#materialprocess

Object analysis and processes

We were previously asked to bring in an object to the second lecture. My object was a neon coloured synthetic ball of yarn, which was chosen because of the vivid bright colour and feel of the object. The guest from the lecture, Thomas Thwaites and the group analysed each brought object and discussed the origins of its making into detail. This made me think about the process of dying and I focused on looking at natural processes of dying and processes that have eventually progressed into a spectrum of synthetic chemical dying and pigmentation. It was interesting to look at the origins and break down of an object and the processes involved, it made me appreciate the objects a lot more and it made me appreciate looking at how far we have come in our innovative processes through design.

I wanted to look into the dying process and focussed mostly upon natural dying and examples of the first initial processes.

“Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens.”

“Typically, the dye material is put in a pot of water and then the textiles to be dyed are added to the pot, which is heated and stirred until the color is transferred. Textile fibre may be dyed before spinning (“dyed in the wool”), but most textiles are “yarn-dyed” or “piece-dyed” after weaving. Many natural dyes require the use of chemicals called mordants to bind the dye to the textile fibres; tannin from oak galls, salt, natural alum, vinegar, and ammonia from stale urine were used by early dyers. Many mordants, and some dyes themselves, produce strong odors, and large-scale dyeworks were often isolated in their own districts.”

Cochineal insect (red)

Cow urine (Indian yellow)

Lac insect (red, violet)

Murex snail (purple)

Octopus/Cuttlefish (sepia brown)

Catechu or Cutch tree (brown) Gamboge tree resin (dark mustard yellow)

Himalayan rubhada root (yellow)

Indigofera plant (blue)

Kamala tree (red)

Larkspur  plant (yellow)

Madder root (red, pink, orange)

Myrobalan fruit (yellow, green, black)

Pomegranate peel (yellow)

Weld herb (yellow)

References:

“The Next Big Thing”- Wallpaper* Magazine

After our last two lectures where we discussed future trends and “where are we going?” I was extremely excited after coming across this design cover from Wallpaper* magazine. This piece of Graphic Design was thoroughly inspiring in not just the process, but overall outcome and production of the piece. This material can have great potential in other designs whom Will Yates-Johnson has also used his reformable material “Polyspolia” within the series “Smash Objects”  that is also featured on the designer's website, featuring lamps with vibrant, unique imagery to each of his designed objects.

I found the designs and presentation of the material amazing and highly inspirational. This is a great example of an up and coming trend and new material that is featured within Wallpaper* magazine series “The next big thing”.

“In anticipation of our reveal of the year’s hottest future design innovators, we invited RCA graduate Will Yates-Johnson to produce ‘The Next Big Things’ –  the striking sculptural lettering that appears on the front cover of the January 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*202), our annual Graduate Directory. Here, we go behind the scenes from start to finish, observing a process in which Yates-Johnson utilises Polyspolia – a recyclable material that can be repeatedly broken down and reformed – to realise the 3D letters. 

'This is a joyful process of destruction and creation that enables products to accumulate beauty and depth as they are transformed through each remaking cycle’ says Yates-Johnson. 

Polyspolia is a proposal for a new manufacturing model in which an object can be endlessly broken up and remade, offering an alternative to consumer society’s expectations of newness based on the dream of infinite resources. When products reach the end of their useful or favourable lives they are disposed of, never to be seen again by their owner. Polyspolia proposes instead a new kind of relationship to material resources that makes visible the process of recycling, transforming and enhancing in beauty and complexity each generation of products. The composition of the material allows it to be broken into fragments and infinitely reformed into new products. The use of vivid and contrasting colours in each iteration gives a visual demonstration of this process, exchanging the uniform surfaces of newness for a complex, ever-changing aggregate. -The name Polyspolia comes from the Greek poly ('many', as in polymer) and the Latin spolia (‘spoils’). Spolia was the ancient Roman custom of reusing earlier building material to create new monuments, where no attempt was made to hide the older parts, which would be boldly displayed in the surface of the new structure. -Polyspolia is a chemical process so sidesteps a traditional limitation of recycling thermosetting plastics - its resistance to melting - and requires no external energy to create a new product. The production model incorporates all of the material from the previous iteration into the new one, thus creating no waste between generations. 

How the structure is created:

“A diagram for a radical system of production. Beginning with a single cast, the first iteration is crushed and recast with fresh material into two new objects. These pieces are tests of form, material tolerance, utility, desirability, value. A choice is made between the two, and one is destroyed to be cast again. This process could repeat indefinitely. By cutting into the surface and revealing the aggregate, the narrative connection between the pieces is recognised. This prolonged experiment illustrates how a system of production might create a nuanced object that encourages an appreciation of the resources that exist within it, and seeks to question our rates of consumption and waste. -Jesmonite, pigment, wax” 

“Beginning with a single cast, the first iteration is crushed and recast with fresh material into two new objects. These pieces are tests of form, material tolerance, utility, desirability, value. A choice is made between the two, and one is destroyed to be cast again. This process could repeat indefinitely. By cutting into the surface and revealing the aggregate, the narrative connection between the pieces is recognised. This prolonged experiment illustrates how a system of production might create a nuanced object that encourages an appreciation of the resources that exist within it, and seeks to question our rates of consumption and waste.“

The designs are made up of a substitution of colour choice and sequencing and experimentation.

References:

January 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*202)

http://www.wallpaper.com/video/design/the-making-of-the-next-big-thing-graduate-directory-2016-cover#phQrfrarM5tEYehl.99

http://www.wallpaper.com/video/design/the-making-of-the-next-big-thing-graduate-directory-2016-cover

http://whyj.uk/smash-objects

Gyrecraft from Studio Swine on Vimeo.

References:

Sea Chair By Studio Swine

Another great example of an ethically made design by Studio Swine: Sea chair, this piece of design is produced entirely of found plastic from the sea.

I found this a more purposeful and meaningful design than the GyreCraft pieces from studio Swine as I feel that this design has potential in creating other objects, and has purpose and use behind the outcome. (A chair that can be used within everyday living)

The stool is completely unique in it’s makeup as it is a process that cannot replicate the same object, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the process and I found the video amazing to watch, as it was something completely unique. 

References:

Lecture three Research:

In our third lecture we discussed “smart” materials and taking ethics into consideration as designers.

 This concept by Royal College of Art graduates Seongil Choi and Fabio Hendry have made a series of stools by running an electric current through wires embedded in waste nylon powder from 3D printing.

Unique practices and using design solutions to tactfully eliminate problems such as wastage are important factors with design practices. This article in Viewpoint magazine depicts the solution to the waste product, nylon powder with electricity to produce ethical, visual pieces of furniture and sculpture.

“Seongil Choi and Fabio Hendry – collectively known as Studio Ilio – worked together on the Hot Wire Extensions project, which uses a simple process to create solid objects. The process starts by building a shape from thin wire made from nichrome – an alloy of nickel, chromium and other metals – that fits within the dimensions of a cuboid container.”

“Whenever you print an object [using SLS], half of the volume of the material turns into waste and there are not viable techniques on the market to recycle this material,” said Hendry.

A battery connected to the ends of the wire sends an electric current of between 10 and 120 volts through the resistant metal, heating it to temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius.

“This heat causes the powder mixture close to the wires to melt and fuse together into a solid material. “You do a sketch with the wire and then transform it into a strong structure – growing the material around the sketch,” said Hendry. “The final shape depends on how close the wires are together and on how you construct it.”

To demonstrate the technique, the designers created 12 shapes that were used to make a set of stools.

Woven lattices, solid sections and thin legs were all created with various arrangements of wires. Other samples they formed during experiments with the process include a cylinder that could be used as a vase and containers for storing small objects. The longer the battery is left connected, the wider the girth of fused material around the wire becomes.

Most of the duo’s samples were created in 20 to 30 minute stints, while diameters of up to 10 centimetres were achieved by leaving the electricity running through for an hour.

References:

http://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/30/studio-ilio-electricity-form-solid-objects-wire-nylon-powder-3d-printing-waste/

Magazine page Image: http://www.viewpoint-magazine.com/vp36/#