I have learnt a lot about myself through the challenges that I have faced during this module (The Nature Disconnect).
When I’ve thought about nature within a project, its always been about taking inspiration, never making a product that includes things from nature. This is something that I struggled with because I couldn’t think of ideas. The three disciplines all having the same brief made it easier to see how they all cross over and their differences. Before this module I was considering if I wanted to change from Product Design to Digital Interaction Design. Once these boards were made, I could see that although both follow the same stages of work, the research for Product Design is more interesting to me. The part I found most interesting was seeing products that were made by natural wood.
Time management throughout this whole project has been a problem for me. I found that I couldn’t keep track of all the things I had to do. I spent most of my time working on this project in my flat instead of at the studio, this impacted my progress because when I came across a problem there wasn’t somebody for me to ask which left me stuck for long periods of time. From these struggles I’ve learnt that working for long blocks of time is not a good idea for me. I have come to realise that even though I worked for a long time I was getting drained and tired, so I wasn’t working as fast. In the future I’m going to change my work method. It might seem that I will be getting less work done but it will add up. I’ll stop working late into the night; getting proper sleep will allow me to get up and move into a better working environment.
This project gave me an insight into what working in the real world will be like. As a designer when you are given a job you must do it, you can’t slack and leave it all to the days before it must be done. I’m going to get more projects that I might not love but I will still have to put in 100%. From interacting with my peers, I know that even if I create a design and don’t like it, it doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it, it all depends on a person’s view on it.
When I do research, I usually only look for similar products to get an idea of what is already available. I used this style of research for the A2 boards but when I moved on, I decided to do more in-depth research. Researching designers really helped me because I got to see how they use natural resources and their design processes. This is something I will continue to do in the future as it helps me on how to approach the topic.
Charles and Ray Eames are a married couple behind the Eames Office company. I was influenced by their products made by curved plywood. Their designs look simplistic but when you really look, a lot of thought had to be put into the design. Sebastian Errazuriz is another designer I investigated. I was intrigued by his thought process and his use of natural form within his designs.
Nature was a big struggle from the very beginning. Nature isn’t something that I focus my designs on, it’s not something that would draw my attention. The use of found objects confused me even more, when out looking you can only pick up a couple of the same things. It’s hard to create a design when you don’t have enough material. I decided to just use sticks because you can find tonnes of them. Found objects also influenced what objects I would use because unlike plastic and metal that can be moulded; natural objects are hard to change the shape of without breaking. I now know that its easy to say something will be a material, but I must think further into what can be done to that material.
This project has helped me to understand that nature is underappreciated, and it is becoming harder to find. People who live in cities are missing out on the benefits that nature provides. Our world is being destroyed and it is our own fault, we are not looking after the land that gives us such beauty. Maybe not everyone wants to or can go out and spend time with nature. Having something nature themed which can be added to a home is a small step into reintroducing people to the nature that is around them.
If someone was to ask me what I have learned from this project I wouldn’t know what to say. This isn’t a type of project where I have learned specific skills that I could name. I feel like I’ve learnt hits and tip that I will use in future projects. I’m continuing to learn about myself and the best ways for me to work. Although, I am glad that I have learned the things that I have I am even more grateful that this project is finally finished.