Emotional Furniture

by William Greinke

The organic forms encourage tactile interaction with users

The pieces are designed to be arranged in any number of scenarios

The project was also designed to function as a comfortable two-seater sofa

The core pieces measurements are similar to those of a standard two-seater sofa

Project Description

Emotional Furniture consists of a trio of creative furniture pieces that are designed using emotional and biomimetic design principles, to sustainably extend the products’ lifecycle and resist overconsumption. The issue of overconsumption is widespread and worsening; a year’s worth of the earth's ecological resources and services will be used up by July 29 this year. A large quantity of mass-produced products are designed without consideration of their entire life cycle, resulting in them being needlessly discarded, broken or replaced. By designing products with the objective of creating product-user relationships, designers ensure their products are not over-consumed and the lives of the users are enriched. After comprehensive research into emotional design techniques, I set out to design a piece of furniture that exemplified as many of these techniques as possible, with the intention of illustrating with maximum substance the important role they play in sustainably extending the life of a product. Constructed using soft polyurethane foam upholstered in boucle fabric, the pieces are designed to be flipped, rolled, spun, stacked, or balanced to create a multitude of scenarios to suit any setting or occasion the user desires. This physical act of arranging the furniture promotes product-related memories, stimulates social interaction, and evokes enjoyment in the user. These effects are some of the most important steps in creating product-user relationships. In essence, the pieces are designed as a sofa with countless seating and reclining arrangements available. Further, the openness of the design allows for composition as play forts or other fun possibilities depending on the user’s creative engagement with the pieces.

The act of personally arranging the pieces to suit the user forges strong emotional attachment

Bio

I am an enthusiastic young designer with an interest in high aesthetic, interdisciplinary design practice. I have practised working with many different materials, predominantly timber, from a young age; my passion for handmade items began in high school. During the completion of a bachelor’s degree of Design, majoring in Product Design at UTS, I have been fortunate enough to study a wide range of subjects including CAD, textiles, furniture, and photography. This has allowed me to explore many different disciplines of design and thereby gather a broad spectrum of skills and interests.

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