FURTHER THOUGHTS ON DESIGN
I look at design as a process rather than an aesthetic outcome. Sure the result can be a pleasing aesthetic, but equally design might elegantly solve an engineering or environmental problem. Hence design can be viewed as both styling and invention. Design style is often linked to fashion. Most of what we call 'furniture design' is a styling exercise, with countless variations on themes some of which date back hundreds of years. However, fashion expressed through social culture seems important to us humans. Looking further into design we can see many solutions to the same need with different price points, and therefore different market expectations. We can differentiate the work of an artist/ designer, from mass product. We expect something more from the artist, especially as we also expect to pay more to gain that distinction. Is it unique, or limited in edition? Made locally, from ethically sourced materials? How long will it last? These are the sort of questions I find matter to my clientele.
Design and technology are linked, and despite the 'tradition' of cabinet or furniture making new technologies have had an impact. For example joinery (the practice of making wooden joints) is thought necessary to compensate for wood movement and to mechanically fortify the joint. This was particularly relevant before the advent of chemical glues. Animal hide glues barely lasted more than a few years, but now we expect decades of faithful service from our glues. While traditional joinery is still both beautiful and relevant, the artist or craftworker can now engage in expressive techniques reliant on contemporary material technology and the willingness to experiment.
I have been a tutor in design and woodcraft for many years and was co-presenter of Ex-Lab furniture design in the Architecture faculty at Melbourne University. This subject gives students the opportunity to engage with the symbiosis of design, technology and experiment, presenting new creative opportunities that challenge the notion of what furniture can be made out of and the aesthetic derived from it. In many projects alternative materials are developed from waste, or ubiquitous substances. It's the future of design. We know timber is going to become harder to source and I feel privileged to have that resource to honour now.
Design and technology are linked, and despite the 'tradition' of cabinet or furniture making new technologies have had an impact. For example joinery (the practice of making wooden joints) is thought necessary to compensate for wood movement and to mechanically fortify the joint. This was particularly relevant before the advent of chemical glues. Animal hide glues barely lasted more than a few years, but now we expect decades of faithful service from our glues. While traditional joinery is still both beautiful and relevant, the artist or craftworker can now engage in expressive techniques reliant on contemporary material technology and the willingness to experiment.
I have been a tutor in design and woodcraft for many years and was co-presenter of Ex-Lab furniture design in the Architecture faculty at Melbourne University. This subject gives students the opportunity to engage with the symbiosis of design, technology and experiment, presenting new creative opportunities that challenge the notion of what furniture can be made out of and the aesthetic derived from it. In many projects alternative materials are developed from waste, or ubiquitous substances. It's the future of design. We know timber is going to become harder to source and I feel privileged to have that resource to honour now.
FURTHER READING: Two titles to get started.
FURNITECTURE. Furniture that transforms space. Anna Yudina. Thames and Hudson. 2015
DIGITAL HANDMADE. Lucy Johnson. Thames and Hudson. 2015
FURNITECTURE. Furniture that transforms space. Anna Yudina. Thames and Hudson. 2015
DIGITAL HANDMADE. Lucy Johnson. Thames and Hudson. 2015