Month: November 2017

The Last Hours of the Fourth World

Calexico is an indie folk band from Tucson, a city 97 km from the Mexican border. This is why they feel interest and empathy with the conflict of dividing lines between cultures.

To design their upcoming tour, we used the prophecy of the ancient indigenous Hopi people as the basis, according to which the consumerist and selfish way of life of humans will bring an end to the world as we know it. This destruction will be predicted by nine signs, all of which except one have been fulfilled.

Hence the naming of ‘The Last Tour of the Fourth World’, a mysterious and impacting concept and story that will seek the relationship with this prophecy and life on the borders: the same type of fusion that Calexico make with their music.

With a sublime aesthetic, the visual universe of the tour reflects how imposing and noble the desert is and how tiny humans are in relation to it.

Enric Bricall Library Project

A team of researchers on the MIDI programme called “The Liberolas” received the commission to research into how the Enric Bricall library at ELISAVA could be relevant today and how it could be made ready for coming generations. After using an extensive range of tools based on research into trends, co-creation and organisational methodologies, the team found opportunities and proposed a long-term plan. With this Plan, The Liberolas proposed to help the Enric Bricall library adapt to the current and future needs of (1) connection and exchange of knowledge between the departments and disciplines at ELISAVA, (2) maintaining a (local) identity while adapting to a globalising society, and (3) promoting human-based design. In doing so, The Liberolas conceive the Enric Bricall library as the heart of ELISAVA, a school made up of a community of closely interconnected creatives.

Pilou

‘Pilou’ is an occasional table that allows you to store and display objects in different spaces around the home. It is made of folded and soldered steel rod, and finished with powder coating paint. The top is made of fir wood. The name ‘Pilou’ is inspired by the concept of rest, and its name by the English word “pillow”, and it refers to the place where objects rest. Keys, a book, shoes in the hall, a plant or a candle, any of the objects that we own deserves a special and beautiful place to rest after offering us a day of use. The table is painted a vibrant yellow to make it stand out and imbue it with personality. As it has two surfaces, more storage space is generated and the contrast between the materials creates a fresh look. In conjunction with the product, a brand strategy and various communication elements, such as a logo, website, brochures, packaging and postcards, have been developed.

Phenomena Experience

Phenomena is a cinema in Barcelona that opened in 2014. The cinema has the largest screen in Barcelona and features that hark back to classical 1950s cinemas, such as velvet curtains and a red carpet in the entrance.

We encountered several problems on the website so our proposal is a complete redesign focusing on renewing the user’s experience.

Our proposal incorporates the digital experience that users undergo in the Phenomena cinema by integrating digital and immersive elements with classical editing styles that expand and improve how we approach the different types of Phenomena users.

Off Space

OFF SPACE is a story about changing reality and suspending time. In our story, everyone can go slower to observe and interpret the world around them from different viewpoints.

When you enter, your senses are challenged to perceive your environment in a completely new way. Because what you see is not what you hear and what you hear is not what you think.

My (M)other

‘My (m)other’ is a project that grew out of a personal contemplation and reflection on the internal relationships within families. Mine, like many others (and, dare I say, almost all), hides uncertainty, suffering, problems with character and, as always, love. For years, my relationship with my mother, universally recognised by psychologists, artists, and others, encouraged me to reflect how the context in which people grow up influences us and how this context changes the way we see the world and how people relate to each other, not just within the family, but also in a much wider sense. After extensive research, I finally had things straight and was able to rid myself of certain demons from my past that would not let me recognise my father as an authority in the family, see my sister as the amazing person she is, without feeling guilty, and appreciate my mother as a separate person to me. These photographs are an ongoing project and for me are a way of getting over my past and starting to forge my own path in life.

Nua

Few things please us more than the purity of raw materials, with no pompous finishes, naked to the human eye and stripped of clothing. The ‘Nua’ (Nude) rocking chair takes this idea of what is natural and creates a parallel between the naked and delicate body of a woman and the pure lines of its design.

‘Nua’ proposes an abstraction of the rocking chair concept, based on sober and delicate lines that embrace us and rock us once we agree to sit down on it.

A design that transcends the classical concept and aims to reach people clearly and to the point.

The rocking chair is made of steel tube painted in white powder coating, with a craft-turned ash wood runner and beige felt seat. ‘Nua’ measures 60x65x70cm and weighs around 16 kg.

Meteocat

The aim of the project is to optimise user experience of the Catalan Meteorological Service website, Meteo.cat. The challenge was then to analyse users who were active on the website to get to know them and offer them a transmedia and versatile platform that adapts to their needs and that is in turn easy to use.

To meet these needs quickly and easily, an attractive, intuitive and practical environment is presented, one that makes full use of the available weather information to keep users continuously updated, and which in turn can be personalised to adapt to the requirements of each user individually.

Key points:
• Improve experience,
• Streamline the search process and results,
• Practicality.

Marró Terra

‘Marró Terra’ (Brown Earth) is a restaurant that evokes familiarity between those who cook and those who eat, cuisine capable of reflecting the roots of Mediterranean gastronomy under the concept of “sea” and “land”, offering local, seasonal, fresh, home-made and natural products.

The project is divided into different territories called “Macro Terras”, which are responsible for offering multiple activities for the enjoyment of their customers, featuring show cooking areas, bar, lounge, dining room, market and tapas bar. All united under a concept of directed circulation represented by the “sea”, while the colour brown from the “earth” (‘marró’ in Catalan) characterises a large part of the interiors through a range of natural materials such as terracotta, concrete, wood and wicker. This way, the sensations of crafts and naturalness of the project are accentuated even more.

Kinetic for Solac

‘Kinetic’ presents a new concept in domestic ironing. It turns the conventional base plate of the iron, which had always been flat until now, into a cylindrical base. The handle is turned into a non-slip silicone surface for better grip. This way, the user benefits from ergonomics and ease of use, simulating the action of the hand to get rid of creases, a much more intuitive way of understanding ironing.
Thanks to its roller shape, the same movement can be used to apply the motion and the sufficient pressure to be able to do without the heat of traditional irons.
It has a charge base that allows it to be powered and to heat the water to create the steam needed for ironing.

HellBall

‘HellBall’ is a hybrid between a radio-controlled car and a ball. It is comprised of two semi-spherical wheels in a spongy material that absorbs impacts and protects the mechanical core.

The product emerged from the co-creation between the children in a school in Barcelona and the creators. The children drew their favourite toys, using a pre-designed tool kit that consisted of various elements that we wanted to be worked on. In the co-creation session, they put together the elements that most attracted them to shape the toys that they imagined. The most common template that appeared was a ball. So, it was from this idea that ‘HellBall’ emerged.

‘HellBall’ can be kicked, thrown and dropped distances of up to 5 metres in height. This makes it the perfect toy for boisterous children and even more boisterous parents.

Apeteat

‘Apeteat’ has been created in a city such as Barcelona to lead to a new concept of home-delivery food. Our project offers an alternative with personality and affection in the orders and the dishes, which are prepared by the chefs in their own homes.

Our service works using an app in which anyone can register, both to cook and to order food. This way, when you place an order on our app, you are giving an opportunity to a large group of people with culinary talent and enthusiasm who have decided to share their best dishes with the other inhabitants of their own city. With the comfort of being able to cook in their own home and during the timetable that they choose, ‘Apeteat’ offers all of these potential chefs a chance to make the most of their passion for cooking.

In addition, it is a fast and easy service as it is home delivery. ‘Apeteat’ takes care of taking the orders and delivering them to their destination.

‘Apeteat’ breathes passion, personality and, above all, real home-made flavour.

Fran and Frank

Frank & Frank is a progressive brand of tampons aimed at challenging the taboos and stereotypes surrounding menstruation, changing the perception of periods and, in the long term, achieving gender equality. The identity lies in the colour of blood and the message: “blood bless you”.
The tampons are made of organic cotton and are wrapped in ecological paper printed with different words that can be used to create menstrual poetry, a new way of making magnet poetry. Frank & Frank also revolutionises the buying of tampons as it offers individually wrapped products that are sold by the kilo in specialist concept and fashion stores, or they can be ordered to be delivered to your home instantly and every month using a mobile app, which also offers additional products such as pants for the period, beer and the feminist magazine Maze.

Using technology and design that represent the values of transparency and that further female empowerment, Frank & Frank turn tampons into a more accessible lifestyle product of value.

Vitra Factory

The proposal to redesign the commercial space of the offices and showroom of Vitra Barcelona is based on the transformation of the existing space into another one conceived as an “ideas factory”, making use of an authentic and unique social networking that allows the way design professionals work and interact with the brand to be redefined. The fundamental premise is to develop and share ideas. Immersed in a special type inherent to the brand, which conveys all of its values and identity, using design tools applied to the furniture and display systems of the Vitra community.

The Five Obstructions

The Five Obstructions is a collection of books on friendship and the power of the limits of creativity.

Lars von Trier set his friend, director Jørgen Leth, a challenge: to make a remake of The Perfect Human, his 1967 pseudo-anthropological short film, but with certain conditions. The main subject of the books is a dissertation on the feelings and reactions of both directors, together with their conversations and a visual creative interpretation of each condition, made from different elements, such as sheets of mirrors, transparent sheets, paintings, typography. The Five Obstructions makes you consider the creative process in depth and how to experiment further with your own work.

The Do

This project presents the Japanese tour of music duo The Do, made up of singer Olivia and musician and composer Dan Levy. The concept chosen is SENTIMENTAL ANIMALS. They are broad yet shocking terms that create their own universe when put together. The idea comes from one of the lyrics from a song by the band Trustful Hands. A large part of the group’s lyrics talk of human feelings, more controlled, in contrast with more visceral, instinctive reactions, more animal in nature. Consequently, what we express here is the coexistence between our more sentimental and human side compared with the more savage and animal. In this universe that so identifies the band, we highlight the intensity of the animal part, distilling it into each of the parts comprising the tour. The aim is to imbue the band with greater coherence and a raised profile.

Tailored Spring

After analysis of the Born district of Barcelona, the final shop window concept was composed. The accumulation and the layers of stories in the neighbourhood were the starting point for the project. Our interpretation of spring is the process of transition from winter.

MOISTORE is known for the authenticity and unique language of its design, which comes from the raw material and from how the designer applies it in their creations. This aspect is preserved in the creation of the ambience for the shop window. The materials used are inspired by the designer’s tools and the act of sewing. The variety ranges from rice paper to basic fabric together with aluminium.

Taking Maison Martin Margiela and the atmosphere of their stores as the reference, the background permits transparency, which shows the real identity of the store to the pedestrians passing by. The patterns are placed in a way that signifies progress and change and that has a final result, which is the piece of clothing.

Structural Performative System

Computational design project based on a simple process of link weaving to which changes are made through digital and physical models. This way, a wide range of variations in the final woven product is achieved, expressing the process in the form of computer code, which affords it new possibilities.

The project consists of a form-finding exercise, in which each weaving connection applies tension to the overall structure, which leads to a deviation and a change in the neighbouring connections. The sum of all these changes allows the generation of a large number of variations globally throughout the whole structure of the fabric. In turn, an empirical study into the project is able to develop a spatial and morphological complexity generating system through the application of these small changes.

Pendo

The Internet of Things (IOT) is becoming more present every day in our lives, which offers both benefits and new problems. The aim of this thesis project is to raise awareness that the internet has reduced our individuality and our sense of property through the materialisation of a project, namely a fountain pen that brings us closer to our personality in the digital world of the Internet of Things.

Moho System

Under the slogan “One system, infinite homes”, Moho System is born with the aim of being a modern and contemporary response to the different ways of inhabiting the spaces of present-day family units.

With an uncluttered and flexible design, Moho System adapts to us and enables us to personalise the different spaces that we inhabit to the maximum. A system for an ever more changing and globalised world. A system for all our lives.

The twenty modules that comprise it meet all the living needs of users. These are arranged around a unifying wall containing the installations. Thanks to its ease of assembly, the user will be able to vary the space layout according to the evolution of their needs.