Peer Comments

Musa Noorsjamsi - http://musaides1031.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/bioinspired.html#comment-form

Oun Vimolpatranon - http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6561537982608082039&postID=6036589028779704071&isPopup=true

Ping Song - http://pings19.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/bamboo-spices-bottles.html#comment-form

Jan Gerardino - http://janraymondgerardino.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/studio-2a-project-1-bioinspired.html#comment-form

Max Glanville - http://maxglanvillez3333044.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/product-poster.html#comment-form

Studio 2 - Project One: BioInspired

BioInspired: Plant Storage (Herbs)

Design is one of the most crucial things that people can contribute in to society. Biomimetic/biomorphic designing is another stage where design is influenced by things in ecosystem. It gave me a glimpse in to the heart of ecosystem from the simplest to the complex stages that are happening around it. In this project, I have accomplished to design a Herb Storage mimicking some of the features and characteristics of vines. It is inspiring how designers can change a simple old form of storage into something quirky and exciting.

A vine is a plant with a growth habit of trailing and sometimes it refers to as stem runners. It has this delicate, exotic and exaggerated looks when it’s in the ground, walls or anything that they can climb into. Being inspired by this plant, this herb storage offers these characteristics. It is consists of three parts the base, stand and the individual planter that can be assembled or disassembled for storage purpose. In terms of the stand, it mimics how the vines grow in a way that user can add more branches to meet their preferred height of the storage. On the other hand, the individual planter mimics the leaves of the vines and the spiralling effect of it. User can also add more planters to plant more herbs to meet their needs. The shape of the planter is an exaggerated form of vine leaves and its twisting form. The dark olive green and anodised grey symbolised natures stability and delicateness.     

Adaptability into different domestic landscapes like apartments, condominiums and houses is not a problem. It can be easily place into small to high density living which lands under space saving storage category.

Made out of recycled plastics, this herb storage gives an eco-friendly product. In terms of the recycled plastic, heat compression is the process use to melt the collected plastics which is relatively easy to perform. Three moulds are made for injection moulding. The finish product is sprayed by a soy-based sealant so factors such as sun’s UV rays and water are not a big problem. Furthermore, using a recycled plastic as the primary material, the product then is durable and contained less harmful materials that will affect the environment and humans. Reusing recycled plastics can also be recycled again in the end of its product life span.

This Bio-inspired herb storage offers you awareness towards health, environment and safety through its materials; chemicals and processes used which comes from planning and designing of the product. The product being biomimetically and biomorphically inspired and designed, gives you an abstract, exotic and quirky appearance which is likable to many users. It is adaptive into different trends of living particularly the landscapes and the type of shelter. This product has the ability to add-more or take-less with a stackable individual planter and stands to meet the user’s needs. Using recycled plastics and required process gives a sense of practicality and awareness towards design practice being able to utilise these factors. The design of this product, being inspired of vines, has the nature’s sustainable design principle which can benefit the community and the environment. Marcel Wanders once said that ‘designing with nature has the potential to inspire; to contribute to the concept of a world changing opportunity but most importantly it is directed by the designer’s heart and mind’. 

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is a documentary that showcase the worsening issue of climate change and the arguments that this issue put towards the society. It also shows the increasing production and how Carbon dioxide and greenhouse affect the environment. These informations are not just personal thoughts but presented by evidences like legal documents and statistics. For present designers, consciousness will be a great impact in this issue.


The issue about the glaciers is one of the evidence of how worst climate change it is now. This is evident through Kenya's Mt. Kilimanjaro's 11,000 year old glacier which is rapidly melting and retreating. Al Gore pointed out that if this keeps happening, glaciers retreating from both Antarctic and Greenland, 20 foot rise in sea level would happen in some parts of America and Asia. 


Al Gore's concern about our planet undoubtedly raised an immediate action from different parts of the world. World leaders as well as concern citizens should continue the act of humbleness towards our planet even from a simple use of recycling bins to promotion of paper bags instead of plastics.


This documentary I believe raises designer's thinking into another level. It challenges designers awareness about the materials that will be use in product design from packaging to finishing stages. Not everyone is fond of using sustainable or friendly materials. But as designers, we should also be aware that we are not just designing and making an impact towards the people but also towards the planet.  To make a difference, ethical thinking should be consider in designing things so awareness towards our future can be performed that can either harm or preserve our planet.               

Plant Storage Ideas/Concepts

The first idea is a plant storage inspired by a bird's claw. You can keep adding the storage in a line. The plant storage can be stored indoors were the claws like stand lays flat but grips its ground because of rubbery material. It can also be use for outdoors where you can cling the stand into branches of trees or even in fences and side windows.

The second idea is a plant storage inspired by a cactus. This storage is a free-form shape and can be put as one or in three parts. There will be pockets built in it in different sizes were you can plant the plants. The storage will be made out of brown sacks and can be filled up with soil or compost. When watering the plants , water will run down slowly to the next piece of sacks and to the last. The sack will keep the moisture inside and let the roots breath through it.        

Bill Moggridge - What is design?

Bill Moggridge discussed the essence of good and bad design in this video – “What is design?” Various   examples were used to communicate this concept of good and bad design that raise the question why it is good and bad. Misinterpretation about fields of design like industrial, architectural, etc is also touched by Moggridge that allowed me to have that little bit of knowledge about design fields.

Everything is designed and I do understand that matter. Just in your own house, you look at the kitchen, lounge room or even in the garden things are designed accordingly. Furthermore, everyday things that we use like kitchen utensils are important. If these things are only designed for specific person and others can’t really use them or having trouble using them it is considered as bad design. However, everyday tools that designed for everyone that even disabled people can use it is a definite a very good design.

Technology is one thing that influenced design practice. For example, architectures can create great designs and turn the impossible to actual things or buildings like Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum.

Design disciplines are needed in order to come up with an amazing design. It all involves research about human and subjective frames and technical and objective which form teams for complex problem that sometimes comes up while designing. Understanding the people can lead you to a better designer because you are not just designing but designing with purpose.

Bill Moggridge’s – What is design? Video taught me obvious facts that my eyes and brain subconsciously ignored. In able to have a good design it should be desirable that will function well and everyone should have ease in using it. Good design is not about just having a good design but having that new innovation that will establish good experience towards the users as well as nurturing them.

Peer Comments

Peer comments to:

Musa Noorsjamsi - http://musaides1031.blogspot.com/2011/10/project-2-upcycled-utility.html#comments

Jan Raymond Gerardino - http://janraymondgerardino.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcycled-utility.html?showComment=1318860914463#c5542042563792048380

Sunprit Singh - http://sunprit.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcycled-utility-rationale-i-chose-to.html?showComment=1318921581892#c2023041487715060432

Pamela Ablang - http://pamablang.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcycling-lamps.html#comments

Edric Verbeek- Martin - http://edricides1122.blogspot.com/2011/10/upcycling-unwanteds.html#comments

Upcycled Utility

Product Poster

Product Instruction Manual

Efficient waste-cutting diagram

Project Two: Upcycled Utility – Pendant Lamp

Upcycled Utility allowed me to experience and explores the relationship between industrial design and ecological sustainability through recycling discarded JCDecaux advertising poster. Using a variety of folding, cutting experiments and research I reused and transformed this used advertising posters into an elegant piece of pendant lamp.

The Nukrobiyo pendant lamp is inspired by the discarded poster and the importance of ecological sustainability. The name” nukrobiyo” means “gem” in Filipino. The lamp mimics the shape of a gem or a crystal which communicates the importance of recycling and its impact towards the environment. The design is flat packable which is space saver and efficient for Australia post mailing delivery. It is easy to assemble and disassemble without any use of clips or fasteners instead with its interlocking snap joints. Furthermore, it is easy to mass-manufacture.  

This pendant lamp is an elegant mood lamp which earns its place to be displayed in the upmarkets with added value despite of its old estate. A relax warmth ambient and depth are distributed in the room once the lamp is lit. The juxtaposition of subtle diamond-leaf like pattern on the lamp provides a dramatic effect aesthetically wether the lamp is lit or not. It also gives a nice solid geometrical and structural shape. The folding in the lamp made it more dynamic together with the nice original print in the discarded poster.

Mimicking gem-crystal like Nukrobiyo pendant lamp is simply geometrically structural yet sophisticated upcycled product. It provides you a light that delivers warm but relax mood once it’s lit up. This product serves as a pendant lamp and decoration which is suitable for upmarket shops, restaurants and home. The process of transforming of something that is disposed into an elegant reincarnation of a lamp is visible through this Nukrobiyo pendant lamp.