Sustainable Design: Design to Dematerialise and Develop Systems & Services

This strategy confused me at the first I learnt about TED's Ten. However, after lecture and my own research, I have got some knowledge and was inspired. It is better to understand this strategy by some key words, lease, share or repair. It is a concept about sustainable design systems.

Repair it yourself[1]

Repair it yourself is a graduation project of Eugenia Morpurgo. He introduced us a pair of shoes that we can repair by ourselves. The soles and uppers of this shoes could be easily separated, and easily repaired. The repair process is fairly transparent. People could learn repair knowledge, which means repair services might no longer be needed. Besides, the repair kit come with this shoes can be the key for other broken goods.

Repair it yourself [2]

The concept of repairing objects inspired me to do more research in this area, and I think I might apply this concept to my own project. It might be difficult to combine knitting with repair it yourself. But every design begins with a rough idea, research and experience would help to develop.

Fabric Pen[3]

Why fabric can be a pen? The designer of fabric pen, Ingrida Kazėnaitė, explains, "With fabric pen you can scan the type of fabric material your clothing are made of along with fabric color then print a patch of the same fabric on the damaged area."[4] She was inspired by Spray-on Fabric, and created a pen that can repair any broken part of your garments. This design fits the idea of Dematerialise and Develop Systems & Services. The way Kazėnaitė got the inspiration is very good. I learnt that exploring other designers' work is a good way to study.

References

[1]Eugenia, M. (2011) Repair it yourself. [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.dezeen.com/2011/12/16/repair-it-yourself-by-eugenia-morpurgo/> [Accessed 21 November 2014]. 

[2]Eugenia, M. (2011) Repair it yourself. [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.dezeen.com/2011/12/16/repair-it-yourself-by-eugenia-morpurgo/> [Accessed 21 November 2014]. 

[3]Fabric pen. (2014) [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.ecouterre.com/3d-printing-fabric-pen-is-the-clothing-repair-kit-of-the-future/> [Accessed 21 November 2014]. 

[4]Jasmin, C. (2014) 3D-Printing “Fabric Pen” is the Clothing-Repair Kit of the Future. [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.ecouterre.com/3d-printing-fabric-pen-is-the-clothing-repair-kit-of-the-future/> [Accessed 25 October 2014].

TED's Textiletoolbox exhibition

By observing the works of TED's Textiletoolbox exhibition, I got some further understanding of sustainable design.

The idea of sustainable design can be applied in different cultures and materials. It will be more interesting and inspiring to consider some other elements during developing project.

This collection above impressed me deeply in the exhibition. For me, weave is combination of wide range of materials. This woven collection applied traditional weaving skills in discarded materials.

Collecting recycled materials would be a strategy I select most during designing. People might put more attention on new things, therefore those discarded objects will be a heavy load for our earth. Reusing and recycling become pretty important for sustainable design.

Lifecycle Map

As a knit student, I will put more attention on 'Raw Material' and 'End of Life' in the Lifecycle map.

Yarn is the main material I used for current project. After discussing, I will consider to use less unnecessary yarn to reducing cost. Organic yarn would be a good choice for material.

When a knitwear get on the step 'End of Life', it will be interesting to develop some new ideas for it. For the future project, manipulating an old knitwear could be sustainable and recycled.

Sustainable Design: Design that Explores Clean / Better Technologies

What is the first idea in your mind when people mention fashion fabric? We may think about knitting or weaving. But there is a new technology would overthrew our ideas.

                                                                            Video spray-on t-shirt [1]

It is spray-on fabric, which like a magic, you can create a garment in a quick and unique way. It offer designers much more freedom while designing. Designers might use less energy with this new technology. It can also be used to repair an old or broken garments, as a result, clothes could be reused. 

By inspired of this technology, I have got some idea for my project. I might fill the can with dye instead of fabric liquid to dye the yarn or samples, even I can spray patterns on fabric. 

Reference

[1]Fabricanltd (2011). Video spray-on t-shirt [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.fabricanltd.com/index.php> [Accessed 9 November 2014]. 

Sustainable Design of Gary Harvey

Gary Harvey is a British fashion designer, who is well-known in sustainable design.

The pollution is a big problem today, which means it's important to recycle. Gary believes anything even rubbish can be redesign and become new garments.

This dress is designed by Gray. He chose recycled newspaper as material to make a sustainable design.

[1]

Recycled clothes can be beautiful. That's the idea Gary tried to present through his collection. The materials he used to design were all recycled. He chose denim jeans, trench coats, even garbage bags to design dresses.

[2] Denim Dress

[3] Denim Dress

[4] Trench Coats Dress

[5] Garbage Bags Dress

It reminded me some of my previous works. In order to develop my idea, I collected recycled paper to create some texture.

Gary Harvey and his collection inspired me to focus on the materials we select. Choosing recycled materials is a good way to develop sustainable design.

References

[1]Christina, M. [online image]. Available at:<http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/livia-firth/2011/02/20/gary-harvey-creates-livia-firths-oscars-dress/gallery/590800>[Accessed 30 Oct 2014].

[2]Denim Dress. [online image]. Available at:<http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-fashion/gary-harvey-couture-fashion-with-a-conscience.html>[Accessed 30 Oct 2014].

[3]Denim Dress. [online image]. Available at:<http://digitalmoda.onsugar.com/Slow-Fashion-ECO-Style-7563191>[Accessed 30 Oct 2014].

[4] Trench Coats Dress. [online image]. Available at:<http://parth.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/gary-harvey-recycled-couture/>[Accessed 30 Oct 2014].

[5]Garbage Bags Dress. [online image]. Available at:<http://fabgreen.com/2009/09/06/fashion-remarkable-recycled-dresses/>[Accessed 30 Oct 2014].

Sustainable Design: Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts & Reduce Energy and Water Use

During the period of studying textiles design, I found that chemical impacts and use of energy and water are two serious problems in producing textiles. After exploring many sustainable designs in lecture, I deeply realised the importance of reducing chemical impacts.

Earth dyeing[1]

Chemical dye is most common dye material, but it might cause many environmental problems for our earth. Designer Hyun Jin Jeong noticed dirt can be used a material for dying. She collected 45 different soils so that she could develop a vivid colour collection. The colours of her works are natural and pure. As described by Jeong, "There are many different natural materials that were once used but are now forgotten. I think rediscovering these materials and using them wisely is essential for a sustainable future."[2] I think it might be not easy to discover some objects that we didn't notice before. It requires chariness and enthusiasm for life. Besides, it is hard to translate those natural elements into dye material. So I believe that is what I need to improve in the future.

Blond Bieber's Algaemy project[3]

Designer Essi Johanna Glomb and Rasa Weber also devoted to study eco-friendly dye materials. They chose algae as base to create a colour collection, which are totally harmless to the earth. They claim that you can even eat them. 

Blond Bieber's Algaemy project[4]

Dying yarn is an essential step in knitting. As a knit student, I'm inspired by those designers. What surprises me most is that the colours from nature are beautiful and bright. There are abundant eco-friendly materials I should learn. I could do some more research for natural dye, apply them in my works.

References

[1]Hyun, J. (2011) Earth dyeing. [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.ecouterre.com/soil-as-fabric-dye-earth-dyeing-hits-pay-dirt/> [Accessed 25 October 2014]. 

[2]Kelly, E. (2011) Soil as Fabric Dye? Earth Dyeing Hits Pay Dirt. [Internet]. Available

from :<http://www.ecouterre.com/soil-as-fabric-dye-earth-dyeing-hits-pay-dirt/> [Accessed 25 October 2014]. 

[3]Blond Bieber's Algaemy project (2014) [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/14/blond-and-bieber-algaemy-coloured-dye-algae-lodz-design-festival-2014/> [Accessed 25 October 2014]. 

[4]Blond Bieber's Algaemy project (2014) [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/14/blond-and-bieber-algaemy-coloured-dye-algae-lodz-design-festival-2014/> [Accessed 25 October 2014]. 

Sustainable Design: Design for Minimise Waste

Design for minimise waste is a important concept of sustainable design. In today's lecture, I have learnt lots of designs, which well present the way how designers minimise even zero waste.

A-POC: Kanazawa 2004 [1]

A-POC, A Piece of Cloth, is a fashion collection of Issey Miyake. Those garments were started with one thread or yarn, and became a piece of fabric. Miyake created textures and designs for this fabric without any waste. 

I was really inspired by A-POC. I learnt that the process of deign could be simple but outcomes could be delicate. Sometimes, we were too fast to save the valuable part. It would be better to slow down and consider carefully the wide range of materials and design. I might need to study how to minimise the waste of knitting samples when I was translating them into garments.

As it was mentioned by Alastair Fuad-Luke, slow design is the spiritual, emotional, and mental art of living, emphasizing creativity and experiences. [2] The difficult part is how to show your ideas and minimise waste of materials at the same time. It requires highly sense of skills. 

Laser Food [3]

Food in our daily life always come with sticky labels. We may never think about the harmfulness of those labels, but actually they did harm our environment. 

A Spanish company Laser Food has developed a machine, which can apply laser logos and other information on food. This machine would reduce the use of paper, ink and glue. It is a amazing progress. It meets the requirement of minimising the waste and also enhancing aesthetic value.

I'm not familiar with this design area, but the spirit they tried to express benefit me a lot. Even a small detail of design is worthy to be noticed. A small change might benefit the environment a lot.

References

[1]Marcus, T. (2004) A-POC: Kanazawa. [online image]. Avaiable at: <http://mds.isseymiyake.com/mds/en/collection/> [Accessed 18 October 2014].

[2]Alastair Fuad-Luke (2014). Slow design. Fanayeco 17 Oct [Internet blog]. Available from: <https://fanayeco.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/slow-design/> [Accessed 18 October 2014].

[3]Laser Food. (2013) [online image]. Available at: <http://www.dezeen.com/2013/06/20/laser-tattoos-replace-sticky-labels-on-fruit/> [Accessed 18 October 2014].

Final pieces of Knit

Tutorial and new technics

I was really confused about how to relate my drawing to my work last week. Julia told me the key point is the colours. It helped me a lot. After tutorial with her, I started to understand how to connect the link between research and samples. And I have some rough idea to make samples as well.

Julia also shown some new technics to us.

I love knitting

I really enjoyed this technical block, and I will consider to chose it as my main subject.

I have learnt some amazing technics in first week.

    

I also watched some hand-knitting videos in the Internet and practiced some skills.

Enjoying the knit block

Someone told me that If I enjoyed the weave block, I would be interested in knit block. I did enjoy the knit block today.

Before starting, I noticed the nice yarn wrapping under the table. It is like a record of every process we made. I think it's beautiful and meaningful.

Our tutor Tim showed us some basic technic. It was quite clearly and easy to understand. However, I found the most important thing is choosing the yarn that is not easy to broke off while using knitting machine.

It was so annoying when the yarn is broken.

I'm really looking forward to getting more technical skills in the rest of this block after practicing.

I also had fun in the hand-knitting. The tutor is so nice and patient.

Unit1 Reflective Statement

During Rough Guide project, I think my research was quite good on photography and displaying them. My opinion about my research area Southbank was well shown, and I also presented how I visit the area. I focused on interesting textures I found. However, I didn't do much on drawing. It will be more plentiful if I draw more for research. For the first blog task, I found that it was interesting and inspiring. I chose photographs I took as materials. In my opinion, it is more direct and clearer to present my idea. I didn't try many different kinds of media during the project. It's my weakness that needs to be improved next time. During this project, I didn't get many technical skills. But I was inspired when I looked at other's works. I have learnt how to relate my research to my idea, and how to present my idea as well. My idea is exploring the details that we are easy to ignore. The picture I chose was a shadow of vitreous frame. It was well related to my Rough Guide and my idea. The time management in this unit was satisfying. I kept recording the notes and my feelings in my blog. I also have well understood the Health and Safety advice and attended the induction on this.

Inspiring drawing class

We drew some pictures in a fast way today. Each drawing should be finish in 30 seconds. I didn't finish most of my drawings today, but still got some nice pictures.

Then I received some feedbacks from my peers. It was helpful to consider other's opinion for your works. I had got some advice for next technical block from our tutor as well. She gave me the advice about what kinds of yarn I can use in knit block. I was inspired.