DESIGNING MOVEMENT: An Aesthetic Investigation of Motion in Product Design
Future Directions and Applications for Movement Study:
My investigation of kinetics can be useful in two main ways: first, as a means of improving the way existing objects perform their functions and, second, as a method of inventing and developing new product concepts. In the case of existing products, movement can be an innovative way of adding value or providing a new aesthetic dimension. As for new product ideas, kinetic sketching can be an invaluable tool for generating and refining ideas.
Take, for example, a kitchen faucet. There are thousands of designs available for these objects, and all of them move in more or less the same way. Granted, this is mostly the result of catering to people’s familiarity with a traditional interface, but what if a new faucet handle moved in a more interesting way? What if the user were pleasantly surprised every time he turned on the tap? What if, at The Home Depot, every customer who tried out this new faucet couldn’t stop playing with it? What if it moved in such a beautiful way that people enjoyed their faucets that much more?
Designers improve the physical appearance of objects all the time to capture the attention of consumers, so it seems natural that product movement should also be utilized to increase consumer appeal. As a means of improving products, kinetics can just as easily apply to products that do not presently move. What about a knife block? This is not an object historically known for its graceful movement. That does not mean that a knife block couldn’t surprise us with some new functionality or beautiful means of movement while holding knives. As an enhancing dimension of products, movement has barely been explored. Therefore, virtually any object is susceptible to reinvention through movement.
This brings me to the second potential of this investigation—harnessing movement as a means to invent and develop entirely new design concepts. This possibility became immediately clear as I began sketching movements. As I played and experimented with materials (i.e., playing cards), bending, folding, cutting, and turning pieces of sketches, new ideas just kept multiplying. From all these abstract bits and pieces, functionality and purpose began to implicate themselves organically.
When I showed these card sketches to my fellow design classmates, they couldn’t help but volunteer ways these forms could be made utilitarian. There seems to be an innate desire in humans to assign meaning to things, and these abstract kinetic sketches provide a powerful lure for such associations. An aesthetic attention to motion is not only valuable as a way to add beauty and interest to existing products—it is potentially valuable as an avenue for invention.
With all these potentials in mind, this investigation into movement is just a beginning. My kinetic work is meant to lay the foundation for further exploration and documentation. Because this development can be applied to absolutely any form of design, there is no limit to how movement will be implemented in the future. I see this research leading to new kinds of architecture, food, or chemical processes just as easily as it might lead to a better Walkman. I intend to continue exploring, expanding, and refining the process of designing movement, so that it might ultimately make the world a more beautiful and interesting place.