12 Twigs: Process

A sketch for one idea I had



The first sketch I made of what developed into my final product.



Photos of models/prototypes:

Issues Concerning “12 Twigs” (and projects in general)

When creating an object, whether it is a space or a place or an item, certain challenges and issues arise. As everyone in the group went around the room, discussing their project and others critiquing them, I found that three main issues came to light. The first point is that the designer needs a good reason for everything he does. Something cannot simply be done because he likes it or because it looks good. Rather, it needs to respond to a need, symbolic quality, or inherent quality of the object the item is being designed around. Secondly, an item needs a double-take factor. The designer cannot let a viewer simply walk by their design and never look at it or think about it again. There needs to be something that stands out or makes the viewer look closer, such as the braided hair woven in one project out of our group. Thirdly an item needs to tell one story. Multiple stories are confusing and sometimes conflicting, often overwhelming the viewer. Even in a piece meant to evoke uneasy emotions needs to tell a definite single story, even if the story differs between viewers. In addition to this, the story, in some sense, needs to be obvious without explanation. A piece should speak for itself—it should tell its own story. Though definitely not everything to be considered, these three issues when designing an item definitely help to make it better.

Precedents

A sphere, even one that is not perfect, is an extraordinary structure that we encounter in our everyday lives, in many ways. Some Ancient Greek philosophers believed a sphere to be the most perfect form.


One interesting product that utilizes a partially spherical form is the iconic Globe Chair.



Nature has used sphere-like forms in many applications.
One example is an egg.

An egg is a place for a growing organism. It is a fragile shelter.

Another are all of the planets and perhaps the stars.

For my purposes, I will focus on our Earth, which is a place for us and all of the things around us. It contains countless things, living and nonliving. It is our place, where we belong, where we were placed.