READJUSTING
MOTION

In our practice, we see design and movement as inseparable entities. When designing a box for example, a primary consideration is how it will be assembled. Determining the way the box should be folded is to design a flow of movements that will help it to contain. Similarly, to design an interface for a website is to think about a user’s movements through the different sections. Therefore, to design is to think about how to move.

Every archetype has an associated norm relating to motion, and re-thinking this norm can lend new perspectives to what else it could do or be (Conscious Subtraction). If you reconsider the act of reading a book to not needing to be done through the motion of flipping pages from right to left or vice versa, you could possibly come up with a new form or new ways to interact with the content.

The act of Conscious Subtraction in our design process constantly challenges the conventional or stereotypical ways in which something should move. With reference to movement, a Hyperfunctional form should then be one that not just moves, but that moves differently.

Study model HF02 (refer to Fig. A) was conceived as a quarterly brochure that can double up as a poster, to communicate best practices in a medical facility. As the intention was also for this quarterly to become a display piece in a roving exhibition, the form must be able to cater for both individual and public use.

For information to be viewed as both a brochure and a poster within a single form, we had to reconsider the way in which information was being displayed. As such, we had to find a way in which the flow of the information could be retained regardless of its use.

The outcome was a form that resembles a honeycomb structure(refer to Fig. B). This format allows the piece to gain maximum movement in how it can be folded and unfolded. Each ‘case study’ was housed in a series of connected and colour-coded hexagons. Unlike a standard brochure or poster that unfolds upwards, downwards, left or right, the honeycomb structure unfolds in a spiral or rotational manner. As such, the flow of information is controlled. We are still able to retain the flipping experience when in brochure format, and be viewed as visually interesting information clusters in the poster format.

A polygonal form is one that inspires organisation in a seemingly disorganised manner. The sides not only serve as ports for joining or connecting, but also hint at being incomplete. This further suggests that you can keep adding to its exposed edges. In the case of HF02, continuity is encouraged as the quarterly issues can then grow into something bigger for the exhibition at the end of each year. The numerous ways in which the posters can be joined creates not a linearly arranged wall of posters, but one that is organically organised (refer to Fig. C).

The rotational movement of the honeycomb structure and the nature of a polygonal form can also create a dimensional outcome if translated to a physical structure. Depending on how we decide to allow the exposed edges to meet, a multi-dimensional form with a certain spatial presence can be conceived for display in an environment (refer to Fig. D).

Greater motion is a human pursuit that has led to the invention of cars, planes, drones, and more. However, to us and in what we do, it isn’t so much about inventing a new type of motion, but to readjust existing movement for a different outcome or environment.

“The art of living lies in the constant readjustment to the surroundings.” — Okakura Kazuhiko