Homebuildlife Macro TrendsAutumn/winter 2014/15

Taking up the ethos of Neo-Geo, this trend focuses on the emergence of a new industrial age. The birth of new machines and the rehabilitation of old ones are changing future design processes, leading us into an era of industrial craft. Manufacture is in a state of flux, hovering between the digital and analogue eras. Industrial Evolution looks at this moment of transition and the design it is inspiring: open-source, variable systems, improvised forms, organic prototypes and design by intuition.

What’s driving this trend?

NEW INDUSTRIAL AGEAs the machine age evolves, new forms of industrialisation will emerge. Designers will provide the blueprint, and we’ll print products on domestic 3D printers or email them to 3D fabrication units. Micro Utopias of mechanised craftsmanship will appear, yielding small, high-growth businesses.

What’s driving this trend?

RETHINKING FORMIn his recent book Makers, Chris Anderson describes the “makers” of a new revolution, and the tools they are developing. 3D printing is rebooting manufacture and calling into question how we shape our objects as well as our society. “You can print a flute or you can print a meal. You can even print human organs of living cells,” he says.

What’s driving this trend?

BATCH-MAKINGAs the consumer gets more involved in the design process, new opportunities for product development are evolving. We see small-scale manufacture, batch-making systems and print-on-demand enabling a more individual approach.

Research & Reference

Raw Food Batteries by Caleb Charland

US photographer Caleb Charland created these food batteries, which use copper wire and galvanised nails to draw energy from the citric acid found naturally in fruits such as grapefruit and pomelo. Documenting his invention in a series of striking photographs, Charland fuses science and nature while reminding us of the abundance of natural produce.

Keyboard Light Towers by Phil Cuttance

Commissioned to find a reuse for the waste from Bloomberg’s office recycling, London-based designer Phil Cuttance created three towers from the back plates of 300 discarded keyboards. Each one is illuminated by an enclosed light, which shines out from the dozens of holes studded into the towers’ walls.

Research & Reference

Surfaces by Sarah Milton

British surface pattern designer Sarah Milton creates geometric prints inspired by abstracted typography. Her method includes distorting letters, numbers and characters by folding them in an origami style. Combining her patterns with vivid colour palettes, the finished wallpaper and textiles designs are bold and rhythmic.

www.sarah-milton.com

Un-knitting machine by Imogen Hedges

Imogen Hedges has designed a pedal-powered ‘un-knitting’ machine, which takes unwanted woollen garments, unravels them and winds them into unkinked balls of yarn. Built around an old bicycle frame and using a kettle to straighten out kinks, Hedge’s contraption is as visually intriguing as it is functional.

www.imogenhedges.com

3D printing is reaching a tipping point where designers — and soon consumers — can produce limited-edition batches of products in shapes that were previously only made by hand, or by nature.

3D PRINTING

MOOD

Softer materials are stretched over sturdy frames, resulting in an industrial organic look.STRUCTURED ORGANICS

MOOD

New methods of moulding and casting result in shapes that are both timeless and modern.MOULDING & CASTING

MOOD

Wire frames reference architectural models, birdcages and supermarket trolleys.FRAMEWORK

MOOD

Geometric shapes reference constructivist art, brutalist architecture, Bauhaus shape and postmodern design.MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTIONS

MOOD

Seriously heavy metal, rubber, and other industrial materials are accompanied by finishes that are inspired by grease, soot, tar, paint and asphalt.HEAVY MATTER

MOOD

Seams are no longer hidden but proudly exposed as design features that illustrate the creation process of a product.EXPOSED SEAMS

MOOD

PAN

TON

E®

14-0

000

PAN

TON

E®

15-1

316

PAN

TON

E®

11-0

604

PAN

TON

E®

8945

C

PAN

TON

E®

18-1

246

PAN

TON

E®

18-1

555

PAN

TON

E®

14-4

505

PAN

TON

E®

19-3

803

PAN

TON

E®

18-5

112

PAN

TON

E®

8404

C

PAN

TON

E®

13-4

110

PAN

TON

E®

18-3

918

PAN

TON

E®

19-1

218

Colour

Gunmetal greys and industrial metallics are accented with copper, crimson and rust. Oily, atmospheric dark hues range from blue smoke, used in large proportions, to warmer accents of ebony. Celadon greens calm the heavy, intense shades, making way for buff and bone tones that create a warm neutral palette that is key to the season.

COLOUR

PANTONE® 18-5112

PANTONE® 19-3803 PANTONE® 14-4505 PANTONE® 14-0000 PANTONE® 11-0604

PANTONE® 18-3918 PANTONE® 15-1316

PANTONE® 18-1555 PANTONE® 18-1246

Key Colours

Core

Directional

Accents

KEY COLOUR

Colour Usage

Warm tones with cool blue-green and mineral greys.WARM & COOL

COLOUR USAGE

Industrial metallic greys with buff neutrals and a shot of crimson.HEAVY INDUSTRY

COLOUR USAGE

Buff and bone tones bring purity and epidermic textures.PALE NEUTRALS

COLOUR USAGE

Soft blue, brown and grey hues, with blue smoke as a key colour.SOFT BASICS

COLOUR USAGE

Palest buff, blue and celadon green.CALM COLOUR

COLOUR USAGE

Blue-green and buff, with a bright shot of crimson.STILL-LIFE STYLE

COLOUR USAGE

Key finishesPerforated surfacesRaw edges & seamsObvious jointsWorn & weathered Rusted details

•••••

Heavy canvas & linenLaundered treatments Soft, rubbery texturesOiled & greasedEmbossed

•••••

KEY FINISHES

Key patternTexture as patternFibrous & grainy patternsColour washes over textureGrids & gratingWaffle weavesPerforated patternsImperfect mark-making

•••••••

RibbedDark painterly stainsFrameworksArchitectural & constructivistShaded texture blocksRecycled industrial patterns

••••••

KEY PATTERN

Key shapePrecision & imperfectionInspired by machinery, both technical and simplisticLatticed wireworkIndustrial moulds3D-printed organic forms

••

•••

ErgonomicExtrudedOrganic frameworksFlat cutouts constructed in 3D shapesSupple forms inspired by stretched fabric

••••

•

KEY SHAPE

Key takeaways

• The continual evolution of 3D printing and the consumer-designer• Industrial craft producing small-scale batches and one-offs• Open-ended design, with improvised forms and purposes• New shapes and more fluid forms• Molecular inspiration for product design

KEY TAKEAWAYS