designbeans

|design and invention

November 28, 2005 _trends

Unfortunately most of designers today do not conceive themselves as inventors, and therefore the majority of new products stand for their aesthetical value. Not that style is less important but I believe innovation and invention are the true engine of design.
That is basically why I appreciate so much the kind of projects born after deep research, the ones that realise ideas and not only shapes, that are conceived defying the potentials of technologies and materials, that stand out for their absolute novelty or for little clever solutions that make the difference.
Materials and technology are a huge innovation factor and when they have the power to modify the design process, to reinvent the way a product is conceived; then you need great talents to come out with projects that could have never been thought before. I believe that is the case of Materialise.MGX, Freedom of Creation and Patrick Jouin that are proposing a complete new way of designing and realising an object thanks to Rapid Manufacturing.

Above pictures of Solid chair and stool by french designer Patrick Jouin made with stereolithography.

Above 3D textiles by Freedom of Creation. The company founded in 2000 in the Netherlands has a wide experience in research and cutting edge technologies.

Below some light fixtured from Materialise.MGX collection. The belgium company was one of the first to use the Rapid Prototyping techniques Stereolithography (SLA) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in limited design series.