One of the reasons why I’m interested in industrial design is the manipulation and representation of materials. I’m simply fascinated by materials — what they can do, how they can be created, and how have its uses been changed. By no means am I trained as a mechanical engineer, but understanding the basic principles of different materials is part of being an industrial designer. Nowadays, a lot of designers get carried away by features and technical aspects of a product, and using them to justify their design. Although they still conduct their research online, they did it without getting their hands dirty and play with the material. Without play, we can’t fully understand it and know where the limit is. It’s always easy to say it’ll be made in a generic material, but the true challenge is why was the material chosen, how does it accentuate the design, and which specific material is most optimal for it. I believe that materials should be chosen carefully, to the point where it’s obvious and so we can appreciate it.
