SUMMER BLOG 2023 : THE DESIGN PROCESS
Design series : The design process
Designing furniture requires the ability to visualise in 3D. Working out how a piece of furniture is going to look before you make.
Design for people
The furniture design process starts with deciding what function the piece of furniture will have. Furniture are functional products and designed around the human body.
Today's forms & concepts of furniture originate from the history of furniture design.
It's increasingly rare to find a new innovative design that has not been seen before.
The statistical sciences of the human body -anthropometry & ergonomics, provide the furniture designer with a large resource of historical data of the average height and build of males & females.
This means the designer can make a piece of furniture comfortable for people of any stature.
Design for safety
Wooden structures can support large weights if constructed properly. The design has to counteract any stresses and strains of normal use. Each piece of furniture with a different function has different structural needs from another.
For example, a chairs joints between the legs and the rails have to be designed to withstand shear forces.
The effects of leverage and stability are important factors of a design. People have a habit of misusing furniture.
A dining chair most commonly is tested to its limits by people rocking on the back legs.
A sloping back leg widens a chair base and will remain safely balanced when being tipped backwards.
Design in wood
Innovation has always come from exploration of materials.
Timber is one material that has been explored the most. The traditional cabinet making skills stay the same from the 1700's and 1800's.
The developments the cabinet makers made in history transfer to modern day design.
Designing furniture with wood movement in mind. When wood shrinks and expands you have to allow for this happening in your design
More exploration was made in 1900's when mass manufacturing and new tools were designed. Industrial design enhanced advances in furniture design.
The technological advances in the aeronautic and motor industry advanced forming wooden shapes that had not been seen before in furniture. Charles Eames chair advanced moulded plywood design.
Creating more organic shapes that did not need to be carved out of solid timber by hand.
Today modern day innovation in wood is focused on the use of CNC machine on a multi axis. To carve into to solid timber which speeds up the process of hand carving.
Design for Appearance
Aesthetic and decorative considerations are an important part of designing furniture.
Most woodworkers have always been artisans and creative designers. Using their technological knowledge and creativity to make furniture.
Welcome to my new blog series!!
Check out my next Autumn blog in October by Anna Nichols
Following Anna in her design studio, workshop and at local sawmills selecting timber
