On materials experience

A decade ago, in 2003, Denis Doordan published an article titled “On Materials” in Design Issues. His emphasis was on “how the material employed affects the form, function, and perception of the final design.” Accordingly, he suggested a new framework to discuss materials based on the following three terms: fabrication, concerning the preparation of materials for initial use; application, dealing with transformation of materials into artifacts; and appreciation, dealing with the reception of materials by users. During the past decade, the third term appreciation has lured attention in the materials and design domain, which has adopted a broader sense that corresponds with the experiences we have with the materials embodied in the artifacts around us. It refers to the mix of sensory (or aesthetic) appreciations, meanings, feelings, and thoughts that we have toward—or that are triggered by—a material, at any certain time and place. In this essay, we elaborate on the notion of the appreciation of materials and its wider implications. Our starting point is a simple observation: In the material infrastructure of today’s world, whether in products, buildings, or other creations, we see such variety of materials, driven largely by advances in technology. The layperson’s knowledge of these materials, in the sense that they are recognizable and identifiable, is probably at an all-time low.