An object with an unconventional covering.
For this project, I was given the brief: “design a chair with an unconventional covering.” The chair didn’t need to be constructed in reality, so I had the freedom to go big. The chair, titled Constructive Criticism, is a piece of studio furniture focused on themes of progress and privilege.
Research
Another one of my early projects, this work actually began with research into another area: vinyl records. The original idea was to use vinyl records as an upholstery material, melting and bending pieces to conform to the structure below. After looking into it a bit more, I was informed that the results may not turn out as I’d like, and procuring suitable records could be a nightmare if it were ever made.
The research phase was fairly quick for this project, as I knew it was primarily a visual concept focused on an original take. A coffee table was the first plan, but after I ruled out records, I decided to pivot to a different concept entirely: I was going to cover a chair in something unsittable. After some looking, I found an image of bagged rocks, and I thought it was perfect for my new plan. In itself, it was not a new idea, so it would be further developed in the ideation phase.
Ideation
The first idea for melting vinyl had concepts like this:
As much as I still loved this, the new idea had to move forward. The look of the chair popped into my head after seeing the bag of rocks, so I went straight to getting that into CAD. I did explore a few more form variations first, though.
Above is a quick sketch of roughly where the new concept would go.
Design
Design was fairly straightforward in Fusion, aside from a rendering issue with the bag. Two layers were needed for the seat: an internal layer and a shell. I could then apply the rock texture to the inside and the mesh to the shell. Getting that to render properly was about half of the digital time on this project.
The oversized steel frame, orange straps, and rock bag all reference construction contexts. The pegs slide into the frame and through grommets in the straps to support the bag. The idea of the weighted pegs is twofold: the large diameter provides stability for the strap and also forces the user to struggle with assembly. Traditionally, this would be a bad thing, but it’s the point of this design.
Chairs are functional service objects made by and for people. Construction implies that design and fabrication are on the scale of infrastructure. So, this piece asks the user to consider their supposed importance over nature’s in order to reshape it to their liking. Rocks are not meant to be comfortable, but rocks (like anything) aren’t meant for anything in particular, but rather applied for a particular use case (outside of the wilderness).
Reflection
This project was an exercise in symbolism. The original concept was too focused on the material, to the point of doing a disservice to the symbolic aspect of an unconscious covering. I needed to ask earlier, “What makes something unconventional?” After the record concept was abandoned, I was free (and forced) to consider more alternatives, leading to a superior conceptual outcome.
Constructive Criticism was another project that took place early in my design journey, and my process was not as fleshed out as it is now. That was certainly an important takeaway – the process will provide a framework for exploration. When I didn’t have as many sketches as I do nowadays, I became so attached to my record concept. It didn’t feel like anything would outdo it, and I was dead in the water. Pivoting and retaining elements of what makes early concepts good was something that was key to learn early on.