Abstract
This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project where new material is developed in a collaboration between design and materials science. The objective of the Shimmering Wood project is to develop a nanocellulose-based structural color and investigate its possibilities in the context of design. We present two interconnected design cases that focus on the visual possibilities of the coffee ring effect, a feature of nanocellulose-based structural color. The text shows how new knowledge is built through design "thinging" – through constructed prototypes, material tinkering, and laboratory experiments. By analyzing the design "things" we aim to answer these questions: 1. What can interdisciplinary research and iterative knowledge building through design "thinging" look like? 2. How can design "things" be used in the materials’ development process to imagine and envision a new way to use nanocellulose-based structural color?
Keywords
Prototyping; Structural color; Interdisciplinary research; Nanocellulose; Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.124
Citation
Yau, N., Klockars , FI-00076 Aalto, Finland, K.,and Niinimäki, K.(2023) Shimmering Wood – Design “Thinging” in Material Development Process, in Silvia Ferraris, Valentina Rognoli, Nithikul Nimkulrat (eds.), EKSIG 2023: From Abstractness to Concreteness – experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 19–20 June 2023, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.124
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Shimmering Wood – Design “Thinging” in Material Development Process
This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project where new material is developed in a collaboration between design and materials science. The objective of the Shimmering Wood project is to develop a nanocellulose-based structural color and investigate its possibilities in the context of design. We present two interconnected design cases that focus on the visual possibilities of the coffee ring effect, a feature of nanocellulose-based structural color. The text shows how new knowledge is built through design "thinging" – through constructed prototypes, material tinkering, and laboratory experiments. By analyzing the design "things" we aim to answer these questions: 1. What can interdisciplinary research and iterative knowledge building through design "thinging" look like? 2. How can design "things" be used in the materials’ development process to imagine and envision a new way to use nanocellulose-based structural color?