SEMANTICS & MAKE/REMAKE SEA SPOON
Luis de Sousa PD Year 1 - May 2014
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INTRODUCTION The Make/Remake project made us consider how consumers make their choices when buying a product. Several aspects need to be considered, such as the form and material. In the first part of the project we were asked to investigate about our assigned product and rebuild it by experimenting different materials and techniques. On the second part, we had to redesign our product based on the experience we acquired previously.
INDEX
SEMANTICS......................................................................................p5 Part 1 - Ray-Ban Presentation................................................................................p6 Part 2 - Developing an Individual Persona..............................................................p7
MAKE..............................................................................................................p9 Investigation & Moodboard................................................................................p10 Baked Spoon.....................................................................................................p11 Oak Spoon.......................................................................................................p12 Silicon Fish Spoon..............................................................................................p13 Aluminium Spoon..............................................................................................p14 Ice Cream Scoop...............................................................................................p14 Measuring Spoon..............................................................................................p15
REMAKE: SEA SPOON...............................................................................p17 Concept............................................................................................................p18 Model Making...................................................................................................p19 Final Model.......................................................................................................p21
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SEMANTICS
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RAY-BAN CLUBMASTER PRESENTATION In the begining of the Semantics project we were divided in groups of three and assigned an object, in our case, Ray-Ban’s Clubmaster glasses. We were requested to investigate about it and make a presentation about our findings at the end of the week. Our investigation was based on the brand and model’s history, target audience, materiality, technical details and its place on popular culture. It was very interesting to discover such information about an object that we are so familiarised with, and tend to forget all the complexity around it.
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DEVELOPING AN INDIVIDUAL PERSONA For the second part of Semantics, we all had a user persona and an object assigned and were required to create two moodboards: one would reflect the persona’s life and character, while the second would be about the assigned object we chose for the persona. My persona was a little boy named Edward,11 years-old, who wanted to be scientist and liked to watch Dr. Who. The object was a working bag. For my persona’s moodboard, I decided to focus on Edwards interest for science and how, as an inteligent kid, that thinks about the world; how it was made and how it evolved through time. Nevertheless he is still a young child who plays with his toys from Gross or Dr. Who, amongst others. As for the working bag, I chose a solar backpack, where Edward could charge his ipod and game console by using a clean source of energy, since he cares about the environment. Also, since Edward is quite shy, it is also a good way to interact with and make new friends at school.
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MAKE: SPOON
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INVESTIGATION & MOODBOARD In the behinning of the Make/Remake project, we were separated in groups of four and assigned an object that would become our product until the end of the project. Our group was assigned with a spoon, and we would have to investigate about it and present a moodboard for the next tutorial. My investigation was based on history, different types, materials and makers. I decided to focus on the history of the spoon being offered as a gift mainly during the 16th and 17th centuries, and how I could bring that simbology back to life.
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BAKED SPOON This spoon was my first experiment. While I was making scones at home, I thought about using a small part of pastry and mold it on top of a tea spoon. I baked it in the oven and since some parts were too thin, it burned quite easily.
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OAK SPOON The Oak Spoon was made at the workshop and it took around 3 hours to finish. It was an enriching experiment due to different techniques I was able to explore and quick change of design while I was making it. It was relatively easy to create the basic shape however it took a long time and a lot of hand work to make it simetrical and round on the edges. Most of its sanding was made by hand and it was finished with wood treatment oil.
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SILICON FISH SPOON For the Silicon Fish Spoon I wanted to play with materiality (silicon) and colour, and therefore opted for the fish shape. The mold was made in foam and the silicon took around six hours to dry. The result was quite disappoiting as the foam absorbed some of the silicon and the spoon was not strong enough to be held in hand or hold any kind of liquid/food in it.
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ALUMINIUM SPOON The Aluminium Spoon was made from an aluminium sheet that I cut with metal scisors. The spoon was larger than usual and since it was hand-cut it was not as well finished as the others.
ICE CREAM SCOOP Unlike the Oak Spoon, The Ice Cream Scoop was mainly made with machinery and as little hand work as possible. This process made its execution much faster, however less detailed and precise.
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MEASURING SPOON For the Measuring Spoon the process was shared between hand and machinery and its form was a variation of the most common spoon, which turned into more interesting object. The holes were made with a drill and the basic forms with a belt sander, however the finishing details were handmade. Due to a mark of the drill in the recipient, I had to use white paint to cover it, however the that part also serves as measurer as it defines the two table spoon mark.
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REMAKE: SEA SPOON
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CONCEPT For the final model I wanted to pursuit the first idea I had mind at the begining of the project, which was to recreate a spoon to be offered as a lifetime gift. Since I wanted to keep a family of spoons as in the first part of the project, I opted for different spoons, that would have one same handle in common. In order to maintain that old symbology associated with the gift, I wanted to use an old spoon handle as a mold for mine. I visited vintage shops looking for a relevant model and was very surprised when I accidentaly found an Apostle Spoon, that was that same model that used to be offered in ceremonies in the 16th and 17th centuries. As for the spoons, I initially wanted to create a set that would accompany its owner through his lifetime, starting as a baby until its old days, with different shapes adjusted to physical needs at each stage of life. During one of the tutorials I was advised to not categorise the spoons that deep as it would need much more investigation
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MODEL MAKING As in this spoon there were so many references to an old heritage and form, I wanted to build it with contempary materials that would create a fine contrast and originate a delicate and light piece. To reflect that, I chose to make the handle in fibre concrete and the spoons in ceramics. Since those materials were not availabe in the school, I opted for similar looking alternatives that worked as expected. For the cable I made a mold of silicon, using the Apostle Spoon and created a final piece in jesmonite. I had to repeat the process three times, as the jesmonite takes a few days to settle completely and I accidently broke the first models within hours. As for the spoons, I used milliput due to its white color and firmness. I then coated in a liquid solution that once solid gave it a white glossy touch, working as replacement to ceramics. I started by making some milliput pieces using real shells as molds, in order to test the materials as well as the shapes. Once that was tested out, I started working on the final pieces. After sketching and defining the shapes, I made molds in clay
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FINAL MODEL The final result was presented in three different spoons with specific purposes, all fitting in the same handle. These four different pieces work as family, where the handle serves as the connector. Triton Spoon: The triton spoon is inspired in the Charonia Tritonis sea snail. Its singular shape allows to lightly spread cream or sauce, better controlling the desired amount. Donax Spoon: Based on the Donax Variabilis shell, this spoon is meant to be shared with someone we care. Oyster Spoon: As the name recalls, the Oyster Spoon was based in the shape of the Crassostrea Gigas shell. It provides the same functionality as a regular spoon, however the shape was redesigned in order to allow us to hold the spoon in a different position creating a new experience.
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CONCLUSION Make/Remake was a project that made us consider the aesthetics of objects. Why this shape? Why this materiality? Who is made it for? It made us reflect on the semantics of things, looking for a meaning behind a product. In that sense, each of us was assigned with an object to investigate, experiment and re-design. My object was a spoon, and I started to research about it in terms of history, forms, makers and materials. I was particularly interested in the history and simbology associated with spoons throughout the centuries and my moodboard reflected that. It started with examples from bones and shelfs, evolving to Phoenicians, Egyptians, Middle Age, Renaissance and finally contemporary items. A specific spoon caught my attention: the Apostole Spoon, originally from the 17th Century, that was offered as a gift for religious ceremonies, especially baptism. Many countries still maintain that tradition nowadays, in fact I received silver cutlery for my baptism. After investigating about our objects, we started the Make part, in which the main goal was to make our objects in different materialities and experimenting new techniques. My first atempt was to bake a spoon using scone pastry, and then started working with wood, aluminium and silicone. In that part of the project we spent the whole time in the workshop, developing our objects and re-designing as we were making them. It gave me a deeper knowledge of materials, techniques and machines, however at the same time it was almost as therapeutic, as it made me feel very relaxed. Using my hands and changing the design as I was working on the objects was very intuitive, nothing was overthought and precisely planned as I would just change according to contraints faced during the process. In the Remake part we had to re-design our object and I knew exactly that I wanted to develop the concept of the spoon being offered as a lifetime gift. Bearing in mind the history this product would inherit, I wanted to make an allusion to those past spoons in terms of shape, but using contemporary materials instead. In order to find old spoons I went to vintage shops, where for my surprise, I found an Apostole Spoon just like the one I investigated earlier and I immediately knew that was the form I wanted. Being a gift for a lifetime I wanted to create a single handle that would hold different spoons for different periods of human life. My first idea was to create different spoons that would adapt according to the age of the individual, starting as a baby and ending as an ederly person, however I was advised in one of the tutorials not to racionalise so much as it would require deeper investigation. That made me re-think my project and question myself about how I could create a spoon for different life periods. Picking again on the use of shelfs as primitive spoons, I created three spoons based in the shape of shelfs that would serve different times and utilities throughout its owner’s journey. The final rmodel was made in jesmonite and milliput coated in a glossy liquid solution in order to ressemble concrete and ceramic. The materiality demonstrated a certain roughness from the concrete, associated with the delicatesse of the ceramic, which resulted in a product adequately sophisticated .