The making of a settlement
The making of a settlement

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The making of a settlement

Can we design ourselves out of the crisis, using design as a tool? Will tenderness, attentiveness and care help us re-build our world? The settlement, built upon the eternal laws of energy, will be an experiential space, featuring students’ designs as rites of passage. Following the rhythm of the day, activities and workshops will define the rhythm of living in and visiting the village. The settlement will be located in the tuBaza’s rotunda in Park Kolibki and will stay open for two days. It will be an opportunity to experience and participate in the design process and workshops as well as to talk to creators – the students of the Faculty of Design at the Academy of Art in Szczecin.

Establish a settlement. Out of the (in)animate. Out of
the human, the natural, the material.

Put the settlement in motion.
A tribe emerges. A story is told.

Working with human energy and objects
it brings to life. We look for a community, a shared
language and rituals that bind us together
help shed our skin, pass the impassable, undergo
a change both physical and psychological

Moving around the circle. Feeling its power.
Flexibility. Openness and safety.
Enter. Leave. At any time.

Contemplating the marginal. Touching the intangible.
Wild, but responsible. This is us.

Finding our way back to time and space. A tribal rhythm.
Thinking without the Internet.
Daring not to know.
Yet feel and act.

Establish a settlement. Emerge.
Do it with us.

#emotions#letstalk#empathy#secondlife#renew#rituals#human#heart#wellbeing#changes#cooperation

East

Loop

lighting fixture

Izabela Żeromska

Pracownia Projektowania Multisensorycznego dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska, dr Magdalena Małachowska Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

Loop is a response to the phenomenon of light pollution. Its aim is to light up dark living spaces by using natural light entering the space via windows or artificial light produced by lamps. The lighting-up occurs as a result of accumulating and reflecting about 20% of the light in a given living space.

The Past: It is difficult to imagine life without light. Light determines our daily rhythm. Plants grow and animals migrate thanks to light. When the amount of light emitted into the atmosphere increases, we start experiencing the problem of light pollution. 

The Present: Too much light is responsible for the growing invisibility of stars in the night sky, the extinction of many species, and the appearance of light-dependent organisms in places that are not their natural habitats. Light pollution seriously affects our biological clock and, in turn, the quality of our sleep. Light shortage can lead to depression, insomnia and obesity among others. 

The Future: Loop takes the form of two crescents joined in a golden proportion. The name makes a direct reference to the form and the process of utilizing light. Like a movable heliostat, Loop reflects the concentrated light in the direction specified by the user.

#nature#environment#lamp#product#changes

Body positivity

a set of three ceramic plates symbolizing the imperfect nature of the human body

Oliwia Dobrzyńska

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: In the past, voluptuous women were believed to be beautiful and healthy. Today’s world has created and promoted an unrealistic image of a woman – that of a slim and tall supermodel. Women who do not fit the image, have been excluded. 

The Present: Loving one’s own body is difficult in today’s world. Women make themselves more beautiful with makeup, surgeries, and diets to meet the unrealistic standards of “Instagram beauty” and resemble celebrities in retouched photographs. What we need is the affirmation of and the willingness to show real, natural bodies. Bodies with cellulite, stretch marks, rolls, scars, birthmarks, spots, hair, acne, and other unique features.

The Future: As a designer, I would like to show that each body is unique and beautiful. Our body is covered with skin, an elastic fabric, that protects our internal organs. It is an armor we grow to know, love and wear proudly. 

#emotions#empathy#human#changes

Age group – survival lessons

ceramic plate with spikes

Oskar Kobiałka

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: Discrimination against members of one’s age group because of their clothes, beliefs, behavior, interests, skills or social status used to be an integral element of school life. Bullying took place every day, but it was a taboo topic. Bullies did not suffer consequences of their actions and teachers were helpless. 

The Present: Nowadays, this problem seems to no longer exist on such a scale thanks to new sets of rules that govern school life, school psychologists, and widespread access to the Internet. Thanks to the Internet, young people can find support groups and therapists. 

The Future:  The project focuses on the transformation that happens in a person who experienced bullying at school, showcasing the experiences that affected a given person’s adult life. I want people to see the project and appreciate their own history as well as the very moment they are in at the time. 

#emotions#empathy#human#wellbeing

Gender – searching for oneself

plate that explores gender, transsexuality and intersexuality

Weronika Tabor

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: A division into the male and the female was considered natural in European cultures, which consistently disapproved of any kind of gender transgressions. History remained silent about people who existed outside the binary spectrum. Things started to change in the 20th century, yet members of sexual minorities had to remain silent for a long time to protect themselves. They agreed to being misunderstood. 

The Present: The category of gender remains unclear for a lot of people and it is often misunderstood. The project, then, aims to raise awareness about transsexual and intersex people who often struggle to find their true self. 

The Future: Transsexual and intersex people are human. They work, they travel, they love, they hate. They have a place in society and a space to explore their gender. 

 

#emotions#empathy#ceramics#future#human#changes

Patchwork family

plate made from ceramic and wood

Filip Krauzowicz

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: For a long time in the history of Europe, the term family represented an inseparable relationship between parents and their children. A family was believed to be created by a mother, a father, and their biological kids. 

The Present: The world has changed and so has family. An increasing number of divorces has led to a wider acceptance of patchwork families, i.e. families created by each parent after the divorce. Members of Generation Z are used to that family model, however, they also face new challenges resulting from much more complicated relationships between family members. 

The Future: Our project has been designed to draw people’s attention to the complexity of patchwork family relations, in which a child is forced to accommodate to completely new circumstances. Additionally, it invites people to think about this new and unprecedented constellation of reconstructed family ties.

#emotions#empathy#ceramics#human#wellbeing

Celebration of imperfection – self-acceptance

ceramic plate

Wincenty Kwiatkowski

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: Our forefathers and foremothers lived in harmony with nature. The rhythm of the day and seasons regulated their daily existence. They accepted the passing of time and their own imperfections. In time, humans began to lose their harmony with nature, focusing instead on technological development. With the invention of the first machines, humans started dreaming about immortality and perfection. A new disease of civilization was born: perfectionism. 

The Present: Today, technology dominates most spheres of our lives. Blinded by their screens, people strive for perfection, encouraged by the images they see online. 

The Future: The design of the plate was inspired by the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy, which celebrates imperfections and impermanence. The plate can be used for meditating. The perfect circle symbolizes natural cycles, harmony and safety. Broken edges, on the other hand, symbolize imperfection. The colors that spill out represent values that come from mistakes we make in our lives. Hence, the plate has been designed to encourage people to think about how tolerant they are of their own mistakes. By celebrating our own imperfections and allowing ourselves to make mistakes, we can be more tolerant of others.

#emotions#empathy#human#wellbeing#mentalhealth#changes

Subcultures – bending the truth

two ceramic plates

Agata Słoma

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: Since time immemorial people have been looking for their own path, their soulmate, their own passion and people who would share their interests. A subculture is a social group whose members are connected by what and how they do. Historically, we’ve already had skinheads, hip-hoppers, rastafarians, and rockers, but also doctors, students, thieves, and politicians. 

The Present: Each subculture leaves a mark. What used to be recognizable to the eyes in the street, neighborhood or a stadium – for example a tattoo or a mohawk – can now be replaced by identity markers that are virtual, imagined, manipulated or simply untrue. 

The Future: Belonging to a group is manifested via photographs posted on social media. The aim of this project is to show that everyone can create their own image independently of Instagram. This means you don’t have to manipulate your photos in order to belong to a virtual community because you end up lying to yourself and can lose your own sense of identity. 

#emotions#empathy#ceramics#human#changes

Migration – let's meet

ceramic plate with a plate-shaped lid

Marta Wilczewska

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

The Past: Lack of tolerance towards other races is the result of colonialism and widespread discrimination. Lack of tolerance towards migrants and different social groups is common. What is needed is education that results in greater awareness of and empathy towards another human being.

The Present: In the era of the Internet, people have become more open to the unknown. Technology has made it easier to learn about cultures, lifestyles and political situations in different countries. In order to really understand what we know in theory, we have to interact with people from a given country rather than simply like something or someone on Facebook. The value lies in real life contact with others. 

The Past: Our project encourages people to interact with one another. It has been designed to help a person fight the fear of and prejudice towards unknown people. Moreover, it can make people think about the similarities between people from different countries and the fact that living in a community is an act of solidarity. 

#emotions#empathy#ceramics#human#wellbeing#changes

Mantle

baby’s sleeping bag woven from cotton scraps collected from a local manufacturing plant

Milena Jandura, Krystian Jandura

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia Projektowanie Multisensorycznego dr Olga Kiedrowicz-Świtalska Foonka

2022

The design is a response to the problem of textile waste at the Foonka manufacturing plant and an attempt at repurposing wood waste obtained from a carpenter’s shop located in the vicinity of the Academy of Art in Szczecin. The wood waste was used to create a loom which, in turn, has been used to weave cotton textile waste into a new fabric. The fabric has been used to create sleeping bags for babies to accompany them in the first years of their life.

The Past: Irresponsible resource management and resulting consequences.  

The Present: Searching for opportunities in our surroundings – discovering potential in waste visible all around us. By creating a sleeping bag from cotton scraps, we want to encourage people to look at recycled materials as natural parts of our environment and a viable resource. Objects we are fond of as children quite often do not lose their appeal and make us sentimental as we grow older.

The Future: The affirmation of the future in which waste becomes a resource. This project aims at educating future generations who see creatively repurposed waste as an integral part of their environment.

#recycling#secondlife#human#wellbeing

Seiza

kneeling chair

Krystian Jandura, Milena Jandura

Pracownia Ergonomii, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2021

Traditional seats used in Eastern cultures have been redesigned to suit modern conditions —their form has been reduced to the minimum in light of idealistic and formal minimalism. Inclined at an angle, the seat encourages a person to maintain a natural body posture while sitting for longer periods of time. The seats can be used at home, during informal meetings, in educational facilities, rehabilitation centers and for meditation. Importantly, the seat can be reproduced locally thanks to the relative simplicity of the production process and the possibility of limiting waste by using an entire sheet of plywood per one seat.

The Past: Sedentary lifestyle, spinal degeneration. We forgot how to be consciously in the body, condemning our bodies to pain and discomfort. 

The Present: Reducing the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle requires taking up an additional activity in the form of exercises. The analysis of seats from various cultures inspired designers to create an optimal – in terms of form and function – object.

The Future: Seats designed to help us maintain a natural posture. We will guide the body in a more conscious and balanced way. We will also return to the primal ways of crafting items – manually, from available materials.

 

#handcrafted#furniture#human#better

Tomorrow – seed fabric

biodegradable fabric

Renata Ramola-Piórkowska

Pracownia Tkaniny, Katedra Projektowani Mody, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie dr hab. Aurelia – Zajączkowska-Mandziuk

2022

The tent has been handmade from a unique yarn with edible plant seeds. The idea behind the work was to create a biodegradable fabric that would then be used to make a series of utilitarian objects. When the tent stops being useful and gets discarded, it will continue to blend harmoniously with nature thanks to its capacity to decompose and enrich the natural environment. This is a conceptual project that invites a discussion about circular and sustainable design while remaining utilitarian in its essence. The project won several accolades, including The Mayor of the City of Szczecin Award, the Mayor of the City of Szczecin Scholarship, and the first prize in the “Młodzi na start” – 21st century design” contest run by Elle Decoration.

The Past: An example of critical design, the work takes part in a global discussion that affirms the turn to nature. And even though the objects will never be produced and sold, the design itself – utopian as it is – helps raise social awareness of ecological issues.

The Present: In order for the objects to be biodegradable, they had to be made with the use of plant and hydrophilic seeds in the form of water-soluble foil. We also used plain weave as one of the most efficient weaves together with a weave inspired by Włodzimierz Cygan’s works. 

The Future: The fabric encourages developing participatory activities aimed at different age groups (kids, seniors). The type of the group corresponds to the size and format of the fabric. As a result, the project can work as a tool to create a community of local artists.

#newmaterials#environment#lesswaste#zerowaste#human#design#forest#ecology

South

Exercises for ceramic

a set of ceramic cookware inspired by flaws that occurred in the process of their creation

Milena Jandura

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia projektowanie Multisensorycznego, dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska

2021

A set of ceramic cookware that was overstrained at different stages of its production. The final form of each item was affected by the thickness of the walls, the moistness of the substance, the weight, the drying pace, and the firing temperature.

The Past: The first stage in the design process was to research the primitive, prehistoric techniques of making ceramic cookware.

The Present: Each item was overstrained, which resulted in flaws appearing at different stages of the production process: during modelling and firing.

The Future: Three items with forms determined by uncontrollable factors: one deformed during modelling, one deformed during firing, and one deformed on purpose at the design stage.

#ceramics#changes

Third citimage

urban rug

Paweł Janicki

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski Fabryka dywanów Agnella

2020

A rug inspired by the architecture in Szczecin, especially the pre-War tenement houses. Made in Agnella, a rug factory based in Białystok, the rug tells the history of the city while remaining utilitarian.

The Past: Concrete and weeds – more concrete. That’s often the landscape that unfolds in front of us as we enter an annexe to an old tenement house. Old porches, remembering the time before the war, are falling apart. Walls and floors seem to be swallowed by the omnipresent moss, dirt, and soot. No matter where you look, you see a mix of green and concrete, each struggling for supremacy. 

The Present: The rug is in stark contrast to concrete and moss. The hard and the cold gives way to the soft and the warm. The destroyed and the off-putting is endowed with a new value. The rug becomes a woven impression that can be taken home from the street – its format reflecting the shape of one of the annexes in Szczecin. Its strange, irregular, undefinable shape speaks to the stories the place has witnessed. It symbolizes the memory of the city itself as well as our childhood memories.

The Future: Looking for oneself in the city. Growing up and adapting to changes in the urban landscape, society, technology. Expressing oneself through a unique object that is part of a larger whole – the city.

#nature#environment#human

Pussinka

amulet for celebrating womanhood

Daria Wróblewska

Pracownia projektowanie Multisensorycznego, dr Olga Kiedrowicz-Świtalska, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

Pussinka is a ceramic object designed to invite the celebration of womanhood. As an amulet, it becomes part of our everyday life. We can carry it in a bag, leave it on a nightstand, or put it in a drawer or a jewelry box. With each touch of Pussinka – with each glimpse – we are reminded of the importance of a woman’s body.

The Past: A young woman enters adolescence. Interested in her body and sexuality, she is intrigued by the change – the transformation of a girl into a woman. Accompanying her are the feelings of shame, insecurity, surprise and being lost.

The Present: The Internet provides more and more diverse resources of intimate and pornographic character. The feeling of being lost and insecure increases with the overwhelming number of anonymous photographs we are exposed to. Such an exposure does not necessarily help develop an awareness of one’s body. PUSSINKA, on the other hand, does exactly that by helping each woman discover, explore, and grow fond of her intimate self.

The Future: A woman is aware of her body. She feels comfortable talking about vaginas, vulvas, and pussies. She is the driving force for change in her environment. New generations talk freely about women’s transforming bodies.

#emotions#ceramics#rituals#human#heart#mind#wellbeing

Cycle

shoes collection

Magdalena Bylewska

Pracownia projektowania obuwia i akcesoriów, mgr Katarzyna Ditrich-Paturalska, mgr Anna Gregorczyk, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

The Cycle shoe collection is an attempt at utilizing the principles of the closed-loop economy in the process of designing and manufacturing shoes. The collection consists of five pairs of heeled boots made from manufacturing scraps and plastic. The method used in the manufacturing of the shoes has been originally developed by the designer.

The Past: The sources of traditional materials used in shoe manufacturing are either non-renewable (petroleum) or unethical (genuine leather). Most mass-produced shoes cannot be recycled or upcycled. 

The Present: It is easier to produce shoes in an alternative and sustainable way. I used an original technique to make heels from plastic waste and made uppers from manufacturing scraps (genuine leather) that were to end up in a landfill. The collection is unique and cannot be mass-produced. 

The Future: Awareness of what our clothes are made of should be important not only to designers, but also to conscious consumers. Ethical and sustainable fashion becomes a necessity and not a choice. Second-hand materials and products can be both aesthetically and ethically pleasing.

#recycling#secondlife#upcycling#fashion#slowfashion

Kimono

weighted clothing

Maria Ciarka

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia projektowanie Multisensorycznego, dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska

2022

A weighted kimono has been designed with meditation in mind. You can wear it if you want to calm down or feel taken care of. The kimono has a therapeutic effect and can be used on a daily basis – whenever you want to make yourself feel good.

The Past: Before the invention of clocks and linear time, the rhythm of life was determined by nature. People lived according to the natural rhythms of the day and seasons, enjoying the slow life experience.

The Present: Nowadays, we live in a dynamically changing world. Overloaded with stimuli, technology, and information, we are addicted to high levels of dopamine. As a consequence, more and more people suffer from psychosomatic disorders. Living in the online realm makes us feel ill at ease and insecure. What we desperately need is mindfulness and meditation. 

The Future: Meditation is the practice of being here and now. It can become a daily exercise for kids, adults, and the elderly. When we meditate, we don’t follow our thoughts, but merely observe them. We sit still and close our eyes, feeling comfortable. The stimuli are held at bay, the nervous system begins to relax. Our thoughts calm down and we are at peace with our inner selves.

#human#wellbeing#mentalhealth#attention

Massaging clothes

conceptual object

Rafał Zakrzewski

Wydział wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, Wydział Wzornictwa, Pracownia ubioru, dr Iga Węglińska

2022

Clothing – a conceptual project of clothing with incorporated details that massage the body of the wearer. Massaging relaxes the body, so the piece becomes an extension of a human hand, an intuitive massager. It wears naturally like a second skin.

The Past: During the COVID pandemic our lives changed drastically. We experienced isolation and loneliness. The absence of others – of another person’s touch – resulted in our body, especially skin, accumulating tension. What we ended up with was a state of permanent stress. 

The Present: Our bodies carry the burden of the pandemic. Our skin needs affection just like we need a close friend. We wear clothes every day – they are close to us, just like the skin is close to the body. When worn, the designed pieces can work as an extension of our hands that can feel the touch. By wearing them, we can also signal our social status and belonging to a specific group. 

The Future: Clothing can affect our well-being. We can wear it and press the incorporated details to stimulate specific parts of our body. Using it is an exercise in relaxation and self-awareness. Our body projects its state onto the clothes and they release us from the tension of the everyday.

#slowfashion#human#wellbeing#mentalhealth

Co-nnection

sensory jewelry

Patrycja Janiak

Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia Biżuterii, mgr Sara Gackowska

2022

Co-nnection is a jewelry set that communicates with a person via the sense of touch. Chains and necklaces are made from a variety of materials so that they can be experienced and interacted with. Some of them react to bodily contact by changing their colors, while others are irresistibly appealing thanks to their soft texture. They are designed to stimulate and provide respite from the hyper-incentivized world.

The Past: Incessant hum and overstimulation have become the new social norm. Living in a rush and lack of contact with our body result in chronic fatigue.

The Present: People have been looking for the ways to reconnect with themselves. To reconnect with their emotions, other people, objects. We need to experience the flow of energy, to have fun and relax. Jewelry helps us celebrate the moment, but also brings us closer to our bodies and the matter.

The Future: Like sage, the jewelry has the capacity to cleanse the space we’re in, endowing it with the energy necessary to introduce change into our lives. Chains, on the other hand, stimulate connection with their individual, tangible links symbolizing new ties within a community.

#fashion#slowfashion#human#wellbeing#mentalhealth

Paws

weighted pillows

Aleksandra Brejwo

Pracownia Projektowania Multisensorycznego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

2021

A set of weighted warming pillows for relaxation and stress reduction. The pillows come in three different sizes and can be used in different configurations to meet the user’s needs. The shapes have been inspired by the human hand and the paws of cats and sloths. The cherry pit filling can be heated up or cooled depending on the user’s needs.

The Past: To stay healthy, a person should be hugged four times a day. Kids, dogs, cats and trees are hugged. Teddy bears and toys are hugged. Pillows and blankets are also hugged from time to time. As we grow up, we hug less and less without realizing the damage we do to ourselves. 

The Present: Tender hugging is a ritual used for self-reflection on how we feel. Detached from the mind, the body seeks strong feelings and stimuli in order to relax and relieve muscle tension. The youngest generation is more and more likely to suffer from sensory system dysfunctions. 

The Future: To use the paws is to find time for self-care. The touch and the warmth give rise to increased attentiveness to the moment. They invite us to pause. The length of each pillow determines its shape, weight, temperature and use. Self-care becomes part of our daily routine.

#emotions#human#wellbeing#mentalhealth

Objects for practicing mindfulness

a set of multisensory objects for practicing mindfulness

Estera Broda

Wydział wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, Wydział Wzornictwa, Pracownia ubioru, dr Iga Węglińska, Pracownia Multisensorycznego Projektowania Produktu dr Olga Kiedrowicz-Świtalska

2022

A set of multisensory items helpful in practicing mindfulness by encouraging hand gestures. Each item engages different senses and helps us focus on the here and now. The inspiration behind the project comes from Asian rituals, meditation, and Zen Buddhism.

The Past: Life determined by the rhythm of nature. Working, eating, and regenerating was done in accordance with the rhythm of the day. Everything had its time and order. According to the laws of the circular time, springtime was for sowing, summer for harvesting, autumn for winter preparations, and winter for relaxation. 

The Present: The world moves faster and faster. We keep running. Capitalism and growth determine our lives – a bigger house, a bigger car, a trip around the world. Horace’s carpe diem has fallen into oblivion. The stop sign starts glowing red. What awakens in us is the need to slow down and practice mindfulness.

The Future: The set helps us practice mindfulness via the sense of touch, smell, hearing, and the feeling of harmony. As each object encourages us to make specific gestures in the moment, we can concentrate on sensual impressions.

#emotions#rituals#human#wellbeing#attention

West

Murmur

object for collective mouring

Marianna Krajewska, Patrycja Żyżniewska

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

Vibratory and tactile transformation of funeral hymns into a new ritual.

The Past: Collective and unifying singing of funeral hymns and songs joined grieving people together, offering them the feeling of calmness and unity with others. The singing usually took place over several days. 

The Present: Today, funeral hymns remain characteristic of Catholic funerals, but the number of practicing Catholics is decreasing. More often than ever, mourning means loneliness. What we need is a community and new, secular rituals that help us grieve. 

The Future: The new form of collective mourning relies on the transformation of the singing into vibratory and tactile sensations felt by two people. Secular in its nature, the objects invite new rituals.

#death#goodbye#rituals#human

Bardo

wearables symbolizing the connection between the living and their deceased loved ones

Julia Galewicz

Wydział wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, Wydział Wzornictwa, Pracownia ubioru, dr Iga Węglińska

2022

The project explores the subject of afterlife connections and spirituality in the current world and in the future. It is crucial to grieve consciously in order to accept the new state of affairs – what comes after we experience loss. One life ends so that another can begin. As we move from one state to another, it is important to remain mindful of ourselves. Grieving is a transformational tool that helps us recalibrate our mode of thinking.

The Past: Death makes us question the sense of existence. It is all about experiencing the breaking of ties between those who depart and those who stay. Different cultures use different means of contacting the dead, believing that the dead care for the living and bestow them with motivation, while the living complete the tasks unfinished by the dead.

The Present: The dead live in the living. Our relation with the deceased is highly symbolic and dependent on our beliefs: in God, in gods, in ourselves, in nature. Humans have stopped trusting their innate magical atoms and accepting that which the reason cannot comprehend.

The Future: The project is symbolic in nature. Symbolic of light and presence. It is a greeting from the dead – a form of mindfulness and self-therapy. It is a hand that is missing – a beloved yet no longer tangible breath. It is a spiritual ritual that blends life and death – a shared moment in which the body and the soul come together in a unique act of communication. 

#death#emotions#rituals#human

Costumes of decay

costumes for the performance directed by Marta Sundmann

Miłosz Jon

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia Projektowania Ubioru, dr Iga Węglińska

2022

Costumes have been designed to manifest socio-cultural changes. Three silhouettes represent identity archetypes and the history of the Sundmann family. The latter is the object of the analysis and so is the space that belonged to the family – Sala Sundmann in Szamotuły.

The Past: From around 1920 to 2005, Sala Sundmann – located in Szamotuły – functioned as a restaurant, a reception hall, a movie theater, a sports venue, a nightclub, and a second-hand furniture shop. As a result of economic transformation, the place has been slowly deteriorating, reminding passers-by of the passing time. 

The Present: The costumes represent archetypal figures from the Sundmann family: Prababka, Ojeck, and Postać Mitu. The Polish names of family members are emotionally- and symbolically-charged neologisms, hence there is no need to translate them into English. What served as an inspiration for the creation of the costumes was the visual and historical narrative about the place. The forms of the costumes are raw, literally and ideologically. In themselves, the three pieces offer a new way of remembering people.

The Future: The costumes are part of an artistic performance about the members of the Sundmann family. A movie serves as the background. The event itself is limited in time and space – it will be performed in Sala Sundman for a short period of time and then it will vanish…just like Sala’s days of glory. The costumes materialize the passing of time and stand as tokens of our memory of the past. They are a meeting and a warning.

#goodbye#dieing#fashion#textiles

#climatedancer

wooden zoomorphic mask

Kosmos Project, Alicja Fijał, Aleksandra Brejwo

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

2021

The zoomorphic mask tells the story of the transfer of past beliefs to current times. #Climatedancer is a dance with the modern ritual mask to be performed on TikTok. Its aim is to make young people who glorify consumption think about climate issues. 

The Past: Chiwara – the spirit that supported humans’ farming endeavors, but turned its back on them the moment they forgot him and became unappreciative. As soon as the humans realized that their crops were dying, they came up with a ritual dance performance with helmet masks to conciliate the spirit and rebuild unity with nature. The mask of the Bambara peoples featured an antelope – the animal believed to be crucial to the survival of the peoples. In our project, we were looking for a creature with humanistic and animalistic features as well as the pop culture icon status. This is why we used Pikachu as our inspiration.

The Present: Hooked on consumerism, people have stopped caring for their planet, their home, their source of life. It seems that we too need a spirit to remind us of the scale of the problem and help us deal with the climate emergency. 

The Future: Using contemporary modes of expression, we have come up with a symbolic dance that tells the story of the lost harmony between the human and the natural as well as the need to change the “I” to the “We” – to focus on each and every inhabitant of the Earth. The project aims at engaging the users emotionally and changing their value systems.

#environment#rain#rituals#future#human

North

TODDki

tactile objects for touching

Blanka Jaworska

Pracownia Projektowania Multisensorycznego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska, mgr Blanka Jaworska

2022

TODDki is an educational tool that investigates the relationship between the sense of touch and sight. With TODDki, we can turn off the sense of sight and explore proportions, textures, and shapes with our hands. TODDki helps us develop the sense of touch and the ability to think with our hands. Moreover, the tool can be used for educational purposes in design courses or for broadly-defined educational and therapeutic activities.

The Past: People used to be closer to one another, to nature, to plants, and to animals. Closer to the world whose materiality they were able to feel with their own hands: the texture and weight of an object, the warmth of another human body, the softness of hair or fur, the coarseness of rocks. 

The Present: Now, the screen stands between us and the world. It is safer to be a viewer, but this kind of being in the world deprives people of the complexity of experience. In the position of an observer, we refuse to act, trusting only in what we see. What we feel when we touch loses its importance. 

The Future: With good tools, we can come back to ourselves, to our senses and to our bodies. We can focus our attention on our feelings – emotions and impressions – in order to be “here and now”. TODDki helps you practice self-awareness, making your hands more sensitive and perceptive.

#emotions#human#wellbeing#attention

The mushroom at the end of the world

book

Jana Lachowska

Pracownia Wydawnictw i Publikacji Multimedialnych, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie dr hab. Danuta Dąbrowska Wojciechowska, mgr Patrycja Żyżniewska

2022

The mushroom at the end of the world focuses on an original exploration of the relationship between the destructive forces of capitalism and communal survival in multi-species environments. It provides an answer to the following question: Is it possible to live in human-made ruins?

The Past: Looting, destruction, exploitation – three elements of a vast and never-ending process that remains invisible to humans on a daily basis. We live in capitalism which values growth. More consumption, more money, more waste. It is a cycle that leads us towards destruction.

The Present: Most problems faced on Earth today are the result of human activity. And even though research suggests how we can rebuild our ecosystem, the leaders of the free world are slow to introduce the necessary changes. Lost and paralyzed with fear, humans try to take the matters in their own hands in an attempt to look for and bring change. 

The Future: This project encourages you to stop and reflect. The book offers a comparison of natural and human-induced processes that help us arrive at conclusions that change the way we look at the issue. Information pollution loosens its grasp on us, we are left alone, facing the questions that truly matter.

#capitalism#future#human#wellbeing#changes

Liminal

booklet, spatial object, movie

Kornelia Biały

Pracownia Wydawnictw i Publikacji Multimedialnych, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie dr hab. Danuta Dąbrowska Wojciechowska, mgr Patrycja Żyżniewska

2021

Liminal was submitted as a BA diploma project at the Design Department of the Academy of Art in Szczecin. It has three parts: 1) a spatial object to symbolize a patient who undergoes all the procedures described in the project. One element inside the form imitates a life-sustaining pump and enables interaction with the viewer thanks to the cord that extends beyond the object; 2) an artist’s booklet with photographs, descriptions of medical procedures, observations, and commentaries. This is the most important part of the whole project – the titular diary; 3) a movie composed of three short fragments that complement and visually summarize the project.

The Past: A patient with internal organ failure (e.g. of the heart, kidneys or the liver) dies. 

The Present: Transplantology can prolong a person’s life. Any organ can be transplanted from one human body to another. There is one condition though: the donor has to be pronounced clinically dead. What this condition conveys is a simple truth: one person dies so that somebody else can live.

The Future: In her diploma project, the designer speculates on the development of tissue engineering by creating the patient of the future who will be built from human cells and sustained by a living person. Assuming the possibility of the birth of new organisms that will require medical care, the designer asks herself a question: How far will we go in creating new organisms and how long will we be able to morally justify our actions?

#predeath#future#human

AXI

handmade light fixtures

Krystian Jandura

Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, Pracownia Projektowanie Multidyscyplinarnego, mgr Maciej Karpiak

2022

AXI is a set of light fixtures whose name has been inspired by the axis visible in the structures of end products and the rotation present in techniques employed at different stages of the production process.

A significant part of working on the project was related to the analysis of the specificity of three different professions: that of a turner, responsible for creating the glassblowing blow pipes, and those of a glassworker and a metal spinner/bronze-caster responsible for making specific elements of a fixture.

With the help of these professionals, it was possible to create fixtures in a traditional way while still making sure they complied with the standards of the contemporary market and local production.

The Past: Hand-made artisanship, local production, low cost, and the master-pupil knowledge sharing: the analysis of these conditions helped determine the potential of the matter, knowledge and skills in the context of today’s cultural and economic changes. Looking at the history of each technique used by the three artisans and the circumstances in which the three men mastered their professions helped discover unique solutions that could be adapted in different contexts to serve new design needs. 

The Present: The growth of mass production has led to the disappearance of professions based on handicraft. This might have accelerated the technological development, but at the same time it has resulted in the loss of manual skills innate in human beings.

The Future: Supporting manual production techniques that remain a viable alternative to mass production. In doing so, preserving the tradition of local production.

#handcrafted#lamp#changes

HUMAN PLANT MUSHROOM

book

Joanna Miler

Pracownia projektowania publikacji multimedialnych i książki artystycznej, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie dr hab. Danuta Dąbrowska-Wojciechowska, mgr. Patrycja Żyżniewska

2022

„CZŁOWIEK ROŚLINA GRZYB” (HUMAN PLANT MUSHROOM) tells the story of incorrect assumptions behind the antropocene, bringing us closer to how plants function, and proving to us that humans and mushrooms share genes. Upon completing the reading, we are more cognizant of the interspecies relations.

The Past: Humans lived too long believing in the superiority of themselves and their needs. Exploiting the Earth’s natural resources to the extreme in the name of constant growth, the human population has significantly destabilized nature. 

The Present: Nowadays, more and more people wake up to a realization how important it is to retain harmony in nature. In order to build a better world, we need to act thoughtfully. Blending education and play, the book helps reset our worldview and embrace the prospect of a sustainable tomorrow.

The Future: The book has been designed to raise awareness of the fact that humans are only part of a community of organisms living on Earth. Understanding the world – the co-dependence and interconnection of different species – and empathizing with other organisms can be the key to improve the ecological state of the world as well as the quality of human life. The designer would love the book to awaken in humans the feeling of connection with other species.

#nature#environment#future#human#changes#better

MOJA

object presenting research results

dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska, dr Magdalena Małachowska

Pracownia Projektowania Multisensorycznego dr Olga Kiedrowicz- Świtalska, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, dr Magdalena Małachowska, MOJA

2022

MOJA – an intravaginal device for diagnosing the risk of cervical cancer. The device can be used to regularly monitor the parameters related to a woman’s intimate health. Fully integrated with a mobile app, it resembles a silicone tampon.

The Past: 1 in 1.5 billion women on Earth are at risk of developing cervical cancer due to lack of testing. Only 4 in 10 women consult a specialist regularly. What this means is that women die from cervical and breast cancer. Unfortunately, with increasing resistance to medication, we can soon be once again at risk of sexually-transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea. 

The Present: We’re looking for the ways to provide women with access to professional medical tests In the absence of gynecologists or in the face of shame or fear that could potentially be induced by such a visit. The fem-tech industry is already developing all over the world. 

The Future: Women can monitor the state of their intimate health on their own. The “technological tampon” – made from biocompatible materials – can measure, for example, the thickness, clarity, and pH of vaginal discharge thanks to a special capsule with different gauges and detectors. The exhibition will feature a spatial object representing the results of our research on MOJA. 

#data#responsibly#safety#human#wellbeing#lifelonglearning#knowledge

Post-Anima-Is

stress-releasing objects imitating animal presence

Rafał Zakrzewski

Wydział wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie, Wydział Wzornictwa, Pracownia ubioru, dr Iga Węglińska

2022

A set of objects designed to help the user relax thanks to various stimuli. The items can accompany us on a daily basis, replacing animals for those of us who can’t have them or imitating the presence of our four-legged companions when we are away from them. By engaging the user’s senses, the objects – with their soothing and relaxing qualities – have a positive influence on our physical and mental state.

The Past: In the world before the rapid development of technology and the Internet, humans lived in harmony with nature – its flora and fauna. With time, they started trying to control the natural world, exploiting nature for their own purposes. They cut trees, sow the fields with corn, and domesticated the dog. In turn, the dog assisted hunters, protected households, and cleaned the streets from scattered leftovers. Finally, the dog became a pupil – a source of support and joy.

The Present: Today, we have lost the ability to determine what is real and what is fake. In Western Europe, dogs live in their owners’ homes or find temporary homes in shelters – they have become our friends. 

The Future: Post-anima-ls are our new family members, our future companions. Objects that replace real animals can also become our friends and increase our overall well-being. As we face difficulties in life, they help us deal with stress and heal our wounds. 

#emotions#empathy#nature#environment#human#animals

Centrum. Human

Surrounded with others

a social game

Maria Ciarka, Magdalena Gabara, Daria Wróblewska

Pracownia projektowanie spekulatywnego, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie dr Agnieszka Polkowska

2022

Eating together is a celebration. Quite often it is the only time during the day we have a chance to reconnect with others. Our game has been designed in the spirit of slow life: it gives rhythm to the eating process, prolonging the time spent together at the table. At the same time, it inspires conversations, opens up the senses and enriches the users with new experiences.

The Past: Back in the day, celebrating food was closely related to the tradition of eating together as a family. Most often, families would meet during Christmas to enjoy a feast – often with alcohol and fat, meat-based meals at the center – and cultivate relations. 

The Present: We live in a rush and often don’t have enough time to eat in peace. Instead, we do it quickly, staring at computer screens or doing something on our phones. We eat thoughtlessly, unaware of what and how much we eat. Food does not nourish us, but is used merely as a tool to regulate our emotions – we eat our stress away, we eat when we’re sad and bored. 

The Future: The table as a safe space central to the cultivation of relations. Fueled by conversations. The educational aspect of the game centers on expanding our awareness of food and eating and encouraging us to take care of our health. The rhythm of the game requires the players to slow down as they share a meal and focus on the here and now. With our body and mind in sync, we can appreciate the food with all our senses and become more aware of the bodily and the spiritual.

#emotions#food#human#wellbeing

Ryt

clay pitcher for filtering water

Maria Ciarka

Pracownia projektowania konceptualnego, dr hab. Bartosz Mucha, mgr Maciej Jelski, mgr Ewa Jelska, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2021

Can everyday rituals help us in times of crisis? This project offers a reflection on how we can practice self-care and gain stability in this ever-changing world. By following the rhythm of the day and staying hydrated, we can experience happiness.

The Past: Earthenware is traditionally used in India to store drinking water. Its history goes back to 10 000 B.C. For centuries, households in cultures all over the world treated it as standard equipment, using it to preserve and prepare food and drinks which, thanks to clay, remained fresh for longer. Known for its health-promoting qualities, clay was also used put on wounds to prevent bacteria from spreading and speed up the process of healing. 

The Present: Today, bottled water has become an accepted norm, which is why our bodies continue to accumulate microplastic. In recent years, however, more and more people have been choosing filtered tap water over plastic bottles – for the sake of health and in the spirit of zero waste. 

The Future: The clay pitcher takes us back to our roots and pays homage to the old ways of storing water. With its cooling, breathing, absorptive, and evaporative qualities, clay serves as an alternative and natural water filter. It is rich in minerals and, thanks to its porous texture, it eliminates toxins. Like activated coal, it can also have a therapeutic effect. Water stored in a clay pitcher is cooled and filtered in a natural way, hence it is clean and fresh. 

#handcrafted#drinkingwater#rituals#human

DIY tea

packaging

Dawid Fik

Pracownia Projektowania Opakowań, dr Anna Witkowska, mgr Marta Madej

2020

Packaging for different types of tea that reminds you of the need to live your life to the fullest. Designed to help you take care of your mental health by turning to simple activities. The ritual of brewing tea calms your nerves and invites attentiveness to the here and now.

The Past: Can we lose ourselves in a simple, everyday activity? Cleanse our mind by putting our hands to work? The current pace of life and the instability of reality make us forget about our well-being and the importance of self-care.

The Present: The design is a response to the pandemic lockdown. Born out of the need to release the stress caused by the prolonged isolation and the uncertainty of the future, it offers a manual and mental respite via the process of brewing tea and enjoying the origami-inspired packaging. 

The Future: The design blends manual activity with pleasure. By inviting you to assemble different parts of a tea box, it forces you to keep your hands engaged during the process of brewing tea. After collecting most boxes, we can build a totem to manifest the very ritual and our mental well-being. Created in the DIY spirit, the project pays homage to the need for creativity, inviting user-product interaction and encouraging self-care. 

#emotions#food#rituals#human

Here and Now

late night stories

Sara Brzostek, Natalia Rybak, Marta Murawska

Zakład Historii i Teorii Designu, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

Here and Now is a late night ritual at the Settlement where the community and guests come together to share their thoughts freely and engage in shared conceptualizing, theorizing, and dreaming. Exhibited items are here to inspire a conversation and spark a question: How can we create our future by drawing from past experiences? 

The format of late night meetings helps clear one’s head and collect the thoughts as the day comes to an end at the Settlement. It also allows a harmonious blending with the rhythm of nature.

The Past: The past is embodied in all the experience and knowledge of our community members. Exhibited items and stories related to them become an inspiration for the future.

The Present: A community, a conversation, a get-together. An exchange of ideas, energy, emotions. A space for relaxation and stabilization.

The Future: A reflection on what we are left with after the exhibition – the concepts developed by the community, newly-formed relations and systematized knowledge. New paths to take, new ideas to explore. Our very own potential.

#emotions#rituals#human#attention

Circular gate

circular gate with additional AR space

Emilia Łapko, Marta Masela, Michał Sietnicki, Daria Opasiak

grupa interdyscyplinarna, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

Functioning as the gate to the settlement, the circle symbolizes the passage to an alternative reality. Mixed reality expands the real world and blurs the boundaries between the material and immaterial. By passing the VR goggles from hands to hands, we take part in the creation of a community built upon the exchange of experiences.

The Past: Humans used to spend most of their time outside. In the field, the garden, outside the block of flats, climbing the trees in parks. As they say, stay active to stay healthy. Picking mushrooms and forest walks were equally relaxing and sense-nourishing activities. 

The Present: The everyday seems banal. Bored with contemporary reality, we take to routine and thoughtless actions. New technologies such as Mixed Reality are a creative means of showing us the so-far unknown dimensions of human imagination where logic and rationalism give way to a new universe. 

The Future: Sharing is caring. By passing the goggles from hands to hands like a peace pipe, the designers share their points of view and enter into a discussion about the world we live in. The gesture of passing the object from person to person symbolizes the passing of a visual narrative in an attempt to build a collective imaginary and experience a community.

#tech#rituals#human

Design process diaries

design proces diaries - thoughts and actions

Studenci i studentki I roku II stopnia Wydziału Wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

Zakład Historii i Teorii Designu, dr Magdalena Małachowska, mgr Agata Kiedrowicz, Wydział Wzornictwa Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie

2022

To hell with theory and practice, there’s nothing more than thinking and acting – says British anthropologist Tim Ingold. For centuries, people have been writing their thoughts down in diaries. This time, young designers are using the diary as a means of thinking and acting. Accompanying designers in their creative processes, diaries have become the confidants of our emotions and reflections. They are the spaces where you think with your hands, registering intuitive and reflexive processes.

The Past: Socrates was against the reliance on the written word for he feared it would overshadow the importance of real dialog. For him, the speech was the carrier of thoughts, a moving force in the here and now. How do we re-establish the power of real dialog while describing our creative process?

The Present: We use either the head or the hands. The Cartesian division of the body and the mind polarizes the ways in which we function. How do we integrate the thought with the feeling? Let’s think with the body and feel with the mind, let’s act intuitively, go with our gut and act on the spot to create visual and textual stories. Design process diaries are subjective stories filled with pictures, drawings and ruminations. They give an insight into creative processes full of awe, doubt, tests, mistakes and thought.

The Future: Thinking and acting drive the processes of creation. The language is for thinking. It provides the logic behind the reasoning in the form of writing or painting. It is a symbolic code that reveals the non-verbal layer. Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk urges us to create “the language of new words”. Let’s expand the center, the known and the rational, in order to communicate our thoughts, emotions and actions.

#design#human#changes#knowledge

Tolerance – Disability

plate

Jan Pacyga

Pracownia Projektowania Konceptualnego w Katedrze Projektowania Produktu, Wydział Wzornictwa, Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie mgr Ewa Bochen, mgr Maciej Jelski, dr Magdalena Małachowska

2022

A set of plates designed to encourage people to think about tolerance in terms of gender, migration, disability, body positivity, age group behavior, subcultures, and one’s own “I”. Members of the younger generation discover tolerance through solidarity with themselves and others. Collectively and individually, they represent their thoughts and beliefs in the form of a plate. Each plate was made using the same form, but still has a unique shape, color, and texture, becoming a patchwork of thoughts and life lessons. Like society, the set of plates is a diverse monolith.

 

The Past: People with disabilities have accommodated to the reality by building their own, separate world. Invisible to able-bodied members of society, they limited themselves to the space they’ve built – the space separated by a wall from the rest of the world. Distance and lack of understanding led to fear and confusion. People with and without disabilities experienced problems understanding one another. 

The Present: Today, people with disabilities more and more often find acceptance and employment. There are projects developed to make their lives easier. However, for the majority of society, people with disabilities seem to exist in an alternative reality. Unless a person has a disability, they tend to pay no mind to those who struggle with it on a daily basis. 

The Past: The plates have been designed to force the user to read Braille featured on their surface. The reading takes some effort, but it’s worth it. It can also be fun to get to know new languages, not only foreign ones, but the languages of the body. Hence, the project becomes a bridge between two worlds that invites people to accept the diversity in the world. 

 

#emotions#empathy#human#changes