On Materials Experience

A decade ago, in 2003, Denis Doordan published an article titled “On Materials” in Design Issues.1 His emphasis was on “how the material employed affects the form, function, and perception of the final design.” Accordingly, he suggested a new framework to discuss materials based on the following three terms: fabrication, concerning the preparation of materials for initial use; application, dealing with transformation of materials into artifacts; and appreciation, dealing with the reception of materials by users. During the past decade, the third term appreciation has lured attention in the materials and design domain, which has adopted a broader sense that corresponds with the experiences we have with the materials embodied in the artifacts around us. It refers to the mix of sensory (or aesthetic) appreciations, meanings, feelings, and thoughts that we have toward—or that are triggered by—a material, at any certain time and place. In this essay, we elaborate on the notion of the appreciation of materials and its wider implications. Our starting point is a simple observation: In the material infrastructure of today’s world, whether in products, buildings, or other creations, we see such variety of materials, driven largely by advances in technology. The layperson’s knowledge of these materials, in the sense that they are recognizable and identifiable, is probably at an all-time low.2 Similarly, new and emerging materials, along with the increasing demand to seriously adopt a discourse of sustainability, conspire to continually challenge the designer’s competence in materials selection. The morphological character of materials—as expressive as they are functional and structural—leads to the proposition of new forms and an experimental approach toward design.3 Materials are like words: The richer one’s vocabulary (in materials), the larger is the number of design solutions that can be seen and expressed.4 We argue that within the complexity inherent to materials and design—whether driven by technological or sustainability perspectives—users are the ones who determine the ultimate success (or not) of material choices. That is, success is a reflection of how people positively experience and react to the materials chosen by designers. A decade after “On Materials,” this essay elaborates on the topic of materials experience.5 1 Dennis P. Doordan, “On Materials,” Design Issues 19, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 3–8. 2 See Ezio Manzini, The Material of Invention (Milano: Arcadia Edizioni, 1986) for a foundational discussion on the abundance of new materials that has caused a shift in the relationship that people once had with materials, compared with previous eras of far fewer materials and finishes. 3 Paola Antonelli, Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1995). 4 Inna Alesina and Ellen Lupton, Exploring Materials: Creative Design for Everyday Objects (Princeton: Architectural Press, 2010). 5 This article is a considerably modified and extended version of the introduction to Elvin Karana, Owain Pedgley, and Valentina Rognoli, Materials Experience: Fundamentals of Materials and Design (Oxford: Elsevier, 2014).