphic silhouette and a fabrication logic based on profiles, joints, and layered construction.
Outcome
The final piece demonstrates how observation can be transformed into abstraction through making. By combining biological reference, digital cutting, and physical assembly, the project explores how motion, structure, and material economy can be expressed through a minimal set of parts.
Drawings / Photos
