Make With Notion | Amy Rogers

Make With Notion is Notion’s annual conference, where they showcase their new product features and bring people together to share how they’re using the platform.

I was already known in the community for my 3D printed earrings, so Notion asked if I would make some for the claw machines at the London and Paris events.

They estimated that each machine would need about 400 items per event, so 800 prizes in total. 🤯 They also wanted three types of prizes; pin badges, charms, and my famous earrings.

Designing

I wanted the prizes to have some randomness to them, so alongside the Notion logo I made some special designs for Nosey, their AI mascot guy. I even made exclusive models for both the London and Paris events!

I used Tinkercad to create the models.

Photo of the printed Nosey models, on a piece of paper with their odds written down. — My initial prototypes and figuring out the odds.

In designing these I also had to think about colours. My printer’s AMS had four spools and I also had to stick to Notion’s brand colours. In the end I kept it simple, with black white and Notions’ classic red and blue.

Planning

The earrings needed two models and the pins would need models without the ring at the top.

So to make enough models in time I needed to plan:

How many of each model would fit onto each print bed
How long each bed would take to print
How much filament each one would use

Of course I planned this in Notion! I used databases to visually map out the printing progress for each design. I also used formulas to calculate how many models to print, and how many print runs each one would take me.

A screenshot of Notion. Shows a gallery of designs at the top with percentage bars underneath. Under that is a table showing progress for each batch. — The dashboard in Notion. I updated this every time I printed, assembled, or packed a batch of designs.

Screenshot of Notion again. Highlights how I used Notion formulas to calculate the number of models to print. — Leaning on Notion formulas to figure out how many models I would need.

Production

For each batch I had to print the models, add the right fixtures, then put them into protective pouches. All by hand! I also needed to check each model printed well and that the fixtures were secure.

I worked on this project while juggling my full time job at Vouchsafe while in the middle of preparing to move house, so good organisation was essential! The Notion dashboard kept me on top of things, but I also needed a physical process that matched that.

Result

I went to both the London and Paris events to see the machines myself, and they were amazing! It was really nice to see people playing the game to try and win prizes.

Me in front of the crane machine in London.

Me in front of the crane machine in Paris — Me in front of the crane machine in London.

Takeaways

This was a very special project. It taught me a lot about creating things at scale, and rekindled my joy of making physical things. Also very impressed with myself that I did this in the middle of a house move!

I think if I did this again I would spend a bit more time making more designs for the Noseys. I had a lot of fun drawing the hats for the London and Paris versions so I would have loved to do more of them.