In Conlcusion; Designing Directly from Inspiration

This exploration of the process of design has been beneficial for me as it has broken down the act of creation into a series of steps.
I realize now the advantages of first examining your surroundings and the world around you and then distinguishing an idea or inspiration from that environment. The development of inspiration leads to research and the resulting knowledge of the nature of your inspiration forms a foundation upon which the first act of creation may actually take place. Here one must take into account the need for a material which will mirror or accentuate the intrinsic qualities of one's inspiration. With material properties in mind one is able to allow the inspiration to flow into that material and form the object rather effortlessly. At least the idea of the object, the physical creation or modeling of the object is still up to you obviously. But regardless, an object is created which may distinguish a function for itself or may be merely sculptural, either way I feel that the development of this process has opened up options for me to approach design in new ways which will hopefully prove influential to my development as a designer.

First Image

 

Final Form

Design Attempt 2

Another approach can be determined by using a different material. Instead of casting an object out of concrete I intend to have it cut out of sheet metal. But as my last model ended up being a table I have decided to stick with that idea and make a coffee table..

Here I simply cut the pattern into sheet metal and placed it on a simple concrete base, but was unsatisfied with the result and decided to use the pattern to shape the sides as well.

So here is my result. Let me know what you think folks

Creation of Form; Modeling in Solidworks

My first attempt at creation is hinged upon the inspiration I have been examining in my previous posts (nature) and a desire to let materials speak through my design. So therefore considering the image I have decided to use as a pattern in my design..

 this one..

 I have decided that concrete would be an appropriate choice of material as it can be cast and run along veins and form all the curvilinear and natural forms I want to achieve.

 

So this is the table I created but I'm not too fond of it. But it has given me an idea and a method of improving my design..

Design Preparation; Taking a Stance

Before I transition into the stage of taking what patterns I have created and beginning to create 3D forms I need to clarify for myself the foundation of knowledge I have accumulated in the last few posts.

My exploration comes as a result of wishing to better understand how the natural world finds its way into the process of developing design. The subtler arrangements and concentrations of matter which appear to be merely chaotic are linked through a universe of connections and relations which manifest themselves as designs. This example of design set by nature forms the basis of human design as well. I intend to approach design not with the notion of satisfying a need or fulfilling any predetermined purpose but by beginning with inspiration, applying a material which mirrors the intrinsic, natural qualities of that inspiration and allowing the two to build off of each other. Therefore, my next step is to apply a material to an idea.

Design Discussion; Buckminster Fuller on Form

Buckmister Fuller devoted a lifetime to his work and I have only a surface level understanding of the principles he has formulated, but this is the first time I have taken any interest in discovering the nature and impact of his thoughts and am only doing so as I feel his work relates strongly to the exploration I am also doing at this time. For instance, as I have previously expressed a dissatisfaction with the principle of "form follows function" Fuller has concluded something of a similar nature, which reads, 

“World society has throughout its millions of years on earth made its judgments upon visible, tangible, sensorially demonstrable criteria. We may safely say that the world is keeping its eye on the unimportant, visible one per cent of the historical transformation, while missing the significance of the ninety-nine per cent of over-all, unseen changes. Forms are inherently visible and no longer can 'forms follow functions,' because the significant functions are invisible.”

So here Buckminster is going way over my head, but what I do understand of it is a call to rethink design and to rethink our treatment of form. Fuller’s statement concerning unseen historical transformation is I believe referring to the advancements in thought and our understanding of functionality we as a race have made over the centuries. In this way forms cannot follow functions as functions are an inferred, ever-changing understandings of the capabilities of certain forms. Forms are physical, functions are just ideas. 

In the video below Fuller states, “When you get a complex of clearly differentiated behaviors that all accommodate one another this would be called a design,” and, “The human mind has been pulling the curtain aside discovering some of the great design of the universe itself.” These views both express an understanding of design as a natural result of our comprehension of the organization of the universe around us. In this way all design of which we are capable follows the example set by nature, as nature defines for us what design is. This is only my understanding of what he has said, but below is the video so view it for yourself and come up with you own ideas if you like. 

I imagine there are thousands of arguments which can be leveled at all I’ve said here and thats fine, feel free to voice opinions, facts, anything..

Design Discussion; Form Follows Material

How do material and form relate? How much of a role does material
carry in the form of the end product? It seems that in the conceptual
stage of design materials rarely have any influence and are instead
applied as an afterthought. This is especially easy to do in digital
modelling, for me at least. The notion of function based form has long
been accepted as a tried and true method, but I'd like to deviate from
this approach and ignore function initially. Instead I intend to account
for material properties at the onset of the design process. One
designer who has developed a body of work discussing the creation of
form and its materiality is Neri Oxman who, in the video below states,
"Ask not what
an object wants to be, but rather what a material wants to be." This
strikes me as a fascinating concept as it provides the opportunity for
the material to speak for itself.

Design Exploration; Deriving Design from an Object of Inspiration

As a designer it can often be difficult to understand how inspiration is triggered and an idea is formed. So, in an effort to better understand the process of developing a design I intend to approach design not with the notion of satisfying a need or fulfilling any predetermined purpose but by beginning with inspiration and following wherever it may lead. In this specific case inspiration comes in the form of a pretty dull natural scene.

So here I've deconstructed the image into something understandable sort of. Its nothing impressive but it is a stepping stone. And what inspiration I've gathered from this image comes as an appreciation of the seemingly chaotic nature of spanish moss whose intertwined masses of fibers gather into fingers hanging from the trees. Reminds me of a chandelier.

Design Exploration; Natural Patterns

Recently I have developed an interest in the relation between contemporary design and natural patterns. I would like to understand how the chaos of the natural world finds its way into the world of design. I realize there are probably plenty of studies and perhaps entire philosophies of thought examining this relation, but rather than read someone else's work I believe that by addressing this topic with a more exploratory approach I may be able to develop my own interpretation of the link between natural and man made patterns.

There are plenty of examples of obvious patterns occurring in the world around us but I’m not so interested in these specific occurrences as I am in the subtler arrangements and concentrations of matter which appear to be merely chaotic. I am interested in investigating these arrangements and studying how they may be implemented into my own design, as well as document the manners in which they have been influential for other designers.

So first, why not produce a simple manipulation of natural linear elements..

Here is the initial image I began to work with. I took this picture in Columbia, SC last winter. So scroll through to see the process I went through to manipulate the image in order to create different patterns.

So I realize that may have been a little overwhelming, but I feel like I was pretty easily able to manipulate the original image into some fairly interesting patterns, as well as experiment with the transformation of organic shapes into geometric arrangements.