IA Lab #2: Sensors & Boxes!
- Corrina Crazie Espinosa
- Jan 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 1
To start the lab, we will look over a variety of sensors and documentation oh how to use them.
Found Objects, Cardboard, and the Art of Prototyping
Before we talk about precision, polish, or laser-cut perfection, we need to talk about housing—where electronics live, and what that container communicates.
Electronics do not need a “perfect” enclosure to begin meaning something.
Some of the most compelling interactive artworks start in improvised containers: cardboard, thrift-store boxes, food packaging, drawers, jars, discarded objects. These materials are cheap, accessible, and—most importantly—forgiving.
Cardboard is one of the best prototyping materials available. It’s free or nearly free, easy to cut, easy to tape, easy to modify, and easy to throw away without emotional attachment. That last part matters. Prototyping works best when you’re not afraid to destroy what you made. Cardboard encourages iteration. It says: try again.
Found objects operate similarly, but with added conceptual weight. When you place electronics inside an object that already has a history—a drawer, a lunchbox, a toy, a book—you’re not starting from zero. You’re working with existing meaning, memory, and cultural associations. The container becomes part of the artwork, not just a shell.
This strategy has deep roots in art history. Marcel Duchamp’s readymades weren’t about craft or novelty; they were about context and framing. By repositioning everyday objects, Duchamp forced viewers to reconsider meaning, authorship, and intention. When you embed light and interaction into a found object, you’re doing something similar: reactivating the familiar through behavior.
Prototyping is not a lesser stage of art-making. It’s a thinking process. Early prototypes answer critical questions:
How does someone encounter the work?
Where does interaction happen?
What does the object feel like before it does anything?
Does the container amplify or contradict the concept?
At this stage, speed and clarity matter more than finish. Tape is fine. Hot glue is fine. Mess is fine. What you’re testing is not aesthetics yet—you’re testing relationships: between body and object, light and space, expectation and response.
Many artists intentionally preserve the roughness of prototypes because that rawness communicates vulnerability, instability, or impermanence. Others use prototypes as stepping stones toward refined fabrication. Both are valid. What matters is that the form is chosen, not defaulted to.
In a moment, we’ll move toward laser-cut boxes and precision design—tools that allow control, repeatability, and refinement. But those tools are most powerful after you understand what you’re trying to say. Cardboard and found objects help you get there faster, cheaper, and with fewer creative constraints, so that's where we will begin!
Prototype early. Prototype ugly. Let the container teach you what the artwork wants to be.
Lab Prompt part 1: The Cardboard Challenge!
Using only the cardboard provided and basic tools (X-Acto knives, scissors, hot glue), build a conceptual container, box, or sculptural form inspired by your randomly assigned object or idea.
This is a prototype, not a finished artwork. Rough construction is expected and encouraged.
Your goal is not to illustrate the word literally, but to translate it into form using:
Space
Containment
Access
Openness vs. restriction
Inside vs. outside
Ask yourself: What would this idea want to live inside?
Required Constraint-- you have 1 hour!
Your structure must include a hidden or internal compartment where electronics could live in the future.
You do not need to build electronics today. Instead, imagine:
Where light might come from
How it might be revealed, filtered, blocked, or leaked
How a viewer might interact with the object (touch, presence, opening, proximity)
Think conceptually, not technically.
Goals of the Lab
Practice rapid prototyping without attachment to perfection
Use material choices to communicate meaning
Begin thinking about light and interaction as intentional behavior
Understand that containers are never neutral—they shape experience
Lab part 2: Laser-Cut Boxes & Digital Fabrication (Intro)
After working with cardboard by hand, we’re going to look at a more precise way of building containers: laser-cut box design. This is not about replacing prototyping—it’s about refining it once you understand what you’re trying to make.
We’ll start with an online box maker tool. These generators allow you to quickly create a flat, cut-ready template for a box by entering dimensions, material thickness, and joint style. Think of this as a structural starting point, not a finished artwork.
The box maker handles the math. You handle the concept.
Prompt: From Prototype to Precision
Using a box maker website, generate a basic box or container:
The very basic box maker: Make A Box: Generate Laser Cutter Templates for Enclosures!
Fancier Box maker: MakerCase
Once the box is generated:
Download the file (usually SVG or PDF)
Open it in Adobe Illustrator
Customize it intentionally
Customization might include:
Cutting windows, slits, or openings for light
Adding vents, cracks, or perforations
Altering proportions or faces
Designing access points for interaction
Considering where electronics and wiring would live
This is where the box stops being generic and starts becoming yours.
Materials (Light Overview)
Laser cutters can work with many materials, but for this class we’ll keep it simple.
Common materials include:
Cardboard
Chipboard
Thin wood (like birch ply)
Acrylic (clear, frosted, or colored)
Material choice affects:
How light behaves (diffused, blocked, glowing)
How permanent the object feels
Cost and fragility
You do not need to choose a material today—this is about designing with material awareness, not committing yet.
Laser Cutter Access (Important Notes)
The laser cutter in the woodshop should be available for student use.
There are established protocols in place, including:
Required orientations or training
Scheduling and supervision rules
Students must supply their own materials
We’ll go over access details separately. For now, design as if:
Your object will eventually be laser cut
Your box needs to account for assembly, electronics, and light
Final Note: These Are Jumping-Off Points
Everything we’ve explored today—cardboard, found objects, box makers, laser cutting—are starting points, not limitations.
Your final project is open to any materials that support your concept, including but not limited to:
Found objects and assemblage
Cardboard and paper-based materials
Ceramics and clay
Paintings or painted surfaces
Armature wire and metal frameworks
Paper mâché
Fabric, fiber, or soft sculpture
Wood, plaster, foam, or mixed media
What matters is not the material itself, but how the electronics live inside the artwork.
This lab is about learning how to:
Design space for electronics intentionally
Think through access, concealment, and exposure
Integrate light and interaction as part of the form
Avoid treating circuits as something added at the end
Whether your final piece is fragile, messy, rigid, refined, or strange; electronics should feel embedded, considered, and necessary, not incidental.
Homework: Finish your brainstorm blog and prepare to order your supplies!
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