RCA School of materials

20th January 2013

This week was the first in the series of work in progress shows at the RCA. Having been re shuffled into new schools the students - both first and second years- are showing their work mixed up between those disciplines within the new schools.

First was the School of materials that includes Fashion and Textiles and ceramics as well as jewelery.

As usual there were some beautiful pieces shown with an overall very polished look. There was not any one project that stood out - I am hoping the school of design will do that for me as it will be product design and design interactions showing then.

Here are a few students who's work caught my eye. I particularly like the happiness brooch that grows with the more happy people are from Hollie Paxton.

Frozen fabric

18th July 2012

Another example showcasing a moulding process, Jungin Lee, a recent graduate from design products at the RCA creates flexible plastic sheets that look like frozen fabric.

Lee has developed a unique process using a thin layer of jesmonite and fibreglass over the top of a screen printed pattern.

Screen printing onto a plastic sheet, Lee then coats it with a unique recipe and whilst the coated plastic is drying it can be formed into shape. When dry the plastic sheet is removed leaving the screen printed pattern transferred onto the fibreglass and with the appearance of a fabric that is frozen or captured in time.

Explandable Foam

17th July 2012

I have always had a fascination and mild love for expandable foam so I was delighted to see Makos Ioannides' work at New Designers part 2.

A series of open source furniture, his pieces explore fun and adventure with a sense of curiosity. Requiring board material, packing tape, nails and expandable foam the outcome is completely up to each individual 'designer maker' as he calls them.

In a similar vein the work of Dafi Reis Doron, a recent graduate from the RCA explores polyurethane industrial manufacturing processes. She has developed a process of creating furniture that 'grows' a tactile surface that has a fabric look and feel, whilst also being the mechanics of the piece.

Using the material that is usually hidden, she has poured the foam into the wooden structure and let it expand. The use of an open mould allows the organic shape to be part of the design and the foam the mechanics for the comfort and molding to the user in the chair.

Nacre

4th July 2012

One of my favourtie designers at the moment is Emile De Visscher who explores the boundaries of materials in entirely new ways. HIs latest project that was shown for his graduation project at the RCA explores issues of mass consumption and the notion that we have little time to actually appreciate what is in front of us.

Exploring the boundaries between science and engineering and bio mimicry, scientific nature and synthetic biology he has created a man made nacre - the material that pearls are made from.

A material that is revered for its beauty and rarity, it is also extremely strong, whilst being very lightweight. Applying the technology to a series of unexpected objects it can harden fragile objects or beautify the mundane.

Exploring the notions of slow design in a world where we have a thirst for everything instantaneously, De Visscher questions whether the slowness of mimicking nacre makes it more valuable in itself. Developing a machine that one watches the process unfurl adds to the attachment to the resulting object that has been coated.

Questioning the process De Visscher wonders:
[i']...do artificial pearls have the same value as real pearls? Does value come from the material properties? From availability? From the time it takes to make them? From the oyster? Pearls are not limited in shape anymore. With the help of science, we can now create new shapes and uses?' [/i]

Tear Factory

21st June 2012

Titled 'Tear, if you can smell it, it has mass' was one of my favourite projects from design products at the RCA. Exploring our relationship with scent and in some ways our lack of understanding of its impact from an animalistic perspective, Angela Bracco's project was poetic, contemplative and provocative.

Basing her project on a research study done on the response of men to having a woman's tear put onto their upper lip she has designed a conceptual 'tear factory' named Delilah project.

The study carried out in 2011 showed a notable drop in testosterone levels of men who had womens tears put on their upper lip suggesting a deeper hidden pheromone that we cant smell.

Exploring future potential ideas she hypothesies about a sad cinema - a place where sad films are shown and tears are harvested for future use. Synthetic tears are also created in her tear simulator (Delilah project) and administered in the future in an Emotional mist. Sprayed into the air or in booths were men can come to be 'calmed' the mist offers a way to distribute these future 'chemosignals' on a large scale.