Laurie Spugnardi

Archive for the ‘product design’ Category

Bubbly Bathroom Mirror Free-Form Mosaic

Monday, July 12th, 2010

BATHROOM MIRROR FREE-FORM MOSAIC

I recently finished up a project in my bathroom. I had a vision of sparkling, sea green bubbles and lots of movement as a decorative accent to an otherwise very white room. I could have done something in the standard square tile format but I’ve always wanted to create a free-form mosaic and thought this would be the perfect opportunity. What’s more flowing than water and bubbles!? I purchased and inserted a few round mirror tiles that mimic the “floating” vanity mirror. They also add movement and pick up colors from other areas of the bathroom. I’ve included a few process photos below.

PRODUCTION: ROLLING, CUTTING AND DRYING CLAY TILES

TILES: BISQUED TO CONE 04

TILES: GLAZED WITH MY SECRET SEA-FOAM RECIPE AND FIRED TO CONE 05

TILES ARRANGED AND ADHESIVED TO WALL

FREE-FORM MOSAIC: DETAIL

Tags: bathroom mosaic, ceramic tile, free form mosaic, mirror mosaic
Posted in goings on in the studio, just for fun, product design | 2 Comments »

glazed and confused (and guilt free)

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

No, I’m not really confused, but I am occasionally dazzled by these little jewels. I can get down right giddy when I find the right color-combo. You should see how excited I get with a successful experimental session of layering different glazes. The opposite is also true… I could tell tales of woe from failed firings. Live and learn.

Here’s a sampling of the glazes I use in most of my work. This line of glaze is called low-stone and is produced by Spectrum. They have the delightful quality of looking like high fire glazes but fire at a lower temp. Kilns, as you can imagine, are energy suckers and these lovely glazes give me the effect I love with a low energy impact, and that always makes me happy.

Tags: ceramic glaze, low-stone, spectrum glazes
Posted in Uncategorized, on design, product design, sustainable design | No Comments »

Do they come with sound? No. Oh good.

Friday, October 16th, 2009

ttpinkinsitu

I have never really been one for video games, but check out these tiles. They’re based on the popular, time-killing video game Tetris.
ttshapes

Brilliant, colorful and so very fun, unless you’re the do-it-yourself installer who gets to put this giant puzzle together. Hmmm, at least they don’t come with the endless loop of beeps and blips.

Tetris Tiles

Tags: tetris, tiles
Posted in Uncategorized, do it yourself, product design | No Comments »

Sustainability, Who Cares?

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

This year’s buzz word: Sustainability.

Some haven’t heard the hum.

Last week I was sitting in a conference room listening to manufacturers (we are talking big, big retailers of stuff, lots of stuff) discuss how they buy and how we should to sell our art for use on their products. I have to admit, there was this moment when I felt like walking out. I did after all just take an oath to be a conscientious creator, so I stayed and asked “How has recycling and sustainability impacted the manufacturing process?” They replied that the economy has impacted the volume and green themes are popular, but as far as a sea change as to the way we extract, make, market and discard stuff… not so much. It is the consumer who calls the shots. They want pretty things on the shelf to look at, even if they don’t buy them.

Hmph.

I went to the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum that very same afternoon. I was especially interested in seeing the Design for a Living World exhibit. Ten designers were commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials and tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design along the way. That’s the museum’s spiel on the show. I liked the show. A lot. But as I walked around the displays and watched video of designers talk about their process, I had this sad realization: sustainability is only as good as its practice throughout the cycle of extract, make, market, discard.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

The morning was spent talking about mass-market (low-cost) production, while the afternoon was spent in the midst of thoughtful (over-priced) design. My brain went into a cramp at the juxtaposition of these two and how they each play out in the marketplace. Is there a happy medium between the two production methods and are consumers capable of wanting less and buying better?

Are there enough manufacturers, designers, and consumers who care? I wonder.

Tags: Cooper Hewitt, design for a living world, sustainable design
Posted in on design, product design, sustainable design | 1 Comment »

Emotional Mapping

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

A few weeks ago I talked about map design and trust. Today, it’s about mapping with feelings, literally. (woe, woe, woe, feelings…)

When you open a map, what do you expect? Here’s something maybe you didn’t… a map that tells you how you may feel as you pass through a space. Christian Nold has been designing a set of city maps that do just that. He calls his project Biomapping. It’s an interesting approach to map making and seems useful for zeroing in on parts of a city that buzz and those that just hum a little. Visually the map is lovely, but until I get to walk through San Francisco myself, I’ll have to trust Christian’s feedback map. See other maps and the ongoing project at Biomapping.net