about the project - 'capwear'
the final portfolio pieces are three swatches of chainmail-like fabric, made out of metal bottle cap punch-outs. i intended to take a common material, which seems to be ever-present in our daily lives and revitalize it into something that experimental design students, regardless of their major, can use within their work.
i chose design students as my target audience because, during this stage of their lives and creative journeys, they are more drawn to tinkering with different materials, approaches, techniques and equipment in order to position themselves within the world of design. oftentimes, student work is not yet fully polished and clean, having a more experimental, rough, sometimes gritty and handmade feel to it. therefore, this versatile flat fabric can be the spark to ignite other innovative ideas, as it can be used within so many different design-related disciplines: as a garment textile within fashion design, as a design element or textural basis within graphic design, as a subject or background within photography, and the list goes on.
metal bottle caps usually feature a pvc circle on the backside, to act as a barrier between the metal and the drinks. due to this, they are environmentally harmful and not eco-friendly, as they cannot be recycled easily and smoothly. through this project, i intended to find a way to manually recycle these bottle caps and turn them into a usable “re-product”.
to play into the product aspect of the pieces, i also designed quick and simple packaging for each swatch, featuring a small presentation box, as well as a small informative leaflet which gives a bit more insight into the thought behind the product.
albeit not a material i would usually create with, working with metal has surprisingly aligned with my ambitions as a designer. i consider that these final pieces perfectly fit in the junction between commercial and autonomous design. i initially toyed around with this previously unknown material in order to broaden my horizons and create something that would improve my own skillset, yet the end product is a new material that can be commercialized and expanded upon by other designers. moreover, i combined autonomous, out-of-the-box handiwork with digital, sharp packaging design, resulting into a playful, commercial-autonomous end piece.
the journey from idea to end product is fully encapsulated in the process binder, which contains sketches, experiments with thorough explanations and contextual research, as well as the website which accompanies the project. a more curated selection of the process (namely the most tedious, in my opinion, chunk of it - the preparation of bottle caps for further use), is presented in a simple graphic form within the accompanying leaflet.
although i am quite convinced i will not be working with such techniques in my further-away future, the journey towards this end product was very satisfactory, although stressful. i hope to only keep working towards bridging the gap between autonomous and commercial design within my work, in order to feel fully confident in my professional direction.
i chose design students as my target audience because, during this stage of their lives and creative journeys, they are more drawn to tinkering with different materials, approaches, techniques and equipment in order to position themselves within the world of design. oftentimes, student work is not yet fully polished and clean, having a more experimental, rough, sometimes gritty and handmade feel to it. therefore, this versatile flat fabric can be the spark to ignite other innovative ideas, as it can be used within so many different design-related disciplines: as a garment textile within fashion design, as a design element or textural basis within graphic design, as a subject or background within photography, and the list goes on.
metal bottle caps usually feature a pvc circle on the backside, to act as a barrier between the metal and the drinks. due to this, they are environmentally harmful and not eco-friendly, as they cannot be recycled easily and smoothly. through this project, i intended to find a way to manually recycle these bottle caps and turn them into a usable “re-product”.
to play into the product aspect of the pieces, i also designed quick and simple packaging for each swatch, featuring a small presentation box, as well as a small informative leaflet which gives a bit more insight into the thought behind the product.
albeit not a material i would usually create with, working with metal has surprisingly aligned with my ambitions as a designer. i consider that these final pieces perfectly fit in the junction between commercial and autonomous design. i initially toyed around with this previously unknown material in order to broaden my horizons and create something that would improve my own skillset, yet the end product is a new material that can be commercialized and expanded upon by other designers. moreover, i combined autonomous, out-of-the-box handiwork with digital, sharp packaging design, resulting into a playful, commercial-autonomous end piece.
the journey from idea to end product is fully encapsulated in the process binder, which contains sketches, experiments with thorough explanations and contextual research, as well as the website which accompanies the project. a more curated selection of the process (namely the most tedious, in my opinion, chunk of it - the preparation of bottle caps for further use), is presented in a simple graphic form within the accompanying leaflet.
although i am quite convinced i will not be working with such techniques in my further-away future, the journey towards this end product was very satisfactory, although stressful. i hope to only keep working towards bridging the gap between autonomous and commercial design within my work, in order to feel fully confident in my professional direction.
