Exploring Materials Creative Design for Everyday Objects Inna Alesina and Ellen Lupton princeton architectural press, new york maryland institute college of art, baltimore contents Published by 102 Honeycomb Structures Princeton Architectural Press 4 introduction: 106 Inflatables 37 East Seventh Street How to Use This Book New York, New York 10003 110 Leather 112 Mesh For a free catalog of books, call 1.800.722.6657. 6 unlock ideas: 116 Mesh, Diamond Visit our website at www.papress.com. Using Materials for Inspiration 120 Paper © 2010 Princeton Architectural Press 126 Paper Pulp All rights reserved 132 Plastic, Bio 18 study, prototype, test: Printed and bound in China 134 Plastic Film 12 11 10 13 4 3 2 1 First edition Journey through the Design Process 138 Plastic, Molded 20 Identify the Problem No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner 142 Plastic Sheet 22 Widen the Problem without written permission from the publisher, except in the 148 Rods and Tubes 24 Imagine Scenarios context of reviews. 162 Rope/Cable/Yarn 26 Field Research 166 Rubber Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of 28 Brainstorm with Materials copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent 170 Sheet Metal 30 Get Inspired editions. 176 Truss 32 Sketch 178 Webbing/Strap Editing: Clare Jacobson 34 Prototype and Test 182 Wire Editorial assistance: Carolyn Deuschle Book design: Inna Alesina, Justin Kropp, and Ellen Lupton 188 Wood Photography: Inna Alesina (unless noted otherwise) 42 know your values: Typography: Thesis, designed by Lucas de Groot Why Design? 192 make it real: Special thanks to Nettie Aljian, Sara Bader, Nicola Bednarek, Janet 44 Sustainability From Prototype to Product Behning, Becca Casbon, Carina Cha, Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Russell 46 Biomimicry Fernandez, Pete Fitzpatrick, Wendy Fuller, Jan Haux, Aileen Kwun, 194 Refine and Develop 48 Education Nancy Eklund Later, Linda Lee, Laurie Manfra, Katharine Myers, 196 Protect Your Property 50 Multifunctionality and Simplicity Lauren Nelson Packard, Jennifer Thompson, Paul Wagner, Joseph 198 Manufacturing Weston, and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural Press 52 Accessibility 200 Communicate and Present —Kevin C. Lippert, publisher 54 Social Responsibility 204 Market and Sell Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alesina, Inna, 1969– 56 206 acknowledgments Exploring materials : creative design for everyday objects / Inna think with materials: 206 bibliography Alesina and Ellen Lupton. — 1st ed. Everyday Uses and Inspiring Experiments 207 index p. cm. 58 Cardboard, Corrugated Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-56898-768-2 (alk. paper) 62 Cardboard, Non-corrugated 1. Materials. 2. Design, Industrial. I. Lupton, Ellen. II. Title. 66 Ceramics TA403.6.A447 2009 70 Concrete 745.2—dc22 72 Fabric, Knit and Stretch 2008032530 76 Fabric, Nonwoven This publication is a project of 80 Fabric, Woven The Center for Design Thinking 86 Felt Maryland Institute College of Art 90 Foam, Closed Cell 1300 Mt. Royal Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21217 94 Foam, Open Cell www.mica.edu 98 Glass 4 introduction 5 PRODUCT DESIGN IS PHYSICAL. ENGAGING WITH REAL MATERIALS AND REAL TOOLS IS AN ESSENTIAL introduction: How to Use This Book ASPECT OF DESIGN THINKING. HOW DO MATERIALS BEHAVE? HOW DO THEY FEEL TO THE HAND AND BODY? Designers can find unexpected solutions when they work with physical mind, each designer explored the material at hand—foam, felt, wire, and forms and materials in a direct, active, hands-on way. Sketching ideas so on. The solutions are as different as the substances. The projects are with a pencil or rendering them with computer software are useful rough and unrefined, but each one departs from the ordinary. experiences, but there is no substitute for confronting physical materials The second chapter uses another classroom experiment to explore in the flesh. Foam, mesh, wood, plastic, and wire each has behaviors the design process in more detail. Here, a team of designers thought and properties that suggest different types of structure, surface, and about creating an alternative to the standard shopping bag. Their connection. In place of the abstraction of pure volumes or the whimsy of research involved open-ended brainstorming, observing consumers and “virtual” objects, this book encourages designers to make and test real workers, and experiencing the act of shopping in a critical way. They objects in a studio environment. made hands-on prototypes and tested them in real environments. Materials are like words. The richer your design vocabulary, At the core of our book is a visual glossary of thirty-four materials, the more solutions you can see and express. There are no good or bad organized both to inspire and to inform. Although most of these materials. Each one has its place, consequences, and cost. Understanding materials are commonplace (rather than “smart” substances or exotic materials is essential to design. Some designers come to the profession mutants), each is packed with potential ideas. This section presents with a common-sense knowledge of materials, while others have only everyday uses of the materials, pointing out the special ways each thought about their decorative properties. Use this book to begin looking one functions as a structure, surface, fastener, and more. Also featured at materials with new eyes. Ignore what you already know, and find out are experimental uses of these forms and substances, showing how how you can coax cardboard, foam, cloth, metal, or rope into surprising designers from around the world have exploited their characteristics structures with valuable functions. in inventive ways. The book concludes with a section on making it Our book is an invitation to get inspired by materials. One of our real, moving beyond the prototype to create a product that can be designer friends dislikes the term “inspired.” To him, to be inspired means manufactured and marketed. to copy someone else’s work. He thinks designers should use the phrase Exploring Materials speaks to a cultural shift in the design world. “based on research” instead. But when we say “inspired by materials,” we Many designers are thinking critically and creatively about materials— do not mean following the form of an existing object. We mean studying about where they come from, how they function, and where they end the properties and behavior of a physical substance in order to discover up at the end of a product’s life cycle. There is growing interest across and invent forms and solutions. society in physically making things and thus engaging with objects and Exploring Materials is a book for students, designers, artists, the environment in a direct way. The revitalization of craft has helped and anyone interested in making objects. The first chapter lays out our revitalize design. This book embraces this new wave of thinking and approach with a case study drawn from a classroom project. A group of making. We hope you will use it stimulate your own mind and to make designers were asked to solve a common problem (an object for sitting) your own ideas real.— Inna Alesina and Ellen Lupton using a particular material. Instead of beginning with an end result in 6 exploring materials using materials for inspiration biomimicry unlock ideas using materials for inspiration The projects shown on the following pages were created by design students at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). The goal of these experiments was to unlock creativity by exploring the unique properties of materials. Whereas traditional design methodologies focus on sketching, our approach emphasizes hands-on prototyping with three-dimensional structures. Thus the works shown here are not slick finished products (or glossy 3d renderings of slick finished products). Instead they are active, raw projects produced with real materials and real tools in a studio environment. To initiate these experiments, we asked a group of design students to address a particular problem: make a person comfortable while sitting. Naturally, each designer immediately began thinking about chairs. Then we asked them to put aside their ideas about chairs and focus instead on a particular material (foam, rope, wire, cardboard, metal rods, etc.). The designers explored each material, uncovering its properties as a surface, structure, and fastener. They could not rely on what they already knew about chairs: legs, back, seat, arms, and so on. By exploring materials rather than pursuing a preconceived end product, these designers began thinking in new ways. The best way to learn is by doing. In the exercises documented here, designers stated a problem and then solved it with a randomly assigned material. Try it yourself and see what ideas emerge. Then, change materials and try it again. See how your results are different. This exercise is a kind of game. It is also a tool for inventing, brainstorming, and generating ideas. You can apply it to any type of problem—not just creating an object, but planning a process, studying a system, or designing a space. Kids, artists, designers, and even business people can broaden their thinking with this technique. open mind. In response to the challenge to make a sitting structure with yarn, the designers created a new and unfamiliar object. Design: Maria Duke, MICA. 8 exploring materials unlock ideas 9 exploring molded foam In the experimental project shown here, the challenge was to use molded foam to make a structure for sitting. Thus the project did not focus on “designing a chair” as an end result; instead, it focused on understanding sitting, comfort, and shape in a broader way. It sounds easy to design a chair with foam, as this material is already associated with comfort and padding. However, the unique properties of molded foam can inspire surprising solutions. Foam comes in many forms. Urethane foam sheets are used for traditional padding and upholstery.