During this module, I learned a lot about designing with nature in mind. As a product design student, most of my enjoyment of the experience was grounded in the product design areas. However, gaining experience in digital and interior design helped me feel confident and firm in my degree choice. The designers I feel inspired by are Dieter Rams and Kevin Cheung. Dieter Rams, a historical, industrial product designer influences my work through his morals surrounding design. Kevin Cheung, a contemporary product designer also influences my work through his use of found materials.

When creating my final design, I took inspiration from Kevin Cheung’s use of materials. He created products, mainly musical ones, from items that would otherwise be thrown away. For example, he created a speaker out of a plastic waste container and turned a washing machine into a music box. This initiative way of designing reduces waste materials, therefore having a positive impact on the environment. It’s also a very sustainable way of creating products as there is so much waste currently circulating the planet that can be used. As part of my final design, I created 5 different items, each using waste materials. I made a knife out of scrap cardboard and a spray paint can, a signal mirror out of a broken CD and its case, a water filter out of empty cans and an old t-shirt, a fire starter out of an old battery and tinfoil and, finally, a rope out of spare wire. By doing this project, I was forced to consider the potential impact that the materials I design with could have on the planet and try and make it positive one.

I was also inspired by Dieter Rams – not necessarily by his specific designs, but his morals surrounding design. Rams has a belief in “less but better”. I, in the past, have been known to overcomplicate my designs, and it’s not always been to my own benefit, so this perspective on design really intrigued me. This way of thinking lead me to keep my designs as simple as possible, and not make them too complex or intricate. This also fit in well with the nature theme, as reconnecting people with nature is throwing them back to the basics and to a simpler life. Rams introduced sustainable development and the idea of obsolescence as a crime in design, which lead him to create “good design” principles; 10 principles which describe the ways in which Rams believes design can be objectively viewed as good. One of these is that design is environmentally friendly and so makes an important contribution to preserving the environment, including minimizing the physical and the visual pollution to the world throughout the life of the product and that it conserves important resources, meaning it does not use anything unnecessary for the function of the design. This is incredibly significant, as Rams was designing around the 1960s, when climate change and preservation of the environment was not as widespread and critical as it is today. This influenced my work because it aided in my determination to keep my design simple and not use any excess resources that I could go without and drove me to want to be as environmentally friendly as possible. To do this, my final product was a booklet which showed people how to create their own survival kit. The fact users were constructing their own items meant there was no carbon emissions due to them being made in a factory.

I really enjoyed the product design aspect to this project and it reaffirmed my desire to be a product designer. Through this project, I learned a lot about the current state of the world and how critical it is for us to get our act together and design with the future in mind, and not just what’s easiest for us in the present. In future designs, I will now be a lot more conscious of the materials I use and the environmental impact my design could potentially have. I also learned the importance of researching designers. When researching in previous projects, I’ve always gravitated toward products similar to what I’m designing, but there’s a lot more to be gained from looking at designers in general as opposed to specific products. The significance that prototyping and model making has to the entire design process was confirmed to me during this project, which I will now take into more consideration in future projects.

In conclusion, this project had great influence on how I think about the environmental impact on my future designs and how I research new products and their designers. Rams and Cheung both approach their designs with different morals and different strategies, but both create interesting, environmentally friendly products that I would like to aspire to. This module, as a whole, has confirmed to me my choice in product design and has had noteworthy influence on my future as a designer.

Reflective Essay -20111fz

Instruction Manual

As part of the assessment, we had to create an instruction manual, showing how the product would be used. This sparked an idea which would make the kit more engaging with the user. The user would only get the manual. It would show the user how to construct each item in the kit. This would encourage people to make use of their rubbish. Its also more engaging, making the user more connected with the product, which would in turn encourage them to use the product. If they made it they would want to test it out, this takes them into nature, and thus meets the brief of this project. It would also ensure all products would look different and be unique, allowing fir them to be tailored to each individual.

Product Summary

The product which I created, isn’t the product you see here, but is the instruction booklet in front of it. The user would receive this book which would instruct them on how to build their own survival kit. The materials required are all found objects. This helps reconnect people with nature as if they’ve made these products, they’re going to want to test them, encouraging the user to go outside. The use of rubbish to create the items is also beneficial to nature as it stops some rubbish just being thrown away. The fact the user creates the items means no two kits will look the same.

Exhibition

I really enjoyed participating in the exhibition. I felt it was a really good opportunity to display my work, but also see what other people in the class had done, and see the difference between the different disciplines. I liked the feedback I got from other students and it was a nice way to finish off the year. It was quite a proud moment as everything I had done in the past year amounted to this and it was a great experience.

I decided I wanted to create a survival kit. I wanted to connect people with nature, so thought that something that’s intended use is in nature might help to encourage people to go outdoors.

I started doing a bit of research into whats stereotypically in a survival kit and deciding on what I should put in it. I thought about what I could make, things that weren’t too far fetched, but still essential. I eventually whittled it down to 5 things. A knife, A water filter, Rope, A signal mirror and  A water filter.

I then began to look at each of the items individually, trying to decide what materials to make them from and what shape and form they should be.

Signal Mirror

I got the idea to include a signal mirror as part of the kit from a cd. I had a load of old CD’s lying around, and a lot of people stream their music these days and CD’s are becoming obsolete, so I wanted to find a purpose for them. I found their reflective qualities and way of catching the light to be useful and a potential way of signalling someone, so included it in the kit.

I experimented with shape and form, trying to find the best way to catch the light, while also still being comfortable to hold. I found the triangles caught the light best, but weren’t comfortable to hold, so cut out triangle shapes and stuck them to a circle which a created from the cd case.

Water Filter

I was searching up ways on how to filter and purify water when I discovered this really easy method. You get two containers, put your dirty water in one then leave the other empty. you then get a piece of fabric and drape it across the two containers, the water is then transferred from one container to the other. This takes out all the dirt but then the water still has to be boiled .

I then thought about what different materials I could use to create this filter. I experimented with plastic bottles, as they’re a huge issue, but then I thought about how you need to heat the water after its filtered, so would have to transfer it to another container, so then decided to use metals, like cans and tins.

Knife

A knife is an essential part of a survival kit, I decided to try and create one out of found objects. I did this by creating blades out of a spray paint can, then stuck them together. I then cut a handle from cardboard, stuck it to the blade then wrapped the handle.

I experimented with different shapes of knives, and different things to wrap the handle in.

Rope

I wanted to create rope out of found materials. I took some wire and plaited it to make it stronger. This could be used for a multitude of things in a survival situation. This could also be done using lots of other things, such as old string or washing line, just any long string like item. The rope could also be worn like a bracelet.

Fire Starter

I found a way online of creating a fire using a battery and some tin foil. You simply take a battery and a thin strip of tinfoil, put the strip on both ends of the battery and hold it there. It can take a few minutes, but eventually it’ll heat up enough to spark a flame, which you can then use to create a fire. I liked this method as it was simple and used everyday objects which can just be found lying around.

Sketchbook Tour

https://vimeo.com/330830675

I started by looking at the initial product design board I created and the products I designed during that process.

I really liked the idea of creating products from found objects. I created a few products like this. I created lights and flowers, and flower pots out of old cans, I even went on to create a new product based on this idea, it was a stool created from plastic bottles and cardboard. I thought about it and looked over the brief again. It used found objects, but didn’t really reconnect people with nature, so I decided this might not be the best route to take.

There was one product I designed during this board which I really liked and felt it met the brief. It was an idea which was inspired by Dominic Wilcox. It was a ring which you attached to a perfect skimming stone, with string. This allows for the perfect skimming stone to be reused multiple times. This would encourage people to go out in nature, the user would go out and find their perfect skimming stone then attach it to the ring and string provided. The ring would be created out of found objects, such as cans. this met the necessities of the brief, so I looked more into this idea.

I wasn’t sure if this was the product I wanted as my final so I began to brainstorm issues that I wanted to tackle and how id be able to get people involved in nature. I started thinking about what people need when they’re out in nature and then considered the thought of a survival kit. A lot of survival kits are quite intimidating. I decided to create my own survival kit, made from found objects, meeting both parts of the brief.

Before undergoing this project, I conducted some research surrounding designers who’s values I admire and were relevant to the project.

I started by looking at Kevin Cheung. He creates objects, mostly music related, out of objects which would otherwise be scrapped. I really liked the music aspect to his designs. Music has a special way of connecting people together and as my project was about connecting people to nature, I thought there could be a parallel. Cheung created some really interesting products, as I’ve shown below, but my favourite would have the be the washing machine music box. This required user participation, its not something you just press a button and it plays but requires effort. I wanted to have an aspect of this in my design.

Another Designer I was heavily inspired by is Tejo Remmi. His work is almost sculptural, and not polished or very finished looking, but I think that makes his work more interesting. I feel imperfections could be interesting to explore in this project as its to do with nature and nature is very free flowing, and not structured or formal. Remmi also uses a lot of found materials. I will probably use found materials with my product so that I don’t have a negative effect on the environment.

I also took inspiration from the original inspiration board I created, mostly from the different companies I had looked into.