BOTTLE YOUR DESIGN SHREYA MEHTA PDP201
This class gave me a lot of opportunities to explore who I want to be as a designer. As we did the various assignments, studying other designers and their philosophies, I got clarity about my own principles. After three weeks of studying, researching and being inspired, I finally got a chance to design my own bottle. At first, I listed down terms like, empathy, dependability and strength. But then I figured that all of these values have already been used to design objects. The bottle, for one has probably already been through various iterations to reach its present form. Despite the amount of work put into it, it remains one of the most subtle designs. Thus, rather than redesigning the bottle into a wackier object, I thought of highlighting the design which has already been put into it. This began a rather exhilarating process into the world of bottles, and it gave me the creative license to really question, “What is a bottle?” I first researched bottles, and each of their components, and then I began to create the opposite of the ideas. It was a lot of fun creating these ideas, even though they took much more thinking and understanding then the previous assignment. One more thing that I learned about myself was that along with values like, empathy, dependability and strength, I also enjoy challenging convention.
THE RUM-RUM-NUT
The design, inspired by a coconut, is very wide, which makes it very difficult to hold on. The opening, which is small and centrally placed, is very difficult to pour from.
THE BALANCING ACT
While it looks quite conventional at the first glance, the user really experiences an uneasy design when they place it down. The base is slightly protruding at the centre, because of which the bottle is never straight.
THE CHALLENGER
Made of glass and cork, this bottle challenges the conventions along with the user’s patience.
THE DADAIST
This ‘bottle’ seeks to challenge the very idea of the form of the bottle. It is deliberately made to look like a tiffin box, with its plastic parts, which is completely the opposite of its contents.
THE MESSY-AH
The tiny hole on the neck allow the alcohol to leak every time the bottle is tilted to pour out the contents.
THE NEO-CLASSIC
In this bottle, the ‘classic’ shape is inverted. The excessive volume on the top would make the bottle quite unstable.
Detail of the locking mechanism.
THE RIDDLER
The faux entry is on the top. The bottle actually opens upon twisting the centre, which the user must figure out themselves.
THE SHAKER
The uniquely shaped bottle, while aesthetically pleasing, is a rather unfortunate design. The excessively tiny opening does not allow air to enter, thus stopping the alcohol from coming out. The user, thus, has to shavke the bottle to procure the alcohol.
Detail of a spike.
THE SPITE
The bottle has a glass body with spikes, covered by a rubber membrane with holes, through which the spikes can pass. Upon holding the bottle, the membrane would go in, thus exposing the spikes.
THE TWISTER
The twisted neck of the bottle makes it next to impossible to pour alcohol from.