USEFUL AND UNUSEFUL OBJECTS

Product design is an articulation of material details and functions. There are several components

that constitute good design in a product such as the craftsmanship of a material, the resolution of its

details, the form of the product, the ease of use or of production, etc. This course stresses that the

understanding of material properties and an in-depth knowledge of crafting and design are the most

essential markers of a good product.

Often, it is the stories of the conception of a particular product that make them interesting. Products

are crafted around these stories and carry them as their histories and they become a part of the

design. These stories are manifold and this course leans towards stories of displacement, where

displacement is a concept that brings together unlikely processes, materials, or details to create

something wholly original. The encounter of this product or object is never without the element of

surprise, which makes the viewer renegotiate the positions of objects in relation to human practices.

These are examples that have adopted a similar process in their making:

1. An embroidery ring to a wall clock

2. A water can to a lamp

3. A cooking wok to a map

One of the cornerstones of this process is also that of discovery, where the participant immerses

themself in various kinds of environments - homes, markets, industries - in order to explore unlikely

possibilities that they might choose to develop into products, be acquainted with a range of

materials, be exposed to various making processes, and observe details that they could record. This

is an integral stage towards the building of the product and these ventures will be well documented.

Here, the marketplaces, industries, and other environments are considered ‘sources’ of material

information, the contexts and uses of certain objects, and also provide an insight into various

production techniques.

Methods:

The ‘surprise’ that seems evident when the product has taken its final form is actually the result of a

thoughtful and careful series of experiments that have their roots in an unabating eye for

observation. The data collected from the visits to the marketplaces, etc is organised and a process,

which is unique to each participant, emerges from this data which guides the crafting of the product.