Final Appearance

I have made a scale model of the final form I am going for. The floor-to-wall mounting system is also in the works. I have a functional mockup and am now redesigning it for the final.

Working towards better product aesthetics

I have a final direction in which cat scratching or brushing inserts will merge with aesthetic frames. All parts will be sold separately and apart of a unified brand. My next steps are to better define my brand through the creation of well designed frames. All frames can be wall mounted, hung from a top surface, or wedged in place via a gap such as under a door.

Cat scratcher Frames, many functions and many appearances to come.

I have come to a final direction on my project. The issue of different users wanting different looking cat products for their home has been hard to address. Therefore, I found a solution that allows the user to customize their cat products to a degree. Every cat scratcher or brush surface will have a universally fitting frame. These frames and scratchers can be swapped easily. The functional part is unchangeable, but the frame will act like a cell phone cover. It can be whatever aesthetic the user desires to have is their home.

These frames will also have two different placement options. One will be able to attach to the base of furniture and doors via. a small gap. The other option is to wall mount, this will make a low-hanging picture frame for your cats to use. I had considered a third option of simply setting the frames out in the open. Then I thought, there are already hundreds other cat products doing this.

My final goal at this point is to make a verity of frames that appeal to people of many aesthetic tastes. Also to make three functional inserts for the frames.

Continuing Add-on ideas

Working on how to fill the space under a couch or chair that might support a scratcher. Also looking into a cat brush/wall rubbing surface.

Furniture Add-ons for Cats

I have been looking into more easy add-on cat products. The top sketches are for bookshelves or cabinets that the cat could climb up. The second set is to protect furniture corners and provide a scratching surface. Last is wall mounted ideas which may run into stability issues, I will be testing soon.

Moving into Furniture add-ons

Looking into more add-on type products now. This will allow me to make a product line and branding for it. I am in the process of making more concepts and mockups to explore and test add-on pieces.

More concepts

I had a few more ideas in an art styled forms, also switched to marker for this set.

Human interaction

I had some ideas on how the human and cat interact with each other. These are the resulting concepts.

Looking a new way

My latest ideas are a little less home furniture and more experimental.

Exploring furniture and moving forward

In the past week I have been exploring possible furniture options that would involve the human and cat. I learned many ways to make these products usable and attractive for both parties.
My goal now is to break away from the idea of this product being furniture only. It could turn out to be a great number of things. If nothing else works out, I have my current furniture concepts to fall back on.

This is to help make things a little more clear on what I am designing towards.

Work to date

 I did some research on indoor cats and found that destructive scratching was a large problem. I set out to solve this by testing some cat scratchers. The tests showed me one fact in the end. Trees are the best cat scratchers. I need to find a way to bring the things a tree provides for a cat, into the home.
My goal is to do this in an elegant way that makes the tree seem more like furniture for people. Below I have shown a few simple way in which indoor furniture might be purposed for a cats use.

Project postings will continue once these cats get some attention.

Maybe I should do this at school.

Project Roots

The roots of this project came from my own pet cats.

When getting new indoor cats, there are a number of products needed to support them. Things such as food and water dishes with a litter box are the essentials. Many cat owners want more then this to keep their cats entertained. I was one of these individuals so I set off in search of products for my new kittens.

The problem was, I couldn't find any cat products that would look good in my home. Almost everything was wood covered in cheap looking carpet. Surely this was not the whole market, there must be more cat furniture out there right.... right?

After walking through Petco, Petsmart, Pet Food Express and surfing the web I came to an astonishing conclusion. These places all sell the same over priced junk, and I dont like the way any of it looks.

Starting things up at 8:11pm, 2/7/2013