Olivia Rhodes BA(Hons) Graphic Design Communication @olivia-rhodes-gdc - Tumblr Blog

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From the Craft Work brief there has been an emphasis on producing an outcome that directly relates to how we view modern day craft. From this I considered craft within a fashion related area, being the craft of garment or in this case the jewellery. Currently there is a lot of sculptural esc jewellery design dominating both the catwalk and high street stores (see examples in mood board)

From researching sculptors like Alexander Calder and Aliyah Hussain I considered the form of objects and how this could be translated into a series of jewellery pieces. To be in keeping with the craft objective of the brief I want to use everyday materials such as wire, safety pins, paper and other craft like materials readily available in hobby stores for the pieces.

After creating these earrings/necklaces/rings I will feature them within an editorial shoot that has the running theme of craft and rustic elements throughout. To do so the garments include the likes of some Comme Des Garcons, with the abstract form of the material and shape to Acne Studios Pre Fall 17 collection that was inspired by Paul Klee’s finger puppets.

The editorial will include one or two male subjects as I want to explore the idea of masculinity and femininity through use of feminised accessories and dress juxtaposed with the models.

Location is something I want to develop and consider further and will create some mood boards to illustrate this. My initial thoughts are gravitating to either a strong neutral setting with greenery and natural elements, or a industrial setting such as a storage container that had lots of exposed metal fixtures.

Evaluative Statement

Over the course of this unit I have had the opportunity to explore many areas within the subject of material innovation. Throughout this project I have expanded my knowledge over a range of different mediums and how this can be applied in a creative output. I chose this course in order to develop my understanding of a subject I knew very little about. Usually producing work in a graphic context, this unit gave me an idea of how I may consider the application of some of the processes we have discussed within my own practice. I found the unit very informative and the lectures opened my eyes to how materials are being pushed and used in a forward-thinking sense. Often creating work that is at the forefront of technology and innovation.

The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites, gave me an understanding of how a material can be explored and how our creative practice in a similar way if pushed can do the same, creating outputs that push our own thinking. His ideas and approach to design were really inspiring and caused me to reflect on my own study and thinking in an abstract sense.

Another way in which I have found the unit extremely inspiring is looking at the presentation and display of the materials I chose to research in further depth. In particular the use of spacial design and exhibiting of objects and structures. From a graphic design perspective it was interesting to see the ways in which these materials are arranged together, categorised and grouped I often decided to look at the piece abstractly from a deconstructed point of view. From this I started to develop an understanding of the materials further and how they could be displayed. Considering how I could then implement such ideas within my work. With ongoing personal projects in which I am exploring set design for editorial content I have had a better understanding of how certain materials may work and photograph. This is a way in which the unit has directly informed my work.

I think my input over the course of the unit has been strong, getting involved in group discussions and showing interest in each of the lectures. I have been able to expand my creative outlook on a much wider scale and have been exposed to the work of new creatives and individuals who’s work explores materials and how they are applied in different contexts. I believe all of the research I carried out was of relevance to my current interests within art and design and how I could possibly implement this within future projects. Including work from a rage of artists my blog highlights a variety of different mediums and areas within materials and their innovation, sourcing current content from dutch design week 2016 and ongoing project also puts my consideration of these practices into a current day context.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the unit and feel I am coming away with knowledge to apply in my creative pursuits over the course of my undergraduate studies.

Colour and Materials Trends - Dutch Design Week 2016

When researching into different materials and how they are being applied in a creative way I came across the work Sanne Schuurman. Many of her projects stood out to me through their often abstracted forms and colour.

In particular her use of pastels. After looking at the other projects featured at Dutch Design week this seemed to be a common trend. The mix of raw materials and soft tonal colours worked together to create a stunning collection of different objects. What also stood out to me was the idea of deconstruction within her work. Objects placed together in a minimal fashion suggesting an unfinished form or a stage of experimentation. Here I noticed the similarities between her work, the Envisions project by the DAE students and also Popcore. Popcore ‘A living design exhibition combining various media to present a contemporary way of life’. The Materials featured within this project were very similar to that of Schuurman, in the way that they were playful and very colourful. With weaved textiles and other natural materials both projects seem to explore a similar aesthetic concept.

Biomimicry - Lilian van Daal

This chair, designed by graduate Lilian van Daal, draws inspiration from plant cells within it’s structure. The chair itself can be 3D printed from just one material, and is innovating the way in which upholstery is manufactured. The complex design replicates the structure of cells in plants to create an optical maze with some areas softer than others depending on it’s distribution. This experimental process that Van Daal describes enables the chair to have different properties and perform different tasks.

Furthermore when considering the environmental sustainability of this product it could be said that it is leaps ahead of traditional methods of making furniture.

“The production and assembly process of soft seating (couches) is normally far from sustainable: it is made from various materials prepared for assembly in different factories. It is also difficult to recycle the various parts. With Biomimicry : 3D Printing Soft Seat, Lilian van Daal thought of a new concept to make the production of soft seating more sustainable through 3D printing.”

I really like how delicate the structure looks though in actually fact it can hold a lot of weight which seems surprising. The elegant form of the cell structure present gives a minimal aesthetic which I was really drawn to. Having previously thought about 3D printing it is also interesting that here both biomimicry and 3D printing have been combined in the manufacturing of the chair. 3D printing may be an advantage with this kind of development in biomimicry as replicating the complex structures is made much easier and more precise.

I think this kind of development is something we will start to see much more in the design world in the future as technology develops and manufactured have access to such methods.

This made me consider how I could make more sustainable choices when choosing the materials used in my work, and mainly how drawing inspiration from natural structures can create cool visuals, not just in a three dimensional aspect but also in print and 2D design.

BIOMIMICRY: 3D printed soft seat (no date) Available at: http://lilianvandaal.com/?portfolio=3d-printed-softseating (Accessed: 25 November 2016).

3D Printing - Othr

I also wanted to consider 3D printing in an every day sense, through this I came across home accessories brand Othr. Launched at this year’s NYCxDesign festival, Joe Doucet describes this venture "We are attempting to create the first well-designed consumer objects of the third industrial revolution.”(Howarth and Doucet, 2016) These minimal homeware objects are everyday items that we could all be using in the near future. The brand aims to not overproduce objects “We do not manufacture more than is needed, create excessive waste, or warehouse products. This greatly reduces our environmental footprint and gives true meaning to good design.” These kind of design choices that are a direct result of using 3D printing which are beneficial to both consumer and the sustainability of the environment around us are interesting to see within homeware pieces. I really like the minimalist design and the different realisation of 3D printing in forms such as bird houses and coffee mugs.

Overall I think this brand is very aspirational in the sense that they are taking a new form of technology such as 3D printing and altering the way in which industries create and produces objects.

“Each and every Othr product must deliver on three principles: Useful – every object must have purpose; Aesthetic – every object must have artistic merit; Unique – every object is designed exclusively for us.”

Howarth, D. and Doucet, J. (2016) Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/16/othr-joe-doucet-3d-printed-homeware-brand-new-york-design-week/ (Accessed: 24 November 2016).

https://www.othr.com/about

#expanded practice

Nendo Un-printed Material

After our discussion on 3D printing I wanted to research into a form of this type of printing that I had not encountered before. This led me to Nendo’s recent exhibition titled un-printed material. This exhibition explored how the use of paper could be translated into a three dimensional expression of the material itself. Many of the examples commonly associated with 3D printing are large structures or objects in their own right, I like how this example of the application of 3d printing was very delicate and had a completely different aesthetic value. The space itself featured lots of different pages, some flat some appearing to be crumpled or torn. The idea that 3D printing can realise the process of a designer and how we interact with a material such as paper is something that really intrigued me. Within this exhibition the viewer is able to interact with the structure of the paper shapes and understand the form in more depth.

The use of 3D printing has enabled the production of a series of objects, some that appear to be almost identical but with slight alterations. The technology used with this printing method would enable for much more precise objects in terms of measurements and values, in comparison to more traditional methods of sculptural design.

Anthony Gormley - Fit

This exhibition of Gormley’s most recent work explores materials in a three dimensional aspect and challenges our view of space and how we as the viewer interact with this. “Gormley configured the gallery space into 15 chambers to create a series of dramatic physiological encounters in the form of a labyrinth” (Cube, 2016)

The exploration of our interaction with the environment and the things that surround us is what I found particularly interesting when visiting this exhibition. Having previously discussed how we interact with everyday materials throughout the duration of the course it was interested to see how an artist realised this kind of idea within a gallery space. The variety of materials used within the various models all had unique qualities and having the chance to view these up close I was able to get a better understanding of series as a whole.

The scale of the pieces also intrigued me, with natural materials such as iron and concrete realised in a large format, with duplicated pieces and structures throughout. The textures of the pieces were also unique to each material, this furthered my understanding of why choosing the right material in various design applications is so important.The unique qualities of a material can be highlighted to become the defining part of a piece.

The large structure ‘In Passage’ immerses the viewer in a dark tunnel, questioning our perception of the space around us. This experience made me feel uncomfortable to my surroundings with the darkness and echoing sounds from the tunnels material adding to the experience as a whole. The “shape is modelled on a standing human form, suggesting a correlative for the interior of the body and offering a journey into darkness and the unknown.” (Cube, 2016)

I really enjoying seeing natural materials realised in this form of sculpture and how I could interact with them in interesting ways.

“A show that allows forms and materials to work on us, releasing us from any expectations of what sculpture is and how it might act on us.” (Gormely, 2016)

Cube, W. (2016) Antony Gormley Bermondsey 2016. Available at: http://whitecube.com/exhibitions/antony_gormley_bermondsey_2016/ (Accessed: 24 November 2016).

The Ulm Model

Earlier this month I visited an exhibition at Raven Row, Whitechapel, the exhibition explored the work and models created by students at the Ulm School of Design. Otherwise known as the Hochschule für Gestaltung, the Ulm school was founded by graphic designer Otl Aicher in 1946. The similarities between the HfG and the bauhaus were obvious, with the building and many of its teachers bauhaus instructors themselves. The focus on the designer as being essential but no longer primary is what the school was focused around through its teaching style. The ‘Ulm Model’ highlights this concept of the designers role within production. Their work began to explore product design, visual communication, film and industrialised building. The objects and work on display at the exhibition show this teaching idea realised through the various subjects and materials. Seeing these early methods of design teaching was extremely interesting and made me consider designing in a different time and context and its social relation to art and design today. The question of functionality and developing technologies.

I really liked the simplicity of lots of the pieces on show, in particular some on the drawings that featured simple lines. Many of the stacking models look almost futuristic which is surprising considering the time in which they were created. The shapes and forms are chemical like and look like bonds of some sort or DNA.

Overall I found this exhibition very informative and the functionality of many of the pieces intrigued me and my opinion of design in the modern world.

Natural Materials in an interesting form - Alcarol resin furniture

Italian duo Andrea Forti and Eleonora Dal Farra suspend natural materials in resin to create unique furniture pieces. This idea of capturing the natural material in a clear structure, trapped inside the resin means the detail of such materials is sharp and striking. Their collections explore and focus on different natural materials each with interesting designs.

Bricolla Collection - This collection features venetian wooden poles. The idea of re-utilising such a material in this way tells a story of the poles and also has a huge historical value. The wood’s surface includes patterns that have been created by shipworms leaving circular holes throughout.

“The project engages with the idea of submerged cross-section of this extraordinary setting, with the aim to transcend its ordinary perception.”

Fungi Collection - Focusing on the ecosystem of forests, fungi has been taken from various sources and then set into a series of bespoke furniture pieces. The contrast of the natural fibres here set with the resin creates an amazing optical effect in which the three dimensional qualities of the organism is exposed. The organic matter is clearly shown in great detail with the textural quality being captured within the resin.

“One of the outstanding effects of the early stages of wood decay is the fungi texture inside the matter of the tree: the fungal growth can create some of the most dramatic and beautiful wood colour changes with regions of discolouration and intricate patterns of amazing dark lines, adding a new dimension to the woodgrain.”

Marble Ways Collection - A series of tables created from the wooden planks that are used when cutting blocks of stone. This idea of taking something that would be otherwise thrown away and disposed of is something quite beautiful. The repeated cuts into the wooden block created a grid effect marked into the surface of the wood, which is then set within the resin.

“Each piece is unique and characterised by the type of marble that was worked on it during the last cuts, in fact the sedimentary powder unites colours of natural stone with those of wood.”

Undergrowth Collection - This series showcases pieces that include mosses and lichens, organisms that grow in damp places. Their bright green colouring adds contrast to the logs they infect creating a contrast not only visually but from the quality of the material themselves. The exposed edges that are created within these pieces gives the logs a structural quality and looks as if a section has been captured in time.

“The project engages with the alcarol concept of environmental cross-section. By filling the gaps with resin, alcarol achieves a new functionality freezing time at the end of the material’s cycle and giving it a new life before it dissolves into the ecosystem.”

Dolomyth Collection - The final collection of furniture takes the relief of dolomites, these stools capture geomorphologic evolution within their surface, with stunning natural patterns and colour. When set in the resin these dolomites become a different structure all together, the surface of the rock and its different colouring sets to tell a story of time. “Alcarol has preserved this “skin” marked by time using a resin resembling the water in which these stones lay submerged through various geological eras, freezing the present instant and endowing the blocks with new functionality and new design.” All these materials have a distinct quality to them, the resin helps to expose these qualities in a simple way. The striking patterns and colours of these natural composites on display are a modern take on the natural world. Locking these items within a structural object that is also function is what intrigued me about the project as a whole.

“Alcarol always seeks to identify the spirit and the essence of a place to obtain an unordinary understanding”

Browse all collections (no date) Available at: http://www.alcarol.com/collections/ (Accessed: 11 November 2016).

Howarth, D. (2014) Alcarol traps natural materials in resin to form furniture collection. Available at: http://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/10/alcarol-new-visions-resin-furniture-london-design-festival-2014/ (Accessed: 11 November 2016).

The Toaster Project - Thomas Thwaites

Through a brief introduction to the project, Thwaites explained how he was inspired to make something from scratch, put ‘stuff’ into a different context and get a different perspective on mundane reality. This prompted an investigation into the toaster. An everyday object that he would deconstruct down to the raw elements, separating them into different materials, beginning to simplify and substitute.

“The Toaster Project may seem foolish, even insane. Yet, Thwaites's quixotic tale, told with self-deprecating wit, helps us reflect on the costs and perils of our cheap consumer culture, and in so doing reveals much about the organisation of the modern world.” (The toaster project: Princeton architectural press, 2011)

As the project unfolded it was soon clear that Thwaites had underestimated the sheer difficulty of producing such materials, which included steel, mica, plastic, copper and nickel. All of these elements he would try to process independently through traditional methods. This led him to many different location across the country. The very idea of creating something from scratch at first seems rather simple but in actual fact it is incredibly hard, this idea exposes our consumerist nature and our disconnect with how the world and its materials are sustained. "Left to his own devices he couldn’t build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it.” (Adams and ADAMS, 1992)

This talk made me consider the materials around me and how they seem simple enough to make but in actual fact their components are complex and in most part hard to obtain in an everyday situation. Furthermore it was very interesting to see the final retail price of Thwaites’ toaster in comparison to the Argos essential model that this project had evolved from. The retail price of Thwaites’ toaster being £1187.54 in comparison to the £4.99 Argos model. Many of the methods and lengths that Thwaites had to go to throughout this project were obscene, first carrying a suitcase of iron ore across the country then smelting iron ore in a leaf-blower furnace and then in a microwave. These processes are something which us as consumers never really consider, the cheap and readily available products that we buy are obviously dependant on big supply chains and this was the underlying message coming form the project as a whole.

Putting his creation into practice Thwaites appeared to give a demonstration in which he would actually attempt to make toast. Needless to say this wasn't as successful as he would have hoped burning out after a few seconds. Again highlighting the idea of societies dependant nature and how self sufficiency isn't really achievable in modern times.

I think this project was a very interesting, often comical tale that has a much deeper underlying message of our behaviour as consumers, and has made me consider if we have a responsibility when using such products in the future.

“It seems the need to buy more stuff to save our economy and the need to buy less to save our environment are on a collision course. So, we either have to value what we've got a lot more, or spend as much time and effort taking things apart and disposing of them as we do putting them together.”(Thwaites, 2009)

http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toaster_from_scratch?language=en

Adams, D. and ADAMS (1992) Mostly harmless. New York: Crown Publications. The toaster project: Princeton architectural press (2011) Available at: https://www.papress.com/html/book.details.page.tpl?isbn=9781568989976 (Accessed: 7 November 2016). Thwaites, T. (2009) The toaster project by Thomas Thwaites. Available at: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/06/27/the-toaster-project-by-thomas-thwaites/ (Accessed: 8 November 2016).

Design Academy Eindhoven graduates

“Everything but the end product”- Envisions

In response to the vast amount of finished products on show at Milan design week, the group of graduates decided to exhibit only materials in their more ‘unfinished’ and experimental form.

The range of materials within this experiment is vast including elements such as concrete, wood and various metallic compounds and finishes. They are treated with an experimental feel and displayed as a group of objects, in a minimal understated fashion.

This idea shows the unseen steps of the process many designers use when working with materials.

“We want to show people what happens before something becomes an end product” Iwan Pol

What interested me about this piece is the experimental and unpolished form of the materials and how they have then been presented as an exhibition. Arranging these materials in such a way made me consider them as a tool to create displays that when photographed become a piece of their own.

The relationship between the different materials is interesting within the editorial like shots, in which similar materials have been grouped together forming an interesting image and provoking a curiosity for each individual object.

The different qualities, textures and shapes of the materials shown are highlighted through subtle and minimal art direction, the clean lines of the display work well to show to movement within the objects. The fluidity created through this piece really entices me to look further at the objects in particular at their surface and finish.

This type of material innovation and experiments into how the display may create a new meaning for the raw element or medium really intrigued me and I would like to see how this could be developed further, possibly within a graphic context.

#expandedpractice

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Olivia Rhodes BA(Hons) Graphic Design Communication