Practices Record 2020
RIO CHEN
INDEX Part I. ULTIMATE HAPPINESS
DISCOVER UNKNOWN WOULD BAG
7 17 31
Part II. LIVING LABORATORY CITY FOREST
SPACE TRIPPER I
PRECISION by pal.
43 45 47 49
the TELLER
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further info
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This is a record of design practices from 2016 to 2020, all the contents belongs to the author and collaborators named in the describtion of the project. Do not copy the contents without permission, need any further information please contact via email.
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Rio Chen JIUN-YU CHEN Currently a graduate student at SAIC with Design major, he sees himself as a communicator in objects, graphics, and talking.
SKILLS
software / fabrication
PTC Creo , Rhinoceros , Rhino CAM , SolidWorks , Keyshot , Adobe Creative Suite Wood / Metal working, Mold-making / casting , CNC fabricating
jchen54@saic.edu riochen19.com Linkedin: Rio Chen for resume and more info, please check out Linkedin page
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material
photo credit : Jonathan Allen
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Part I.
Part I. In Part One, I've selected some of my best works to demonstrate three different pathways to communicate: Critical issue, Material, and Crafts.
critical issue
ULTIMATE HAPPINESS material
DISCOVER UNKNOWN crafts
WOULD BAG
7 17 31
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critical issue
ULTIMATE HAPPINESS
Fast-food is our shortcut to Utopia.
finished date : 2020 May material : Paper, polypropylene, and silicone The UH collection by Rio Chen is under the Whatnot Studio 2020 by School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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photo credit : Jonathan Allen
dimensions : Fries Pack 108 x 63 mm / Nugget Pack 120 x 82 x 25 mm / Veggie Pack 171 x 120 x 31 mm
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critical issue
NEW HOT
I n t h i s f a s t- pa c e d e r a , p e o p l e e m b r a c e c o n v e n i e n c e and consume a massive amount of food in spite of the environmental and health consequences. The UH collection materializes the cheap, happy spirit of fast food culture and also the waste, junk, and unhealthy nature of our beloved comfort food. Silicone foods, pre-dipped single servings, and over-packaging comprise the objects in the UH collection and foreground the sentiment that utopia is embedded in deepfried culture. UH‌ is Ultimate Happiness. 7
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Part I.
critical issue
â–Ş from left to right, Nugget pack, Fries pack, Veggie pack (with a slice of cheese, tomato, and lettuce).
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*1 Research from US CDC/Fast Food Consumption Among Adults in the United States, 2013–2016
Part I.
The more money you make, the more fast-food you eat.*1 The decision of making a single package of nuggets, fries, and vegetables is to maximize the image of uncommon sense. The possibility of lower prices, or to highlight the healthy part of fast-food options. The single package stands out like a unique container for unique content. "This is the ultimate nugget that I ever need!" Or is it? Emphasizing the affordable and healthy diet image that is oddly positioned within the industry right now. Overpackaging is another issue we have been dealing with for years. Under those attractive single packaging is all about waste. Plastic waste to be specific. This is also the reason I chose silicone to cast these fast-foods. 10
critical issue 11
â–Ş this page, sauce dipping process.
Percentages of parent's beliefs in how adolescents should eat a healthy diet. High SES family
90%
Mid. SES family
85%
Low SES family
70%
Percentages of how often have parents denied adolescents' requests due to health concern. High SES family
96%
Mid. SES family Low SES family
54% 13%
Is junk food the only indulgence people can afford? According to the interview/ research by Priya Fielding-Singh*2, both wealthy and poor kids asked for junk food, but the statistic shows how parents react differently from three levels of SES*3 catagories. For parents raising their kids in poverty, having to say “no” was a part of daily life. Their financial circumstances forced them to deny their children’s requests — for a new pair of Nikes, say, or a trip to Disneyland — all the time. This wasn’t tough for the kids alone; it also left the poor parents feeling guilty and inadequate. Next to all the things poor parents truly couldn’t afford, junk food was something they could often say “yes” to. There are a lot of things that bring joy to the kids, maybe junk food is the most affordable and approachable one. When we think of fast-food, we mostly connected joy with the image of convenience and cheap. This is the Ultimate Happiness. *2 "A Taste of Inequality: Food’s Symbolic Value across the Socioeconomic Spectrum" by Fielding-Singh, Priya. 2017. *3 SES: Socioeconomic status.
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* notice that filter is used on this photo
material
DISCOVER UNKNOWN the potential of Rosin.
finished date : 2019 May material : Rosin ( Colophony ) collaborate with : Yu-Ling, Lien
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Part I. dimensions : various 14
material
The prevalence of plastics is exacerbated by the human desire of consumerism. Imagining polymers with a primeval and distinct look appears in our daily life. It alters the stereotype of polymers which shows the talent of primitive material. Therefore, tracing back to the origin: the natural resin. Rosin resin, as source material from pine, contained materiality strength and extraordinary external aspect. These multiple features show the potential of using rosin as a foundation of the experiment that can apply the talents to create everyday objects.
Natural Resin Some of the most accessible natural resins besides Rosin resin are Rubber and Damar resin. The former used to have easier procedure or lower cost in development and the latter is more common in printing technique or food additive. Both of them are either hard to extract or having lesser ability to form in solid. Unlike Rosin resin, acquiring marvelous color and luster like amber but more ubiquitous in our life.
Rosin from the Pine tree Rosin, which is extracted from the pine tree, is widely used as source material with the features of electric insulationË´ antislip Ë´ high transparency but fragile. Maybe some of you acknowledge Rosin as a violin partner, with its high friction feature, Rosin are used as maintainence to make the string of violin bow maintain its sound quality. At the same time, the friction that we mentioned also caused a sticky glue-like texture in Rosin. Despite the fact that liquified Rosin is hard to be molded into shapes, it still has the potential in versatile phases and beautiful luster. We planned to strengthen the material structure by blending various ingredients together.
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Part I. rubber
damar resin
rosin resin
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material
the Experiment Within three months, we have tried over forty kinds of natural and artificial ingredients working through the trial to explore the accessibility and possibility of composition via physical transformation. Finally, in order to increase the density and toughness, we added amber wax and soap base separately. From the testing trial we have made, there are three of them which are more stable than others. Which are Gelatin, Amber wax, and Soap base. In order to test further possibility, we mix amber wax and soap base together. With the advantage of durability and tenacity, different proportion mixtures are set up to experiment. Finally, we have the result of 1 : 2 : 50, which is soap base / amber wax / Rosin.
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* For more information about rosin testing trial, please contact via email.
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material
Phase One : Solid Form After Rosin being optimized, the further structure testing with larger mass can be started. We use wood mold base to finish the process. One of the benefit is convienient, we can easily built up a wood mold with our handcraft skill and material. The other benefit is that by slowing down the dropping rate of temperature, we can strengthen the liquid Rosin at the same time. This side table perfectly presents the rosin's outstanding performance of adhesion. The brass stool stuck into the Rosin without component parts, you can even sit on it like a chair without a doubt.
dimensions : 265*265*825 cm finished date : 2019 January material : Rosin ( Colophony ), Galvanized Iron, SLS printed part
â–Ş right, the tall side table with brass and rosin.
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â–Ş left, wood mold base filling with rosin and brass stool.
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Part II.
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material
Part II.
Phase Two : Application With the success of Phase one mass casting process, we challenged ourselves with a diverse formality. The result turns out incredibly eye-catching, this material works well with glass and different metals. The reflection of Rosin creates an elegant optical ripples. This application of Rosin shows the potential of being a part of home decoration.
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crafts
WOULD BAG
finished date : 2017 May material : wood, leather, plastic ABS technique support : Shiue-Yi, Su 23
Fa
Creative Bags Design Award 16th Silver Prize
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dimensions : backbag 450*340*140 mm / briefcase 450*300*80 mm / handbag 250*120*126 mm
Part I.
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crafts
Part I.
What if we reverse the normal logical thinking of a bag? For this project, I am honored to collaborate with Taiwan’s to p w o o d c r a f t s m a n S u . We c h a l l e n g e d o u r s e l ve s to imagine the most uncommon thoughts of a backbag. Our ideas are initiated from the style, function, etc. Then we target on the material. We have never seen people using a bag like this, which is a wooden bag covered with plastic shells. In our childhood, toys and candies were usually packed inside a box with a plastic cover on it. Things inside the box look even more attractive, and that is the miracle we want to create.
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crafts â–Ş this page, a hand bag and a briefcase. 27
â–Ş the opposite, a backbag.
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Part I.
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objects
Part II.
Part II. In Part Two, I've gathered my best examples of creative ability in product design, skecthing, and renderings.
LIVING LABORATORY CITY FOREST
SPACE TRIPPER I
PRECISION by pal. TELLER
43 45 47 49 50 30
objects â–Ş this page, living laboratory : houseware decorations combined with Taiwanese bamboo and cement.
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Part II. We use the Taiwanese native bamboo ‘’Phyllostachys edulis’’ as the main character of this collection of home decor. The most crazy and innovative part of the project is the balloon. People take advantage of creative balloon to shape form out of their ideas. Therefore, we use balloon to fill the cement, with the diversity of its possibilities, we are looking forward to achieve the unexpected form. The combination of bamboo and cement works perfectly as a warm-native cultural artifacts. From candlestick to newspaper rack the variety of the living-space products we create are just to name a few.
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objects
Part II. “The world needs more warm design instead of cold, heartless electronic products.” City forest, a shrinkage of the urban scenery on a floated city, includes a speaker, pen holder, wireless charging and USB ports. This stationery object sets to change the scenery on the desk.
▪ this page, city forest : a home decor/ product design where aesthetic meets functions.
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â–Ş this page, precision by pal. : a smartwatch design involves with user cognitive research background. 35
â–Ş the opposite, space tripper I : a retro space age virtual reality headset.
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further info ULTIMATE HAPPINESS The UH collection by Rio Chen is under the Whatnot Studio 2020 by School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Due to COVID 19', the NYC DESIGN 2020/ Wanted Design Brooklyn is canceled. This project is featured on Whatnot Studio 2020 Website, SightUnseen Offsite, and Dezeen VDF website. For more information about this project, please visit riochen19.com
Detail information of Part II. LIVING LABORATORY finished date : 2018 January material : bamboo, cement technique support : Shiue-Yi, Su CITY FOREST finished date: 2017 June material: electric component, SLS printing technique support: Shiue-Yi, Su SPACE TRIPPER I finished date: 2018 July material: plastic, SLS printing collaborate with: Te-Yen, Hsu PRECISION by Pal. finished date : 2018 May material : stainless steel, leather, plastic, SLS printing collaborate with : Yu-Ling, Lien
This is a record of design practices from 2016 to 2020, all the contents belongs to the author and collaborators named in the describtion of the project. Do not copy the contents without permission, need any further information please contact via email.
RIO CHEN Practices Record
2020
jchen54@saic.edu riochen19.com Linkedin: Rio Chen
for resume and more info, please check out Linkedin page
