Soccer Ball
This soccer ball project emerged as a heartfelt gift for my older brother, a mathematician and soccer player.
Skills:
Pattern design
CAD
Prototyping
User-centric design
Laser cutting
As a tribute to his passions, I created a unique soccer ball from scratch, leveraging CAD design and a laser cutter. I researched 3D pattern mapping, sewing techniques, and sourced material.
My brother is a D1 soccer player and an applied mathematician. He has a tattoo of the golden ratio spiral which is an extremely important concept in design and math. I used leather and a pentagonal pattern. The 12-panel pattern allows for larger panels for a more complex drawing design on each one while keeping a geometrically regular pattern. The pattern is available on the soccer ball expert John Paul’s website.
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I tested power and speed settings and settled on 30% power and 80% speed for engraving and 60%, 10% for cutting.
After cutting all the panels I sewed them together using the saddle sewing tutorial on John Paul's website and glued in the soccer ball bladder that was also purchased from John Paul.
I managed to get it to him on his birthday and he loved it. He displays it on his shelf. I love putting thought and effort into every project and keeping in mind the user is the key to making a good product.