In the past few years, conversation about design has been increasingly dominated by a certain theme: the generative process. Standardised form, or even pure form itself, seems almost aimless in comparison to a new kind of object that is unique within a consciously imperfect series. For the user, these curious mutations represent a special type of commodity, receptive to the infusion of value and memory. Process, it would seem, is a kind of elixir, curing design fatigue and consumerist shame without sacrificing a whit of aesthetic consciousness.
Thus there is something uncannily marketable about this phenomenon. In theory, the notion of process suggests a broad range of transformations, transactions and assemblies in the course of an object's life. In practice, however, the situation is otherwise. Process-based design tends to delineate a precise timeframe, one that begins when prepared materials are obtained and ends the moment the object emerges from its mould. During this span, the designer is often the sole agent of change; the studio, like a hermetic laboratory, is often the sole context for manufacture. When these defiantly non-homogeneous objects leave the workshop for the "real world", they are primed for direct consumption, "inherent value" already included.
![Top: The new toasters by
Tiné-Berès and Howard,
compared with the pioneer
design by Thomas Thwaites. Photo by Antonio Ottomanelli. Above: Jesse Howard, Industrial Toaster, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. The toaster’s switch plate is 3D
printed, and the side panels are
milled from MDF. The possibility to
print out parts of an appliance when
one needs replacement (or a superior
material becomes available) leads
to a culture in which repair is valued
over disposability and transparency
in function is valued over automation Top: The new toasters by
Tiné-Berès and Howard,
compared with the pioneer
design by Thomas Thwaites. Photo by Antonio Ottomanelli. Above: Jesse Howard, Industrial Toaster, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. The toaster’s switch plate is 3D
printed, and the side panels are
milled from MDF. The possibility to
print out parts of an appliance when
one needs replacement (or a superior
material becomes available) leads
to a culture in which repair is valued
over disposability and transparency
in function is valued over automation](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_5887_02_industrial-toaster1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Jesse Howard, Coffee Grinder, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series Jesse Howard, Coffee Grinder, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_7564_03_Grinder-Sheet-v31.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
In the seminal Toaster Project, in which he reverse-engineered the ubiquitous kitchen device and reconstructed it from the ground up, London designer Thomas Thwaites discovered, for example, that 30 per cent of the world's total nickel production (more than 1 million tons per year) can be traced to a single mine in Norilsk, Siberia. The heating element in every toaster is made of nickel. If Thwaites was a pioneer in the field, using design as an investigative tool, then recent graduates Jesse Howard (Gerrit Rietveld Academy, 2012) and Gaspard Tiné-Berès (Royal College of Art, 2012) may represent the next phase, in which design becomes a participatory and reparative force.
For all the apparent banality of these actions, there are a growing number of designers who embrace them as full-fledged stages in how things take shape. These individuals construct their design intervention as merely one of many inputs into a material, functional outcome alongside the user, the market, the political economy, the environment and society's customs
![Jesse Howard, Coffee Grinder, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. Each appliance relies on a
small number of technical
components. It can be
reproduced mainly by using
3D printers and automated
fabrication tools Jesse Howard, Coffee Grinder, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. Each appliance relies on a
small number of technical
components. It can be
reproduced mainly by using
3D printers and automated
fabrication tools](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_1017_03bis_grinder1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Jesse Howard, Industrial Toaster, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series Jesse Howard, Industrial Toaster, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_2321_04_industrialtoaster1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Left, Toaster from
the <em>Short-Circuit</em> collection,
designed by Gaspard Tiné-
Berès in collaboration with
the London-based Bright
Sparks and made of cork
and borosilicate. Right, Jesse Howard, Kettle, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series Left, Toaster from
the <em>Short-Circuit</em> collection,
designed by Gaspard Tiné-
Berès in collaboration with
the London-based Bright
Sparks and made of cork
and borosilicate. Right, Jesse Howard, Kettle, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_5828_05_IMG_0263-kettle1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Jesse Howard, Kettle, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series Jesse Howard, Kettle, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_7843_06_Kettle-Manual1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Kettle and coffee-maker from
the <em>Short-Circuit</em> collection,
designed by Gaspard Tiné-
Berès in collaboration with
the London-based Bright
Sparks and made of cork
and borosilicate Kettle and coffee-maker from
the <em>Short-Circuit</em> collection,
designed by Gaspard Tiné-
Berès in collaboration with
the London-based Bright
Sparks and made of cork
and borosilicate](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_2434_07_IMG_0200-02441.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Jesse Howard, Improvised Vacuum, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. The overall form of the
vacuum cleaner is defined
by the size and shape of the
motor. Functionally, the
speed controls are replaced
by a single switch, and the
elaborate cord-retracting
mechanism is eliminated Jesse Howard, Improvised Vacuum, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series. The overall form of the
vacuum cleaner is defined
by the size and shape of the
motor. Functionally, the
speed controls are replaced
by a single switch, and the
elaborate cord-retracting
mechanism is eliminated](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_4603_08_improvised-vacuum1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Jesse Howard, Improvised Vacuum, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series Jesse Howard, Improvised Vacuum, from the <em>Transparent Tools</em> series](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_9318_09_improvisedvacuum1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![By disassemblig existing
appliances,
Howard could envision ways
in which the function of each
object or component could be
made more transparent By disassemblig existing
appliances,
Howard could envision ways
in which the function of each
object or component could be
made more transparent](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_4893_10_vacparts1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Each appliace of the
<em>Transparent Tools</em> series
can be built following the
instructions of a DIY manual Each appliace of the
<em>Transparent Tools</em> series
can be built following the
instructions of a DIY manual](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2012/11/21/process-is-toast/big_400715_5840_11_vacuum1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![](/content/domusweb20/en/advertisement/archive/2024/12/23/un-premio-per-larchitettura-tra-luci-e-volumi-lfa-award/jcr:content/image-preview.img.rmedium.jpg/1736418389151.jpg)
A prize for architecture between lights and volumes: LFA Award
An international photography competition that invites photographers worldwide to capture the essence of contemporary architecture. Inspired by the work of the famous Portuguese photographer Luis Ferreira Alves, the award seeks images that explore the dialogue between man and space.