PHOTOCHROMIA by Madison Maxey

ABOUT

Photochromia is a project from “The Crated” a design studio which Madison Maxey is a part of it. For this project she worked with a company called Print All Over ( digital printing partners) to create clothing that changes patterns in response to light. The trick: photochromatic inks, which are made up of molecules that turn transparent when exposed to sunlight. The technology has been around since the mid-1800s, yet it still feels futuristic when applied to clothing. The clothing line includes baseball caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, backpacks, and more.

CREATOR

Madison Maxey is a around designer. She builds prototypes, writes codes and likes in generally to experiment at the intersection of design and technology. Her interests lie between 2nd generation wearable technology, additive manufacturing and computational design. Her main focus is The Crated a Innovation studio focused on developing 2nd generation wearable technology. They Believe that the key to productive wearable tech lies within the realm of fiber science. With this in mind, they focus on performance & responsive materials and soft circuitry.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

One of the most important rule in this project is the fact that she could realize this project with the digital printing partners Print all over me. A Online platform where everybody is able to collaborate, create and produce in real world. Another rule is the fact that Photochromia’s technological abilities are pretty basic; disappearing ink doesn’t perform nearly as many sophisticated tasks as some of Maxey’s competitors, like Ralph Lauren’s Polo Tech Shirt, which tracks biometric data from the wearer. she thinks that opening up how we think of wearable tech with projects like hers and others will help prepare people for what wearables might look like in the future.

COMMENTS

This kind of Projects are very investing in the way the designers work with new technologies and processes to create new and new ideas for the future living. For me it is wonderful that we  live now in the beginning of a new post digital era where old knowledge, techniques can be combined with new never before seen technologies to create individual and innovative projects with we are able to continue through open sources and platforms.

Links

http://www.madisonmaxey.com

https://paom.com

Of Instruments and Archetypes by Studio Unfold

 

ABOUT

A range of wireless digital measuring instruments; a calliper, measuring tape and protractor. Measurements of physical objects are transferred in realtime to an on-screen digital 3d model on which it needs to fit. Through this project, measuring becomes something without numbers, but with accurate precision; measuring becomes making. These instruments can then be used in an application where archetypical, parametric objects can be customised with exact measurements and materialised by digital production techniques such as 3D printing.

CREATOR

Studio Unfold is a design studio from Antwerpen witch ask a lot about the future role of a designer and how is it changing in a time when design and manufacturing become increasingly more digitized? This question is key to understanding the work of design studio Unfold. The studio, founded in 2002 by Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen after they graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven, develops projects that investigate new ways of creating, manufacturing, financing and distributing in a changing context.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

One of the typical ways/ rules how unfold is working is the fact that they often collaborating with a vast network of kindred spirits and specialists, so the collaboration is the most important thing in there projects. The try to merging aspects of the pre-industrial craft economy with high tech industrial production methods and digital communication networks which makes them to a perfect example for a innovative and experimental open design office.

COMMENTS

I really like this project because they try to make a bridge between old craftsman tools from the past and new digital production ways like 3D printing. The Idea to create a digital measuring instruments; a calliper, measuring tape and protractor is really clever because in future we will need this kind of tools to manufacture our own products etc. Unfold  is also nominated with this project for the prestigious Designs of the Year award issued by Design Museum London!

LINKS

http://unfold.be

Hong Hao Things

ABOUT

Hong Hao starts with scanning objects and goes on to reconstruct the whole image using his PC. Though the chosen items (what he calls “My Things”) can be common object from our day-to-day life such as money, trash, chocolates, medicines, and things in a round shape, and there is hardly any specific meaning in each, the unparalleled enumeration of cumulated objects in his works brings a strong impact on us, and we can not help feeling the sense of awe. As is often the case, the assembled and repeatedly used objects in our everyday life tend to be catabolized when it comes to their functions and meanings, yet this is not the case for the works of Hong Hao. While money, chocolates, and books, all these bring happiness into our life, we all know that teetering over the edge leads us to facing misfortune in a pit on the way.

CREATOR

Hong Hao was born 1965 in Beijing and made his first education 1989, at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing where he was studying print-making. Typical for the work of Hong Hao is that he’s collecting day-to-day life objects which are not really special for the normal user, and ask with his work what the function and meaning of these things are for us. He shows also how people deal with waste in big cities like Beijing where he also lives. In his work is the chaotic state in which he lives and also the outcome from the sensibility of the experience of the dramatic change in and around him.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

the essence of Hong Hao’s work is basically the technique that he’s using (scanning) and the fact that he use the visual strategy of quantity to make is arranged pictures powerful. This small and for us not worthful  things became in this way  more importance and make the picture to one big thing witch is also a bit frightening if we think about how much waste we produce.

COMMENTS

Even this project is not untypical Opendesign Project it is still very interesting to see how Hang Hao put’s the views on a important problem of wasting stuff that we not even perceive in our big city lifes. Hao shows how interesting it is that we collect unworthiness thing without even knowing it in the way we waste them witch is a fact that with is part of our biology development.

Rope Masks by Studio Bertjan Pot

ABOUT

The rope masks from studio Bertjan Pot came out of the idea to tell stories, this started as a material experiment. As he wanted to find out by stitching a rope together to make a large flat carpet. Instead of flat, the samples got curvy. When he was about to give up on the carpet, his work partner Vladi came up to him with the idea of ​​shaping the rope into masks. The possibilities of this idea turned out to be endless, so he’s meeting new faces every day.

CREATOR

Is the dutch product designer Bertjan Pot (probably better known as Random Light). In his way to work he always starts with a material research, which is basically the starting point of each product created by Studio Bertjan Pot. The outcome is usually an interior product showing a fascination for techniques, structures, patterns and colors. Most experiments start quite impulsively by a certain curiosity for how things would function or how something would look. From there Pot takes on challenges with manufacturers to explore possibilities and push the boundaries a bit. The reward for each challenge is a new one.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

The rope masks cannot be done by every person who wanna stich its own mask, because the technique is not published which makes this project more personal but not open. The fact that the collection is made out of the motivation of fun is one of the most important rules. I think Berjan Pot expands with this project his own personal collection which is more an art piece of the ironic translation of everyday faces.

COMMENTS

The very nice part in this project is that the mask idea came out of a mistake or misunderstanding of a material test what makes this project more interesting and spontaneous. Every mask is a unique piece, coming out of an impulse or inspiration that’s different and new every day.

LINKS

Studio Bertjan Pot

PETITS VOLCANS

ABOUT

Icelandic design collective Iiif who made a glassware collection comprising five vessels that represent different types and stages of volcano.

CREATOR

Liif (Agla Stefánsdóttir, Sigrún Halla Unnarsdóttir & Thibaut Allgayer)

PRODUCTION

CIAV Meisenthal (French)

RULES AND RESTRICTION

Liif created a (vases & bowls) collection which are inspired by the five different stages of a volcano. The different stages are called: The submarine volcano – The dormant volcano – The subglacial eruption – The lava eruption and the final stage The crater lagoon every object shows one stage. Each product is made by two glass blowers blowing simultaneously, each responsible for one part of the product.

COMMENTS

The reason why choosed this project is that i really like the way how they came up with the idea of making a collection of glassware whos inspired of the different levels of a volcano eruption, this includes not only the idea shapes and colors but also the technique how they are produced.

LINKS

http://iiif.is/PETITS-VOLCANS-1