Abstract
The DIY movemnet is expanding beyond products to the materials which embody products; namely, DIY-materials. DIY-materials are created through individual or collective self-production practices, often by techniques and processes of the designer’s invention. In this paper, we elaborate on the sources that can serve as a departure point for DIY material practices. Analyzing above 150 design cases, we introduce five main categories of DIY-materials based on the material sources. Inspired by the biological classification of elements of earth, we name these categories as DIY-Materials Kingdoms. We present each kingdom with example cases supported by rich visuals to illustrate the process and the outcome of the DIY-Materials design efforts.
Keywords
DIY-Materials; Materials Experience; Tinkering with Materials; DIY-Materials Kingdoms
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2017.115
Citation
Ayala Garcia, C., Rognoli, V.,and Karana, E.(2017) Five Kingdoms of DIY Materials for Design, in Elvin Karana, Elisa Giaccardi, Nithikul Nimkulrat, Kristina Niedderer, Serena Camere (eds.), Alive. Active. Adaptive. International Conference on Experiential Knowledge and Emerging Materials, 19-20 June 2017, Delft and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2017.115
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Five Kingdoms of DIY Materials for Design
The DIY movemnet is expanding beyond products to the materials which embody products; namely, DIY-materials. DIY-materials are created through individual or collective self-production practices, often by techniques and processes of the designer’s invention. In this paper, we elaborate on the sources that can serve as a departure point for DIY material practices. Analyzing above 150 design cases, we introduce five main categories of DIY-materials based on the material sources. Inspired by the biological classification of elements of earth, we name these categories as DIY-Materials Kingdoms. We present each kingdom with example cases supported by rich visuals to illustrate the process and the outcome of the DIY-Materials design efforts.