Additive Inn
Get instant quote

Polaroid photo frame for JCDecaux, designed and prototyped

A desk photo frame for JCDecaux, shaped like its MUPI advertising panel, that holds a Polaroid and a message card. We designed it over two revisions and made a prototype.

Client
JCDecaux
What it is
A desk photo frame shaped like a JCDecaux advertising panel
What we did
3D design for manufacture, two revisions, test prints and a prototype
What the client got
The 3D files and an assembled prototype
Start a prototype (opens WhatsApp) Send a brief
Design revisions, from three slots to two
2
Tall in Revision 1, 59 mm wide and 15 mm deep
95.5 mm
Test blocks printed to choose the depth, 10 to 17.5 mm
4

What we brought

  1. What we can do

    Their own panel, in miniature

    The frame takes the look of a JCDecaux advertising panel: black, with a window for the picture and the logo under it, at a size that sits on a desk.

  2. How we look after you

    Felt before it was chosen

    We printed test blocks at four depths so the client could hold each one and judge the weight before we made the prototype.

  3. What you get

    Designed around what it holds

    Two 1.2 mm slots take a Polaroid and a message card, and a latch at the base opens so they can be taken out.

The build

How we built it

6 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 6 · 03/03/2026

Holds
A Polaroid photo and a message card
First size
117 by 66 by 15 mm, with a hook on top
Our scope
3D design for manufacture, revisions and one prototype

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we designed and prototyped a small photo frame for JCDecaux. It is a miniature of the MUPI, JCDecaux's advertising panel, made to hold a Polaroid photo and a message card.

The first brief was a keychain: 117 mm tall, 66 mm wide and 15 mm deep, with black acrylic faces around a 3D printed core.

A keychain first

Step 2 of 6 · 05/03/2026

We started with the hook. Our renders showed two ways to set a ring into the top edge: a slim D-ring that kept the frame 15 mm deep, or a gold ring that took it to 16 mm.

An early printed mock-up then went to the client's office. They asked for something smaller and heavier, so it would feel more premium, and the keychain became a frame that stands on a desk.

RenderA black D-ring, keeping the frame 15 mm deep.
RenderA gold ring, 16 mm deep.

Two revisions of the desk frame

Step 3 of 6

We drew the desk frame in two revisions, each sent with its renders and measurements. The window stayed 60 by 45 mm in both.

  1. Revision 0 · 20/03/2026

    96.6 mm tall, 67 mm wide and 13.5 mm deep, with three slots. Gloss black acrylic faces and clear acrylic windows sit around a matte printed core, and a magnetic lid at the base swings open on a small hinge.

    Render

  2. Revision 1 · 25/03/2026

    Shorter at 95.5 mm, as short as it can go and still house the magnet, and narrower at 59 mm. Two 1.2 mm slots in place of three, and 15 mm deep, the depth of the first mock-up, which stood on its own.

    Drawing

Test blocks and parts

Step 4 of 6 · 26/03/2026

Before making the prototype, we printed four test blocks, 10, 12.5, 15 and 17.5 mm thick, so the client could feel the weight and see how each one stands. The client left the choice of depth to us.

We then printed the core and the latch in matte black, and laser cut the acrylic faces and windows. The JCDecaux logo was laser engraved on the front.

Four depths to hold and compare.

Putting it together

Step 5 of 6 · 06/04/2026

The clear acrylic sits behind the black front frame, as in the design. The printed core carries the slots for the photo and the card, and the latch at its base closes the frame, held shut by a magnet.

The final build

Step 6 of 6 · 07/04/2026

JCDecaux collected the assembled prototype from our studio, along with the 3D files of the design. The frame holds a Polaroid and a message card behind a clear window, with the JCDecaux logo on the front.

The prototype, ready for a Polaroid.

More product development

See all product development →
Chat with us