100 Years of Design

Last week pupils studying Design Technology undertook a fantastic trip to the Design Museum to find out about Surrealism & Design, and in doing so, decide whether form or function is more important when designing and buying a product.

Amongst other displays, they were able to see Dali’s Mae West lips sofa, 3d printed, sculptural dresses by various designers and a Jasper Morrison Handlebar table. 

Lewis Guan (Year 9) reports on the trip.

100 Years of Design

On a cold Thursday morning, Year 9, 12 and 13 Design and Technology pupils came into school, buzzing with excitement for our trip to the London Design Museum. When we arrived, we headed off to see the main exhibition called ‘Surrealism and Design 1924-Today’. We looked at various interesting objects, like lamps, chairs, and abstract paintings. Some of the products included a geometric chair made of resin with roses inside by Shiro Kuramata, a motion capture stool that was drawn in the air, translated into a 3D design file then printed and a model horse with a lamp on top of its head!

The second exhibition we visited was the ‘User Maker Gallery’, featured almost 1,000 everyday items from the 20th and 21st centuries. Whether it was an iPhone, a lamp, or a British road sign, the User Maker Gallery had it all. We all walked around pointing out items, with some proudly claiming that they had one back at home.
 
Our third activity was a workshop called ‘Stranger by Design’. We discussed whether ‘Form or Function’ was more important in a product. We were shown several strange objects on a table. These included a wellington boot made from recycled gum, a kettle shaped like a tube going through the top of an upside-down ice cream cone and a toilet brush that looked like a plant in a pot. We then worked in pairs to produce our own ideas, to improve the form or functionality of an everyday item.  

The trip to the Design Museum was a wonderful experience and was worth missing a day of school for.