PLASTIC FANTASTIC: DOES DESIGN HAVE A FETISH FOR PLASTIC?
It was introduced to our parents as a wonder material for its convenient plasticity, accessibility and also for its beauty. As the cornerstone of modern life, plastic has adorned our homes in the form of toys, household bric-à-brac and furniture items, like the beloved Monobloc chair. In the mid 1950s, before the 1960s boom in iconic plastic furniture, the chemical company Monsanto celebrated plastic with a futuristic house, made and furnished entirely with synthetic materials. The house was named ‘House of the Future’ and was exhibited in Disneyland for 10 years.
Very little has changed since then, as we still celebrate and adore plastic. The 21st century version of ‘House of the Future’ is somewhat illusive and has gained a steady popularity among many image makers and designers. Facilitated by Cinema 4D, digital renders of glossy surfaces, wrapped in vivid candy hues, dazzle our screens with visions of a sleek otherworldly reality. One popular and hypnotic motif that sticks to mind, is bouncing elastic balls that give an air of soothing innocence whilst they resemble Microbeads (minuscule plastic particles) that are found in some beauty and cleaning products.
As creative practitioners, we are fuelled by the power of images to evoke emotions and stimulate desire in our audience, for better or for worse. With that in mind, digital renders of high shine plastic and silicon surfaces in artificial colours might subconsciously perpetuate a deep-rooted appetite for plastic. Similar to sugar craving, the more you have around you, the more you want it!
Cinema 4D tutorial by Eyedesyn, eyedesyn.com
We have made some recent progress in understanding the dilemmas of single-use plastic, and we are gradually coming to terms with the unviability of plastic recycling, because of its high carbon footprint. Our next task is to really grasp the vast ramifications of producing fossil fuel plastic. There is current research being explored in bioplastics but critics argue that mass production of bioplastics will have its downsides and won’t be human- and earth-friendly.
Luckily, the creative community has become increasingly disapproving of foam-based products and techniques such as lamination and foil blocking, among others, as they are harmful to the environment. This attitude change opens the door to expanding our material palette and moving towards eliminating plastic from both our tactile and visual encyclopaedia. Why Materials Matter by Seetal Solanki is a useful resource to gain better understanding of natural and human-made materials. Through skilful creativity, it is in our power to de-normalise environmentally unsound materials, regardless of their current desirability. As a UAL student and alumni you can also use Not Just A Shop as a platform for your design merchandise to shape consumer taste preferences, with products that are in harmony with nature and our future well-being.
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Words: Hedieh Anvari