Felicia Lee
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Carnegie Mellon Racing — Steering Wheel (in progress)
3D modeling the steering wheel for CMU’s Formula SAE racing team using SolidWorks. Communicating with engineer students working on the steering column, electric package, chassis structure design, and with drivers for ergonomics. My main goals were to cut weight, optimize the form, and maximize driver performance.
Will be used for 25e (2025 all electric race car)
manufacturing will happen fall semester
Carnegie Mellon Racing — Headrest cover
I coded the embrodery design and manufactured the headrest for CMU’s Formula SAE racing team.
Spatial Experience
Group project to redesign the Tepper staircase. After building a scale model of the stairs, we composed two “how might we” questions in order to guide our redesign of the space in a meaningful direction.
How might we: use the Tepper staircase to promote a sense of community?
Community Couch — the form encourages open community while also creating small pockets for friend groups to engage with each other.
Alcove — utilizes the space underneath the staircase, creates a cozy environment that contrasts with the openness of the rest of the space.
Interactive Pond — a projected pond on the ground with koi fish. Each student has their personal fish that enters and exits the pond as a sensor recognizes their CMU ID is present.
*photoshopping was done mostly by me in collaboration with other group members
timeline: 5 weeks
medium: Photoshop
How might we: use the space to alleviate stress?
Interactive Watering Garden — having an interactive watering system allows students to feel like they contribute to the ambiance of the room. The touchscreen glass panels divide the planters from the seating and ask students to water the plants. To prevent over watering, the request will only pop up when sensors detect the plants need water.
Sitting Space — each large step is cut into and lined with cushions to maximize comfort because they were previously too long and inconsistent with cushion placement. The two steps above the garden planters are left empty to make it easier to enter the space. Along the wall are outlets for the convenience of anyone looking to charge devices while staying in the space.
Responsive Waterfall Windows — the responsive waterfall complements the nature-esque concept and utilizes the large windows. The stream of water strengthens next to passers-by and follows them through the space. Calming sounds of water falling also add to the ambience of the environment.
*photoshopping was done by other group members
Walk A Mile
As a volunteer Student Curriculum Developer working with the managing director of Industrial Design Outreach, we co-created the Walk A Mile curriculum. I tested materials and lessons, which directly impacted the final curriculum. I was inspired by illusion street art, the kind that makes a hole seem to appear in the ground when looked at from the right angle. The target users are street dancers of any style; the cascading shapes and loud colors empower a dancer's movements. From illusion art, I explored the perception of space. I glued and stitched the shoe out of faux leather onto a pre-made sole.
medium: polyurethane leather, ultrasuede, shoe sole, alcohol-based markers
Carnegie Mellon Racing — Headrest cover
I coded the embrodery design and manufactured the headrest for CMU’s Formula SAE racing team.
Shell Casting
I abstracted the patterns I observed from a sea shell and translated them into a 3D form. In Illustrator I arranged the abstraction to test different configurations of the pattern. Using grey foam, I carved three versions before casting a silicon mold. Then I plaster-cast the mold 36+ times and arranged them on a block of wood.
Play Project
My group worked with two children from the CMU Children's School, who helped develop the characters and storyline for our play.
Story: Raccoon Princess is swept from her castle to the ocean where she meets a magic broom. Together they travel to the angry Turtle Queen, who is upset because no one likes her red shell. Raccoon Princess tells angry Turtle Queen that her red shell is beautiful and unique, so the angry Turtle Queen is no longer upset and pulls out her magical pencil. Using the pencil, she draws a portal back to Raccoon Princess’s home, where they all hang out and eat a midnight snack.
The costumes are designed to stand for themselves as a pathway for storytelling, rather than relying on students' acting abilities. While as a group, we worked together on each aspect of the play, I focused on constructing the turtle queen.
medium: cardboard, paint
Process
Our biggest challenge was designing a turtle costume that wouldn’t look humanistic and would hide the student inside the costume. Although we initially tried to make an upright form, we decided on a horizontal position where the actor could hide their entire upper body inside, with only legs being visible.
Mindful Sensing Device
What is sensing? Given sight, how can your experience in nature be changed?
Initially falling back on forms that already exist, such as goggles or generic eye-wear, I struggled to find a unique and meaningful object. By letting go of concerns such as comfort, function, manufacturability, and aesthetics, I focused purely on the intent. The person experiencing this object, a college student without the time and resources to travel further, walks through the park and enjoys immersing themselves in nature without the distraction of other people. Rather than building a harness for the head, the handles require the person to intenionally position the object to create a personal experience. It simply blocks out view from ground to head height of other people to put focus on the scenery above.