Brian Carter
BFA Industrial Design
The University of Kansas (2003)
Bachelor of Fine Arts - KU
Sustainable Design
A non-linear user-centered process involving goal, research, observation, and implementation led to a wide range of material-based application and design possibilities for several of the developed materials. Research along the way covered where we obtain materials and methods of how we process those materials, including such topics as the industrial use of native tropical bamboo forests and the equitable trade of carnauba wax. Throughout this exploration, material processes and properties were fundamental. Design concepts utilized such materials as shown here: an aesthetically and texturally pleasing material that dried with low heat in a few minutes without warp. Later, certain material parts for the following design concepts were prototyped using moderate heat and a computer-milled aluminum form (SolidWorks).
Application possibilities from chemical-free coverings for balsa wood gliders (shrinking covering tight) to rigid burlap 'cardstock' packaging, impregnated with seed, for lawn and garden attachments (just throw on the lawn and water using your new garden hose attachment) to biodegradable cell phone face plates and even larger compostable electronics are discussed, documented, and explored in the original entry, in detail.