Tag Archives: material

Western design has effectively permeated the global aesthetic culture. You can go to any country in the world and see either the influences of Western design, or the objects of Western design themselves (iPhones, cars and SUVs, Nike sneakers, glass skyscrapers, Coke cans, high heels and sport coats, bicycles, sunglasses,...

Rapid prototyping has been a tool used by the design, engineering, and architecture fields since the advent of computer-controlled fabrication systems in the 1990’s. The basic methods have been either additive (stereolithgraphy, 3D printing) or subtractive (CNC machining). Additive methods slowly “grow” the part within a build chamber out of...

Designers in the Premium/Luxury categories have always striven to differentiate their work from the great unwashed teaming masses of regular consumer products. In trying to communicate “I am better than you”, products in these categories have relied on such design levers as length (stretched limousines), height (top hats and rooftop...

Traditionally in design, an object’s form takes priority. Once a form is finalized, then it is subsequently broken up into pieces for production, via parting lines, panels, segments, or assemblies. With the Paneled Surfaces trend, the construction methodology becomes the aesthetic: arrays of discreet panels interlock to define a surface,...

We are surrounded by objects that are constantly fighting for our visual attention. From consumer electronics like TVs and smartphones, to consumer packaged goods like cereal, detergent, or soda, from fashion to furniture, the products we depend on in our lives are always shouting “Look at me! Pay attention to...

Some aesthetic themes arise purely as a counterpoint to an established visual mode. For decades, we’ve surrounded ourselves with increasingly polished, seamless, perfect objects; from smartphones to automobiles, the stylistic vector has been ever towards shiny, sleek, rational, and technological. Made by machines, with all hints of an artisanal human...

The interplay between the organic and the geometric is at the heart of the Geo-Organic category. This trend is very closely related to Geometric Form/Organic Matrix, but inverts the relationship between form and structure. Whereas the previous theme employs highly rational, primitive, geometric forms supported by a chaotic cellular internal...

In keeping with the Juxtaposition category’s deliberate fusion of disparate ideas, this trend focuses on the union of both form and material, and past and present. This one-two punch of clashing design elements and design eras tickles our creative minds in all the right places. Using this method, we see...

The 2000’s is the decade that designers, in all industries and categories, rediscovered texture. As Minimalism moved through the aesthetic landscape, highly simplified, clean, understated forms became predominant. However, to offset the potential visual boredom these simple shapes can suffer from, designers sought to break them up with the juxtaposition...

There are only so many colors in the world. Despite Pantone’s claims to “invent” new colors, many of today’s designers are obsessing less about which exact PMS to specify, and more about how transparent it should be. Chromatic Gels is a trend that is finding traction from Architecture to Furniture:...