2018: Product Design + Ceramics

Product Design & Ceramics

Ethel Adary Time: An Illusion?

This project combines product design, in its functionality, and conceptual art, as its main purpose is to create reflection and introspection.

Inspired by philosophers and artists from different fields, the simplicity of this chair hides a lot of thought put into its making.

Its rough aspect, mimicking ceramics, aims to illustrate the passing of time and the erosion of materials, whereas the composition of the chair, actually made of plastic, contrasts and creates an interesting paradox and questions the use of material and its longevity. The inside reveals a completely different aspect of the product. With the changing colour of light and the comfortable cushion, it invites the user to relax

and reflect. Made originally to aim the reflection on time, the light’s shifting colours replicates the sun, referencing an era when the sky was our only clock. When fully inside and the top of the chair is closed, the user is completely cut-off from the outside, creating a Schrodinger’s cat-like experience.

Dhruv Aggarwal Optimising Space

This product is made to optimise space in student accommodations.

There being less space in the rooms of the students leads to mess and confusion. With all the user’s belongings not having a specific place to be, the room stays messy.

The room therefore seems smaller than it actually is.

With this product, students will be able to better organise their rooms, and have a much larger space to move around in. The product will be marketed to student accommodation, but the end user will be the student.

The product being multifunctional gives more creative freedom to the user to use the product as they wish.

Nikkita Ahuja Washing Funnel

My project’s main focus was to create a washing tool that a person from any socio-economic background can use. That is why, the tool I created has functions for both indoors and outdoors. Its primary purpose is for use on a bathtub tap. It slows the water while creating a beautiful, new water flow and, if you choose, filters the water with the elastic, detachable filter. It can also be used outdoors while washing, playing, practicing a religious ceremony or anything else due to its portability, with the added bonus of filtering the natural water.

Chi Cheng Cristian For the Group Suffering in the World

This bench is for people who have no place to sleep. I don’t want to call them homeless people because everyone has low-points in their life.

Some of them may lose everything in one night. We will all suffer from distress. I want people to feel a little warmth and have a private space when they are in low ebb.

The back of the chair can transform to the roof of a shelter. The curtains on the edge of back plank have two shutters, which can slide down to guard against wind and cold weather.

The real product would use metal for the legs of bench. The shutter should be made of waterproof cloth.

Brandon Chukwuoma Home Space

I have designed a functional product – a chair/desk that is able to rotate into a worktop table. Using small spaces as a focus point, the product you’re able to see has been influenced by student accommodation rooms, and has been developed in order to minimise the use of space, but increase usability. The final outcome has been fabricated using laser-cut plywood and acrylic.

Omotola Falase Tranquillity

Inspired by the nukhasana pose from hatha yoga, this stress pillow has been designed to align with the contours of the resting human body.

It encourages users to maintain the pose, which has been proven to help alleviate stress.

Made from memory foam, the pillow, as well as providing comfort and stability, also offers temperature sensitivity and pressure point relief.

The small balls on the pillow make the design tactile and help distract the user from anxious thoughts when fiddled with and the open-cell structure of the foam also performs well in distributing calming aromas from scent capsules placed inside, to further calm the user down.

Ejay Freeman Re-motivated Spaces

The environment in which we study can strongly affect the level of concentration and motivation of a student. After analysing which aspects of Archway campus students are negatively affected by, a proposed modification of the Product Design classroom and the ground floor layout have been made. Through the use of mirrored ceilings to cover exposed tubing, the limited light in the classroom has been enhanced. A new table model built around the central columns aids spatial preservation.

Finally the use of glass walls between classrooms to provide both individual and collaborative study areas helps facilitate multiple learning styles.

Jingxing Fu Through Misty

I aimed to combine functionality and decoration in this project. It is a display board, and users can hang their personal belongings on the protruding hands. This home decor also is kind of wall art. The many hands emerging through the fog have subtle meanings to promote enlightenment. Put the display board up on the wall to create stylish accents. The personal belongings that users hang also reflect part of their individuality.

Samuel Georges Vehicles to Play

A series of products were developed to stimulate the educational needs of deaf children aged between six and eleven. I worked closely with staff and students at The Frank Barnes School, a school for deaf children in London.

The series includes a vehicleshaped bookcase incorporating a small portable car-ramp with flip-cars and toy vans with a set of magnetic letters. The final pieces were constructed using various combinations of plywood, carefully joined and finished.

I would like to thank the pupils and staff at the Frank Barnes School for their encouragement and support during the project.

Anne-Marie Goh Mindfulness

Unspoken is a set of four circular vessels with a wooden attachment that acts as the top/cover. Designed to help first world residents between the age of 16 to 25 achieve some tranquillity in their fast-paced lives, Unspoken is an elevated tea light holder encompassing a minimalist design inspired by lagom and ikigai.

Its name implies that words are sometimes unnecessary in our daily lives and we can attain happiness even without communicating with others. Users are recommended to take ten minutes away work, study or even technology upon lighting a tea light to indulge in themselves and their natural environment.

Lily Jung The Third Place

These are stackable coffee cups designed to be used in public places. With the image of cluttered urban landscapes in mind, the cups were designed to represent the homogeneity existent amongst people sharing the same space.

It can be efficiently carried as it is securely stackable and can be used decoratively when not in use.

In plan view, it is shaped as a + sign; its form carefully considers aesthetics and storage. A wooden model was made for plaster moulding, which was then slip cast. Individual patterns were imprinted by hand and glazing was applied as a finish.

Ikki Kawanishi Litany

The project theme is a spatial solution for people suffering with depression.

I intended to capture this creativity through material investigations and samples that explore materiality across all disciplines.

I focused to capture a moment of light through the exploration of shadows. This aims to express the grayscale between black and white.

As a result, I made a plant of light.

This work is supposed to be exhibited in a small space like a bedroom.

The plants, like ivy, consist of long textural pieces knitted from split mesh fabrics. The ivy crawls in the room and liberates people’s suffering by absorbing their depression as nutrients.

Nick Landon Cruelty

The two bags I have designed and made highlight two large industries involved in the production of leather: the tanneries that dye and preserve leather and the cruelty to animals.

My hessian bag, based on the tote, provides an oversized look with the use of a hose pipe as a handle. My leather bag is based on a clutch bag and aims to shock rather than to look glamorous, symbolising the cruelty animals have to suffer for our materialistic society. On the hessian bag I have sprayed ‘I will look right’ as a statement for the fashion victims of today.

Nicha Lapevisuthisaroj You Don’t Know the Wolf’s in Sheep Clothing

Through this project, I explored the concept of belief systems and how people can use them, to help and guide them through life. I looked at how certain objects are symbolic in black magic. I believe that the objects I have designed, are spiritual products that are appealing and non-threatening.

I used ceramics as it is perceived as fragile and is also, often used in the production of sacred artefacts. Babies are fragile and need protection, although paradoxically, in black magic myths, baby dolls provide protection for their owners.

Jessica Lee Spirited Street

This is a sustainably designed bench, using recycled plastic and natural materials. Forty wasted milk bottles were reused in the design to create the plastic sitting boards.

This biophilic bench is designed to bring the beauty of nature into the urbanised streets of London. Two trees that grow through the holes in the middle express the plants’ strong endurance to grow through hardships, and also function as a shade for the users. The bench would be located in big public squares and entertainment areas in London, such as Granary Square.

Zijin Ling Living in Bed

This is a model of a bed. It can provide a safe space and supplies when disasters such as earthquakes hit. My idea is that the cupboard near the bed is usually open, and can be used to store items or hang clothes. When danger comes, you can pull it over to protect the space, sliding the bed down to the next level. When the bed slides down, two cabinets which are normally blocked will be exposed: one containing food and water supplies, the other one revealing a light bulb. My design is for people who can’t escape when the earthquake comes. They can be protected in bed, and consume the supplies while waiting to be saved.

Garrett Peiyang Liu Simply Relax

In Chinese culture yaotai represents the spiritual mountains where the gods live and I believe that the life of a god is both wise and willing.

I have referenced the form of the mountains within my design, hoping to bring relaxation to work spaces and employees within busy working offices.

The main function of my product is to act as a desk divider and to create private spaces. The divider can also be used to introduce plants to the work place, bringing a natural atmosphere to the office. The magnetic qualities of the fabricated steel, allow information to be organised and arranged by simply attaching magnets to the surface.

Yuling Liu Put Down the Phone and Enjoy Life

My project is about helping people to put down their phones and enjoy life more. The product I have designed is a vending machine that people can rent outdoor toys from and store their belongings in. I want to use outdoor games to diffuse people’s attention from their phones. This machine shares resources and people can play whatever they want at any time for a low price. The model is made from wood, but the real product would be made from steel. The making process involved cutting, fabrication and spray finishing. The product’s target market is phone addicts. It would be placed in large outdoor spaces such as parks.

Amel Mire Living Space

My design is dual-purpose system which that can be used for both dining and as a conversation area.

It aims to define a space of social interaction within smaller homes. The design features sofa-like floor chairs, as well as a collapsible table which allows the systems to accommodate up to twelve people. The design takes inspiration from low seating and tables found in Middle-Eastern, Indian and Japanese cultures, providing an alternative to the formality of the western living room and its elevated seating.

Rowena Potter Plants Indoors

My product is aimed at people who aspire to a clear and calm mind space. My design intends to transcend the cluttered and urban city lifestyle creating an oasis of calm by utilising natural elements, attributes and materials.

The light, designed for the domestic environment, contains house plants. The transparent materials used within the design, emphasise the use of water and also allow the light to emanate through, casting shadows onto the surrounding surfaces. A water plant occupies the top bowl and a tap is included for hydrating the plants below.

Ana Cristina Quintero Ruiz Culture Crossover

I believe that our differences make us unique but our similarities join us together. In a decade where racism, inequality and bigotry have ruled over the media’s headlines, it would be nice to see for a change how we can, and do, share a space.

Therefore, I have created a toy for children aged 3 to 6, to teach them about acceptance, coexistence and tolerance. It is a celebration of what unites us all. The set of dolls are made from laser-cut MDF. They are later painted and glued together.

Finally, magnetic hearts are added.

Hang Jae Shin Korean Wave: Food Culture for Europe

As a young Korean designer, I am interested in the growing enthusiasm for Korean cookery and restaurants.

Converts to this exciting cuisine find, the dolsot-bibimbap and pork belly barbecue amongst their favourites.

Through my design, diners can enjoy the dolsot-bibimbap’s nurungj, a crispy rice dish. They are able to use the iron lid to enjoy their pork belly barbecue. Diners can also enjoy a fondue with the forked chopsticks.

To develop the design of this piece, I have explored the aesthetic of tiled rooftops and patterns, often found in traditional Korean architecture.

Dongfang Tian The Culture of 18th - 20th Century and Contemporary Tableware

When setting out to design a tableware set, I researched ceramics spanning from the 18th to the 20th century. Through this research, I enjoyed by the delicate surfaces that I found within the antique ceramics and also the purer forms of the more contemporary 20th century designs.

My tableware set blends this antique delicacy and nostalgia, through the use of vintage laces that I used to create surfaces on the slip cast pieces. The simplicity of 20th century minimalist forms can be found within the shapes that I have created by manipulating the casts when they are first removed from the moulds.

Fiona Tran The Blue in Us You

The Blue in Us You originates from my awareness and desire to capture the flickering moments in my everyday environment. I enjoy how contrast is created within the vast skies above us, through endless variations of forms and colours.

The medium of photography allows me to seize this moment, exploring how passing moments become permanent and appreciated in a new perspective through the viewer’s own narrative.

Utilising slip cast ceramics, I created a set of earthenware plates.

I decorated the plates using brushon glazes, illustrating the forms and colours of the sky through these abstract illustrations, employing the plate as a canvas for my illustrations.

Hsin-Yu Tseng Decorations through Daily Lives

Taking decorative objects from daily lives, turning daily rubbish into decorative objects and subverting the image of iconic packaging.

Coke is the most popular drink all over the world, but it is not a healthy drink. I was thinking of using milk bottles to make people think of their own health problems.

My project works with ceramics, in order to create different pieces from what we see in daily life, by combining various materials including denim, acrylic, and string. The ceramic pieces have been decorated with colourful patterns.

Erica Tung Mending

I have designed a series of stitched tableware pieces made of slip cast ceramics, decorated with gold leaf and wire. I designed and produced the broken fragments of ceramics and reinstated their function through stitching, re-attaching and repairing.

Inspired by the traditional Asian mending technique Kintsugi, I aim to encourage people to mend and repair more readily, a concept that I believe is lacking in our contemporary throwaway culture.

My products can be located at home or at work. The delicate gold leaf celebrates the fragility of ceramics and the preciousness of the objects we own.

Daphna Turbowicz Structured Society: Exploring the Social Concepts of Seating Structure

I have designed a public seating area for students. It is to be located in Bedford Square Garden, a busy university area.

I wanted to create social furniture to bring people together which wasn’t just another chair or bench, but a structure to sit on, stand on, or lean against. Each piece is able to stand by itself but has more power when arranged with others.

In order to make the design more playful, I attached mirrors to get the students’ attention, assuming that they will look at themselves, take photos and enjoy the space with their friends. The structures are made of steel, finished mostly in red with orange, green and blue variants.

Digby Usher Hidden Identity

What if we could identify people through digital footprints?

This is a prototype of a concept model with the aim of creating an arcade claw, which is a very popular analogue form of interaction. It is a frustration, which often leads to a very disappointing outcome; I am attempting to create a relationship between the physicality mechanism and the digital, the context of the value of an iPhone being in what they hold.

How they move, socialise, tracking their spending, while containing biometric data on fingerprints, apps and photos.

Although very anomalous objects they hold all our information, identity, social friends and our behaviours contained on this inanimate object. They are cast in a physical way allowing them to be smashed, resulting in the user receiving a link to a website, containing data on an identity behind that iPhone.

Laura Weir On the Go

My final design is a wall feature that allows users to grow herbs in a structure which they can fill with water once at the beginning of the week and won’t have to keep on watering the plants. This is done with hydroponics using wick theory – a wick connects the plant and the water source (which is in the main structure). I have used plastic tubing and mirrored plastic to make the final model. The intended user would be someone who is very busy yet wants to be healthy. The product would either be wall mounted or can stand on its own. It is intended to be used in the kitchen. I think this product is unique as it gets rid of the problem of herbs dying as people tend to be too busy to remember to water them.

Beth Williams Dismantle

Made using dismantled wooden clothes pegs, these three hanging lights – each of a different size and shape – are carefully constructed to create individual forms held together by a red thread and hung from a distinctive woven cord.

The aim of this project was to explore and experiment with the process of dismantling objects and using the components to construct new structures. Throughout the project I experimented with many objects and ideas. The wooden peg is a ubiquitous object, cheaply produced but with an interesting form. The light refracts from the wooden surfaces creating a warm natural glow, which would complement many modern interiors.

Andy Wu Atmosphere

I believe that light is essential to everyday life, not just for illumination, but also for positivity and a sense of well-being. Through my design, I attempt to improve the user’s state of mind and well-being, through the atmosphere created.

I originally looked at bubbles, which are interesting as they have no set form, they are almost transparent and yet iridescent in colour and they play with the light in an engaging way.

Bubbles are almost weightless and they also have a temporary nature.

The concrete used in my design gives weight, solidity and permanence to the final piece.

The light is designed for an interior space and would be used when people want to rest and relax.

Shangjie Wu (Betty) Table Top for Celebration

The aim of my project is to encourage people to celebrate, share food and inspire social activity and communication amongst family and friends.

Birthday parties are an opportunity for celebration in any country or culture, a time for family and friends to get together and enjoy company and hospitality.

A birthday cake is often the main attraction on the table, so I designed a set of tableware to encourage enjoyment through meeting friends and eating cake.

Within my tableware set is a cake stand, which also functions as a vase and cutlery container, a tablecloth, napkin set and also a set of cutlery.

Youxing Ye Anti-theft

I have linked the bike seat and security lock together so a thief cannot steal any part of the bike. The lock chain is stored neatly inside the seat tube, and when people need to lock their bike, they only need to slide the chain out and lock the bike. The chain is long enough to lock the bike rack and the back wheel with a lamp post (or similar) on the street.

Hwajung Yoo Piety

There have been many religions in the world for a long time. It has greatly influenced people’s values and lives by empowering people to gain psychological happiness and strength. Religious rituals require many principles and objects that are used as a means of expressing noble feelings and respect for the absolute.

I have designed for people’s piety and devotion, visualising complex and conceptual ideas. Representing Jesus’ physical suffering, I experimented with the shapes and colours of my light by using nails, breads and wine. This light would help people keep their faith and reflect themselves, reminding of people of his sacrifice.

Yang Zhang Long-Distance Cycling

I love cycling. From research I noticed that during long-distance cycling, the bike saddle can become uncomfortable, even painful. I have designed a saddle with a suspension system inside the seat tube for reducing the shaking during the bumpy and long cycling journey. For the saddle I decided to use leather.

The main tube would be made of carbon fibre – comfort combined with lightness.

Dongmin Zheng Zen Cooking

After gathering data using a questionnaire, I realised that many of users have difficulties with kitchen organisation and storage. My target users are those who passionate about cooking every day.

This functional storage box can contain many spices and condiments within a small volume. The design is inspired by Zen, a belief in Buddhism, a symbol of wisdom and comfort in everyday life.

Wood and bioplastic are sustainable and safe alternatives to metal.

Each drawer has a magnetic pressure catch. I designed a threestep mechanism to increase the playfulness of this product.

Francesca Lili Zheng Less is More

This project attempts to question the issues raised through the problem of overbuying. The project hopes to raise awareness of this issue: from its impact of the environment, right through to the impact on peoples finances and also space for storage.

I have designed a series of hanging clothes organisers. The transparent compartments help people to see how many similar items they already have, and to plan forward, deciding on what to wear from day to day.

Using transparent materials is a simple design device to encourage people to consider, if they really need any additional garments or what could be recycled.