MADE BY MORRIS
D
i
OLENT Perfume lasts longer infused on ceramics.
Smell is an abstract, invisible and wearable sculpture independently open to interpretation. For some, perfume creates an olfactory distance between two people. Wearing a fragrance immerses the person, creating an invisible barrier between the individual and outside stimulation. For others, it becomes a subconscious insight into the personality of the wearer. By wearing a scent, you project and communicate your identity directly into the olfactory system of strangers. Whether bespoke or generic, perfume is an invisible, identifiable attire.
Each perfume is constructed by composing an intricate balance of different notes. The top notes, typically sweeter, are detected instantly but fade fastest. Whereas Base notes take longer to develop. When the perfume is worn directly on the skin, perspiration and movement disrupts composition. Additionally, fragrances do not sit on the skin long enough for a full range of base notes to emerge. My initial research indicates that perfume, when applied to hair or clothes lasts longer compared with being worn directly on the skin. Further investigations showed that ceramics absorb scent without disrupting the harmonious composition. Additionally the ceramic held the scent for over one week. The spectrum of scent notes are diffused from the unglazed ceramic.
Olent | Perfume bottle as viewed from underneath.
HOW TO ABSORB THE LAST DROPS OF PERFUME ?
The interior shape of the bottle mimics the shape of the necklace. Doing this ensures that even the last drop of perfume is absorbed.
HOW DOES THE GLAZE AFFECT INTERACTION ?
People prefer to touch the glazed area of the ceramic therefore by purposefully applying it, the glaze is used to alter interaction.
THE BEST SHAPE
The larger the surface area the more perfume absorbed
WHERE DOES THE CHAIN LIVE ?
The perfume bottle acts as a jewellery box
Olent | Necklace absorbing fragrance
Olent, meaning scented, is a re-design of fragrance interaction. The ceramic, scent infused necklace carries fragrance away from the skin to sustain perfume and retain the clarity of the perfume.
Olent | View from above of necklace and bottle
Olent | Different necklace styles, Below. | Open and closed lid, Left.
MUTUALISM Designed together for intuitive living
My side chair is a tribute to Bauhaus Functionalism, reducing the amount of objects to the minimum necessary, allowing the aesthetics to be driven by use. The chair tells a story of how objects are naturally re-purposed to accommodate easy living. Providing extra warmth and comfort, blankets, when not in use are often displayed over chairs. This habit has developed as we predominately used blankets when seated. Therefore blankets are stored where they are used. The behaviour enables the aesthetics of the chair to be changed frequently, washed and easily adapted.
Mutulisum | Blanket attachment, Above.
| Model Kieran Slater
Mutulisum | Blanket interaction
| Model Tamara Dautzenberg
We benefit by bringing the two objects together. My design gives both of the objects the same structural language by creating a visual affordance. This permits and influences the user to see the objects as one therefore benefiting from the mutualistic relationship.
Mutulisum | Chair joint detail, Left.
| Blanket interaction, Above.
| Model Tamara Dautzenberg.
Mutulisum | Research trip to Hitch Mylius
PIGGYBACK STOOL Lightweight, stackable stools.
The piggyback stools are designed to be lightweight and easily carried. The dowel seat creates a strong linear pattern, which changes as the stools are stacked. The frames are CNC cut from plywood, The simple construction means the stools easy to assemble and suitable for flat-pack design.
Piggyback Stools | Making
TABLE SPACE Versatile desk divider for shared spaces.
Flexible third space offices are encouraging designs to re-think the way we work. Smarter environments aim to improve both productivity and employees well-being. New spaces create different problems.
As office environments are becoming multi-functional, the spaces must adapt. Workers are found to be happier when they could see and interact with each other. However these open space desks encourage talking and distractions. My design is a versatile desk divider that enables the user to adjust the space accordingly. One side of the design is padded with sound reducing felt, the other is a magnetic pin board.
Table space | Finding the right Grey
SILVER RINGS Geometric stackable sand-cast rings.
As a designer I believe that good design lasts a life time. I also believe that it is human nature to desire new objects. My ring project investigates the way in which objects transform. The rings can be worn individually or stacked. Additionally, they can rotate to face either direction, enabling you to create multiple combinations. The two rings permit the user to interact with the design and create their individual shapes.
Silver RIngs | Mould Making and Silver Casting
PEG WARDROBE Archetype re-design for the nomadic lifestyle.
The clothes peg wardrobe is designed for generation rent. Due to increasing house prices people are renting for longer and frequently moving. The peg wardrobe looks at temporary accommodation and the modern lifestyle.
Inuse
being carried
Objects should reflect the way we live. My design is an adaptation of the wardrobe, breaking it into the minimum elements. The design is inspired by the versatility of clothes pegs and is easily assembled in a matter of seconds.
MANIFESTO
I believe in making design matter. For me, design should engage, excite and inspire. Design should have influence, so that we behave intuitively, instinctively and emotionally. Encouraging a better quality of life through simple design communication. To make design matter, products must have meaning. I am fascinated by the way we understand and interpret objects. It is interesting that all we need are two dots and a line for us to identify the human face :) I am enthralled by the human urge to recognise human life in inanimate objects, giving emotional meaning to the designs we encounter. My work explores the way in which we form opinions based on memories and familiarity. I use affordances and a knowledge of archetypes to enhance instinctive understanding. Experiencing objects or places for the first time creates a childlike naivety, where you are not restricted by conventions. Whilst forming habits enables us to navigate and understand our environment with ease. It also creates an unobservant familiarity to both the clumsiness of unconsidered objects and the simple genius of everyday design. I find design insights when I study objects, people’s opinions and interactions.
My design methodology is that I initiate projects by investigating and observing people’s idiosyncratic behaviours. An anthropologicallybased approach supplies structure and direction to my work. Research is imperative, as it becomes a referral guide to the decision making process. People naturally become problem solvers, altering their behaviour so objects work as required. I look at the behaviours and input my designer’s imagination, developing objects we use every day so they compliment the changes in modern life. My methodology gives identity to my designs as it creates a unique visual language, describing the story of my research. My work communicates though visual affordance, those subtle differences, which permit influence and interaction. Having found the identity of my object, I work with a range of materials. Identity and appropriateness is important for my designs. All materials present a unique tactility and subconscious opportunity. Each project requires material exploration to discover its contextual properties, and the most appropriate medium to enhance the essence of an idea. Materiality and multi-sensory stimulation are important to my work. I consciously create congruent objects, which interact with the senses. Enabling my objects to form an immersive, emotional design experience. Good design makes complex ideas understandable. Simplicity is a way to identify the design intention. Designers like Naoto Fukasawa particularly inspire my work, as he values the interaction between people and objects both physically and subconsciously. Affordance and visual understanding direct the aesthetics of his designs, which I seek to emulate in my own practice. Additionally Kandinsky’s work inspires my approach to form. His use of line communicates emotion through balance, composition and colour. My designs aim communicate emotion and meaning through the use of abstract, subjective forms.