change making 2022
Pearson Lloyd
change insight looking thinking planet space people place
changehome. making
In its 25th year, Pearson Lloyd has been reflecting on its work through the lens of these changes, thinking about what they mean for people, the spaces we occupy, and the world we call
Over the last three decades, the challenges faced by both people and the planet have evolved dramatically, becoming increasingly complex and urgent. In response, the values and priorities that shape the landscape of design have shifted, influencing what we design and how we design it, where we manufacture it and the materials we use.
iPhone, Bluetooth, Gen Z, globalisation, Covid-19, climate breakdown, Black Lives Matter, Trump, Brexit…
Even as our primary physical and emotional needs remain the same, through shifts in our political, social, economic, demographic, technological and environmental landscape, our values and priorities are changing. We believe that understanding the context in which we create work allows us greater insight into our possible futures.
changeFacebook,WiFi,#MeToo,graphene,
Planned Parenthood V. Casey World’s1997Teletubies1992first cyborg Kodak2007First2002iPhonegoes bankrupt Plant-based2012 meat First2022Metaverse2017GenAlpha graduates from 2027school European Union established 1993 Nelson Mandela elected as South African president 1994 First 1998iMac Euro launch 1999 Dolly the sheep dies Financial2003 crisis NSA2008documents leaked Greta2013 Thunberg climate Estimated2023Robot2018strikesretail15,000 satellites in 2028orbit Robotic weedingFacebook2029 launch First2004black US president 3D2009printed organs IoT2019COVID-192014connections to reach 83 2024billion DVDs were invented First1995offshore wind farm 2000 20019/11 Hurricane Katrina The2010Haiti2005earthquakeParisAgreement treaty George2015 Floyd BLM Estimated2020 world population Crewed20258,184,437,453mission to Mars 2030 Hotmail launch 8731996satellites in orbit First2006coworking space Brexit2011 referendum 2016DALL-E AI image generator 50%2021 chance of Earth hitting key warming mark Net2026Zero aviation 2031
The pathway of any design project is framed by multiple inputs and often widely different starting points; every project is unique. As we re-define the value proposition of design in society, the shifting needs, priorities and behaviours in response to the changing world are re-framing the approach to all our work.
commissionerusercitieshomemobilityworkplacehealthcareplanetbehavioursneedschanging insight insight opportunitiesobservationonevaluesuser
net zero new ways of making thinking through making productssystemsspacesservices experimentation repairableefficircularcientdurable transformationspeculationdiscoverynewhabitsthefuturewell made solving entrepreneurialproblemsthinkingnew ways of doing
looking
Photography: Luke Pearson, Tom Lloyd
The act of understanding the world around us is significant in all design work, as we absorb, filter and distil what we see, collect and touch. This tapestry of content and context is the scaffolding of the creative process.
thinkingThinkingspeculativelyoutsidetheconstraintsofaclientbriefallowsdesign to identify and test opportunities that emerge from research, and to provoke discussion around individual themes and topics. New Workplace Paradigms Teknion 2015
Design is both reactive and proactive. In a reactive phase, design seeks to solve problems that are presented to it. In its proactive state, design becomes more entrepreneurial and speculative. Research-led insight reveals opportunities for change, which does not always have a path forward through client relationships and project briefs. Research-led studio projects act as a form of ‘thinking through making’: exploring ideas and concepts that bridge reality and conceptual thinking.
VR Veil Pearson Lloyd 2022
HearWear RNID 2005
Capsule Travel Pearson Lloyd 2022
2022
thinking
Conceived as a means of creating a greater sense of modesty for the user and thus enhancing their engagement with the virtual experience, the language of the VR Veil stems directly from the language of the veil, and its ritual use in defining states of change. As soon as we place VR goggles on our faces, we withdraw from the physical world. Designed to give users privacy, disguise and protection from onlookers when blinded by a VR headset, the veil shields the face with fabric, creating a physical division and a sense of personal space. The VR Veil therefore allows us to express ourselves in the purest possible form, without the sense of being watched, or judged, for actions and expressions meant for another reality.
Since the beginnings of civilisation, humans have covered their faces. Across cultures, masks and goggles, hats and habits, veils and cowls all have varied roles to play, both functional and ritual: disguise, protection, decoration, comfort, concealment… They can be both practical garments and symbols of devotion – sometimes both simultaneously. More often than not, face coverings embody a duality of disguise and display: hiding one thing from the world, projecting another. Now, as virtual-reality technology advances, we approach a critical juncture. Our physical and digital experiences are converging to the point where we must now consider our real-world needs while inhabiting the digital space. As access to the metaverse widens and it becomes more immersive, we need to consider our physical location, senses and spatial ergonomics, at the moments we are travelling within it.
VR Veil Pearson Lloyd
Smart booking and seat allocation systems allows the service to reflect customer needs more accurately and to maximise the capacity of the cabin environment. In low-demand periods or routes, capsules can be allocated to cargo without disruption to customer experience or delays on the ground, minimising the carbon impact of flying low-capacity routes or times.
Capsule Travel Pearson Lloyd
Capsule Travel re-imagines the function and value proposition of air travel and challenges a conventional and rigid approach to space utilisation. Traditional class differentiation is replaced by flexible travel capsules that can be occupied by varying numbers of passengers depending on their needs, budget and Covid requirements. Families and business teams travel in their own capsule space, configured to reflect their personal functional needs, whether work, rest or play.
2022
planetAsdesigners,findingquality
through the act of making is a constant in our work. Today, the greatest shift in industrial design practice is being driven by an urgency to design outputs with both a significantly reduced and smarter use of carbon and those that deliver circularity. In the life of the studio, we have a duty to champion efficiency and durability – the core elements of circularity – as cornerstones of our design thinking.
Cross Chair Takt 2018
bFRIENDS Bene 2021
Healey Soft Walter Knoll 2014
Kin Allermuir 2019
Today, in collaboration with clients, consumers and supply chains, the models of making, distribution and consumption are in flux, as new systems and processes are tried and tested. Alongside users of products and services, the planet must now become a key stakeholder and co-beneficiary in all decision making about design.
Wayfinding and street furniture City of Bath 2012
Yorkton Workshops Pearson Lloyd 2020
Revo planetProfim
2022
Revo is a great example of how it is possible to challenge the status quo on behalf of the planet, representing a rethinking of the way upholstered contract furniture is made to help deliver a truly circular product in response to the climate crisis. Plywood, the prevalent material for carcass construction, despite being made primarily from wood, cannot be repurposed or reused following circular principles, due to its intensive use of glues. Replacing the traditional plywood base structure with REPP (recycled expanded polypropylene) maximises the potential reuse of materials and eliminates the use of glues or mechanical fixings that hinder material separation at end of a product’s life. The product is also 40% lighter than its timber-based predecessor, further reducing carbon usage during transport.
Using 100% recycled bioplastics, diverted from post-consumer waste, bFRIENDS is an ambitious project to develop legitimate closed-loop circular design principles in home and work environments. As an additive manufacturing process, 3D printing offers huge advantages over traditional injection moulding. Digital tooling eliminates the need for energy intensive mould making, print on demand eliminates the need for stock and warehousing, and localised production reduces transport costs and carbon.
bfriends Bene
2021
enjoyable and effective for diverse sectors and scales is the goal of every designer. Furniture plays a vital role in shaping space and the behaviours, atmosphere and experience of those who use it.
spaceMakingspacethatisuseful,
Routes
Teknion 2021
2016 PARCS Bene 2009
Polar Tacchini Pearson Lloyd
Zones Teknion
2006 1:1
2015
Across transport, workplace and leisure environments, there is a powerful three-way dynamic between people, the products they use and the spaces they inhabit. In hotels, trains, planes, and workspaces, the physical and emotional needs of both individual and group demand attention beyond its ‘interior design’. Issues including posture, privacy, acoustics, comfort and tech combine to make spaces either welcoming and useful, or antisocial and problematic. Paying close attention to space, how it is used and the diversity of need of those who use it, yields opportunities and benefits to all concerned.
2012
A Better A&E NHS
Implemented in more than 20 NHS trusts, A Better A&E is a set of design solutions aimed at improving the experience of patients and visitors in UK Accident and Emergency Departments. The key element of the programme is The Guidance Solution, which informs and guides patients through their time in the department using information graphics. Each element of this solution communicates essential information, greeting visitors on arrival and empowering them with knowledge about how the A&E department works, and what they can expect. By answering questions and clearly signalling stages of the patient journey, the system reduces frustration and minimises aggressive behaviour. space
Whether we’re designing for transport, healthcare or the workplace, some of the questions we find ourselves asking are: How do people who don’t know each other relate in a shared space? How can you give someone a sense of privacy without walls? How do you do this without isolating them?
1:1 Pearson Lloyd
As part of an exhibition of Pearson Lloyd’s work, the studio transformed the atrium of Great Western Studios in West London with an installation entitled 1:1. Each day during the show, 20 three-metre-long hollow timber boxes were reconfigured into a series of micro-environments. By witnessing how people in groups of various sizes used the spaces in their daily lives for meeting, writing, eating and drinking – we were able to study how furniture might be used to influence behaviour and manipulate space – ideas at the core of our practice.
2015
peopleThehumanbodyisanintricate
organism with multiple interfaces to the built environment around it. Furniture is perhaps the most specific and complex physical environment to inhabit as a human being. The biomechanics of the skeleton, blood flow, support surfaces and movement are all in play. Users yearn for functional products that support their natural behaviours. Designing with, for, and around the human body is an elaborate and multi-faceted practice.
Cobi Steelcase 2008 Riya Bene 2015
S200 TK Elevator 2021
PORTS Bene 2020
Avro Arconas 2022
The Totem range for Joseph Joseph offers a new way of separating household waste to facilitate recycling and help us reduce our environmental impact. Totem’s innovative horizontal waste separation enables the convenient division of waste without compromising on capacity or encroaching on precious space. It offers a cohesive alternative to awkward domestic improvisations, which often further complicate a household chore. The user-friendly compartments can be quickly emptied, neatly connecting to the strong vertical stand with integrated bag hooks that mean the system can be personalised to meet individual needs.
2015
people Totem Joseph Joseph
2021
Flow X Access BDD
Flow X and S200 stairlifts, designed originally for ThyssenKrupp, are probably Pearson Lloyd’s most complex ergonomic design challenge to date. Designed for people with reduced physical and/or cognitive facilities, the product challenge engages simultaneously in multiple variables, including comfort, safety and control. How to enter and exit the product easily; how to control the functions confidently; how to be reassured as to the safety of the journey. A unique folding mechanism at the heart of the design means that the chair takes up minimal space on the stairs when not in use. The design’s innovative arms unfold to provide support for sitting and standing, and can unfold fully to allow easy side access from a wheelchair. All user-operated controls are located on the arms, which rotate from an elevated yoke attached to the chair’s central spine and curved, supportive backrest. The resultant space beneath the arms allows freedom of the legs and hips while the user is seated. The controls have been designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible. The visual treatment of the product alludes to high quality domestic aesthetics, to help remove the product from the sense that it is a healthcare or disability aid.
Yorkton Workshops
Inplace2020,PearsonLloydcompleted
the rebuilding of a series of dilapidated workshops in Hackney into a new permanent home for the studio. Having made the decision to refurbish the existing buildings rather than pursue an earlier new-build scheme, the project’s focus became maximising the embodied carbon on site, and celebrating the physical history of the structure.
Yorkton Workshops is a building of two halves. A Victorian section is domestic in scale and houses meeting spaces and a ground-floor gallery. Its more modern half is a 1990s factory building, where the workshops and primary studio spaces are located. Original features have been retained and, wherever possible, the building’s constituent materials have been reused and recycled – including bricks, timbers and steels. This is not only a more energy-efficient, low-carbon approach, it also ensures the building conserves its history and stays true to its local architectural context. The size and versatility of the space creates an opportunity to use the studio as a laboratory for exploring new workplace models. Yorkton Workshops gives the studio the scope to ‘live-test’ new design concepts and workspace ideas in a real-world environment.
Pearson Lloyd 1-3 Yorkton Street London E2 8NH +44 (0)207 033 @pearsonlloydwww.pearsonlloyd.com4440
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in practice, we have worked with a brilliant group of people who will always be a part of our history. We could not do it without you
With Overthanks25years