For this project, I had to design a family of at least three products that would stand alone and come together to deepen the messsage. My process started by creating 20 different concepts inspired by Rotterdam. From these, I chose 5 to develop further and finally chose the one concept to finalize into the family of objects. To create my family of products I created a persona that would fit the type of customer I aimed my product to. I also designed the packaging in which the products will be sold and a poster advertising all three products together.

Persona

Process

Products

Packaging

Poster

Omar Ricci

Age: 24
Location: Rome, Italy
Nationality: Jordanian
Relationship status: Single
Degree: Freelance artist/ student
Occupation: Studying
Hobbies: Reading, learning new things, volunteering.

Bio

Brands

Goals







Frustrations

- Cleaner environment

- Contribute to the local market

- Waste less

- Trashed environment

- No efficiency on things

- Treating people unfairly

* Values self-awareness and environmentally friendly companies or those who try to reduce their footprint on the earth.
* Wonders if people care about those around them
* Up to date with the latest art trends
* Small artist art
* Loves visiting museums
* Streams in his free time
* Life events have shaped him to be the artist he is

Friendly

Chosen 5

From the ten initial ideas, I developed 5 further. The first one I developed was the coasters. With the feedback that I received from my peers, I had the idea to create a puzzle coaster. The idea was that the coasters would fit when put together so they could have multiple purposes not just for drinks but for hot pots or any kitchen supply that would damage the surface beneath it. I tried out different ways in which I could join the pieces together. However, the problem with this design is that it was not a family and I was clueless about what to make them from and what design they should have within the coaster to link back to the theme of Rotterdam.

My initial thought was to create something that had to do with the architecture, such as the bridges or some known buildings. I also got a bit of inspiration because from the season we are in, winter, which for me it equals Christmas. Therefore, I had some Christmas themed items.

The second concept was a bit more focused on Rotterdam and it was easier to identify the designs of the products. The family of products was a fold-away table, a phone holder, and a newspaper holder, so overall the purpose of this family of products was to hold other things. The problem with this concept is that there was no story to it, I had no link with the products so there was no message I could have wanted to portray through them. However, I did not fully discard the idea of not involving the idea of the bridges for my final design of the product.

Alterations

One task I had to do was alterations to the current 5 design concepts that I had. I had some trouble coming up with alterations as when I design things I often design them in a way that I will like or that I believe it's the best shape of design for my product. The main thing I focused on was changing the shapes of the designs and to alter the way the bridges were built. For example, I changed the appearance of the Erasmusbrug into different designs, but with the same concept that the bridge was built, in this case, the main feature of this bridge is the single metal pillar that holds the weight of the entire bridge, which I found it to be a fascinating design.

Final designs

Product making

I used airdry clay as the main material to create the dishes. The first dish I made cracked while it was drying and it would not hold its shape so I bought a different brand that I've ve used before and I knew it would not crack and it would hold its shape if it were picked up. With the broken dish, I used the different broken pieces to test out the color palette and the hair spray technique. I originally wanted to make the dish with clay collected from Rotterdam. However, with a short period of time to make the product, I would not have time to fire the clay, glaze it, and then fire the glaze, so I used air-dry clay which I can work with a lot faster. The hair spray technique mimics the glossy look of how the glaze would have looked after it was fired.

Challenges and solutions

After the middle of the top of the dish was dried, I sketched out the scenery of each plate. The path that takes you along the journey is matched with each plate so that it is a continuous journey through the city. These sketches guided me to create the 3D shapes.

To make the main shape of the plate I used a circular ruler to create the base and angled objects that I had home to create the sides. Air-dry clay cannot be worked the same way as fireable clay as it is much softer and fragile, so a spinning table was not an option. I tried to make the three dishes as identical as possible with the same technique, I used supportive objects to allow the clay to maintain the shape that I formed.

Once the outside of the dish was dried and I could move it around, the clay was then placed on top of the sketch as it severed as a guideline to where to play the clay and where the forms were. The added clay creates a 3D landscape on the dish. At first, the clay looks very brought as I allowed myself to have an error margin for when I sand down and refine the shapes with sandpaper.

The first dish cracked, tried fixing the cracks but clay would not hold its own weight, used a different brand, and made the dish a bit thicker. Same humid/dry and temperature conditions, the new clay holds itself.

The shape of the dish was very rough and uneven so I used sandpaper with different grits so that I could smoothen out the surface and reshape some of the elements within the product. I also used it to adjust the circumference of the dish to each other and some were significantly larger than the others. The sanding of the product also allowed the paint to be painted on and give the smoothest finish possible.

The dishes were coated with a layer of gesso to help the paint stick to the surface of the ceramic and not chip off. Once the coat was dried, I followed by painting the sceneries with acrylic paint. I chose this medium because once it's dried, it has a slight shine finish which I looked for as I wanted to make these working models as close to how the actual product would look like. I first painted the sceneries and then coated it with a layer of hair spray which made the paint shinier, which makes it look a bit more like a fired glaze. The rim of the plates was painted afterwards, to clean the edges of the paintings and because I wanted the rim to be as matte as possible, as that's how the actual ceramic would look like. The color chosen for the rim of the plate is the closest to what clay from Rotterdam would be like after it was fired in the kiln.

Photography of the products

Final working models

With these products, I wanted to show both sides of the city of Rotterdam, from which people know the tourist buildings such as Erasmusbrug and the Markhal but they don't really know the forest in Kraligen, which has a soothing and calming atmosphere that locals enjoy. I personally value nature a lot, especially lately, as there have been some changes to everyone's lives due to the current situation. This has truly shown me how important nature is to my life and to everyone's life. It is healthy to get out and just take a walk, obviously walking in the forest is much more different than walking through the city center. The city center of Rotterdam is somehow different to me. The ambiance is cozier and less loud than in other cities I've been to. I think everyone appreciates a quiet and cozy atmosphere often.

A walk through Nature

The packing of the dishes is very simple as I wanted the attetion to be drawn to the dishes itself. I designed a few different types of packaging inspired by some of the packaging I got when ordering products and seen at stores. With this I focused on a simpler but different design. Normally boxes have rectangular or square flats that fold over the product to prevent it falling off the box. I thought how could I have a simple but different design than these boxes, so I thought i could make triangular flats that would show the design of the item from the top. The packaging is made by carton boxes I had at home so that they did not go to waste. The way I wanted to make the packaing was from recicled cardboard and from biodegradable plastic so that it would not harm the enviroment and no new material was made for this package. The paper inside prevents the dish from any bumps that could potentially shater it, this paper is also recycled paper that contains no plastic.

The third concept had a similar idea to the second concept, as they were both inspired by the bridges around Rotterdam. This family of products consisted of a series of three dishes which would show three of the bridges with the most interesting and eye-catching designs to me. The bridges would have a direct link to the city of Rotterdam but would not have a story behind it nor a link with me.

The 'All day drinks' or the 4th concept was a concept inspired by the nightlife in Rotterdam. The family would include a coffee mug, a water jar, and a glass for alcohol. I liked the idea of working with different materials as the glass would eventually be made out of glass and the jar out of plastic. However, this concept to me seemed more like a set of objects than a family of objects, as the objects could have been sold individually but that would have made no sense as the concept title is 'All day drinks'. I also had no story that I wanted to showcase through these products.

My last concept that I developed was forest-themed. In this concept, I wanted to show the nature of the forest located in Kraligen. I go through the forest whenever I go to see my horse and I often see a lot of wild-life and that really caught my attention. This family consisted of a book, a pencil, and a bookmark. The reason I chose these items was that they were items you could travel with and maybe even take to this forest and sketch the scenery or even read a book while surrounded by the calm environment.

This family of dishes was inspired by the environment that has surrounded me since I moved to Rotterdam. After my change of cities, I got surrounded by a new environment, which surprised me as there was a clash yet a similarity between the city center and the nature that is around Rotterdam. Due to the current global situation, I’ve learned to appreciate nature much more than I used to which is what I wanted to portray in my dishes. I’ve also found a similarity between the forest and the city of Rotterdam; they are both very quiet and cozy. The dishes show a bike path that takes you from the soothing forest of Kraligen to the noisier, yet quiet, city. Through this journey, you go through the clam and beautiful forest to the coziest and family-like atmospheres of Rotterdam such as the Markhall and the incredible and innovative design of the Erasmusbrug. These products can be used as decorative items or as a souvenir to be used on special occasions.

A walk through Nature

This family of dishes was inspired by the environment that has surrounded me since I moved to Rotterdam. After my change of cities, I got surrounded by a new environment, which surprised me as there was a clash yet a similarity between the city center and the nature that is around Rotterdam. Due to the current global situation, I’ve learned to appreciate nature much more than I used to which is what I wanted to portray in my dishes. I’ve also found a similarity between the forest and the city of Rotterdam; they are both very quiet and cozy. The dishes show a bike path that takes you from the soothing forest of Kraligen to the noisier, yet quiet, city. Through this journey, you go through the clam and beautiful forest to the coziest and family-like atmospheres of Rotterdam such as the Markhall and the incredible and innovative design of the Erasmusbrug. These products can be used as decorative items or as a souvenir to be used on special occasions.

Extrovert

Smart

Creative

I came up with the finals design by looking back at the 5 concepts and picking the things that I was most passionate about, such as the forest of Kraligen and the innovative bridge. I wanted to show my audience that the city of Rotterdam is a beautiful place where nature breaths next to the cozy city. I am very passionate about showing people the hidden beauties of places, as they are often underappreciated and missed by the general public.

When designing the poster I wanted to go after a simple and clear poster that wouuld make the pieces stand out. I developed the ideas until I was satisfied with the way that the poster made the products stand out. I wanted to design in in a way that the products would stand out. In the final poster the producst are showed on display on top of a granny dark table. The colors used in the poster were chosen to compliment the dishes and to drag the attention to the sceneries.

Price per piece: 63 euros
Price of the whole family: 170 euros