Beginning of two I carried out more research this time looking into ‘Decay vs Nature’ specifically. Through this I found the ‘Future Non-Object Number 1,’ the product consists of a 100% biodegradable structure put in the ground of Roxborough forest. It aimed to help rejuvenate the area it resides as it contained a local fungus. The aim of the project was for it to be unnoticeable in the future as it will decay and become a part of the natural landscape. I took a lot of inspiration from this project. It shows that we can design fully biodegradable products that cause little to no harm to the environment however we live in a very disposable culture that sends tons to landfill each year. This inspired me to create something that shows the unnatural lifespans of our artificial waste.
Out of this I came up the beginnings of an exhibition concept. I came up with the idea of making a product or plinth so to speak from found objects that occur commonly in our lives and more importantly commonly in landfill. This would then be used to display plants, twigs really anything that occurs in nature. Then it would explore how the natural object decays against the rubbish. The spectator could look at how over a short space of time the flower has decayed and how the rubbish hasn’t changed state. I had worries about this idea, I knew that the concept had to be developed further but that wasn’t my main worry. I hate designing for exhibitions.
I’ve always felt that exhibition design has very little purpose to it, it tends to cater towards a more artistic scope. It lends itself to the elitist society formed out of the art community and appeals to a very select group of people. The people that visit these exhibitions already have an interest in what they are going to see, so the messages that the products are trying to convey aren’t reaching any new audiences. I do understand that this is my personal view and that there is a place for this style of design in the community, but It just doesn’t resonate with me as a designer.
After a quick chat with my lecturer I had a few places to do further research into, the main one of which was designers Dunne & Raby. I looked into their book ‘Speculative Design.’ The main point I took from it was the way they used design not just to answer questions but to pose their own questions. They allowed the ‘user’ to have their own unique answer and emotions to the design. Their quote; “speculate more—about everything—reality will become more malleable,” sums it up for me. Design doesn’t just have to fit into the world it can sit on the outside of the world and pose questions to it – its relevance could come over time. They aren’t just talking about their own speculation to come up with their designs they are also talking about how people speculate about their products.
Personally, I didn’t find many of their designs too inspiring but took some inspiration from their outlook to design. One project I found relevant to my current project is;
‘DO YOU WANT TO REPLACE THE EXISTING NORMAL?’
‘If our desires remain unimaginative and practical, then that is what design will be. In this project we are hoping for a time when we will have more complex and subtle everyday needs than we do today. These objects are designed in anticipation of that time. Patiently waiting. Maybe they are utopian.’ (Short background from website)
The design is based off a question much like the idea I have imposed on myself of ‘What is Nature?”, their final design does very little to answer the question. They created an example of what it could be in the future and allows the users emotional reaction to answer the question themselves. They have shown me that Designs don’t necessarily need to be a commercial product they can be designed to evoke emotion – I can try to use this idea to evoke emotion in my users to make a change to the environment.
After this research I was more open to continuing to develop my current idea and theme but still wanted to twist it in an away that suited my personal opinions more. I now had to think of a design that would manage to encapsulate my theme and live up to the message. I began by exploring forms, looking at shapes that occur in nature and shapes that are artificial. I wanted to use these forms to highlight the unnatural elements of the materials. At the same time, I was also using my research on pollution to come up with possible materials, I was considering the obvious plastics but also looked into concrete pollution and forms that could be derived from that. I also looked into converting old crab traps, these are designed by humans to directly go against nature and many are left at the bottom of river beds, and the ocean causing harm to the area. From all of this I came up with some basic models exploring from and the concepts.
Initial Sketch Models –
