Radical Matter: Rethinking Materials for a Sustainable Future

by Kate Franklin, Caroline Till

A road map for product design professionals and students to ten “Big Ideas” in material innovation A must- have for professionals at the cutting edge of design, Radical Revolutionary Materials and Design for a Sustainable Future presents the ten “Big Ideas” that will shape and inform the choices of materials, design methods, and manufacturing processes made by designers in the years to come. Drawing from a worldwide community of designers who are pushing boundaries with innovative works that go beyond the notion of “sustainable design,” Radical Matter demonstrates how holistic systems of design, production, and consumption will benefit our world environmentally, socially, and economically. The ten “Big Ideas” unpack the themes that are impacting our material world through cutting-edge case studies and expert Repair Is Beautiful; Today’s Trash, Tomorrow’s Raw Material; Natural Assets; The Waste Revolution; Lessons from the Past; Co-Creation; Material Connections; Short Life Materials; Living Materials; and Future Mining. The book includes an invaluable directory of resources for cutting-edge materials and a definitive list of global research centers, innovation hubs, academic courses, and material libraries. Radical Matter contains a wealth of information to help design professionals and students turn revolutionary concepts into reality. 280+ illustrations in color

Genres: Design, Art Design, Sustainability, Academic

256 pages, Hardcover

Published April 17, 2018

Reviews

[Akash Goel]

Lots of good ideas and introductions to sustainable materials. But lacks any depth whatsoever. The focus also seems to more on material aesthetics than usability and general applicability. But filled with lots and lots of photos.

[Ryan Williams]

Absolutely love this book and refer to it for most of my design project. It has plenty of great examples of projects tackling a range of sustainable issues, all taking vastly different approaches with vastly different results. As the title would suggest, some of these are radically against the norm and highlight a new way of living.

[Marie-Michèle Larivée]

Material focus book. Highlight the innovation and classed in subcategories: waste, human hair, etc.
A very nice overall work some are interesting, i flipped thru couple of pages as they are not all outstanding.

[Carter]

There are a lot of possibilities, for 3D printing. This books showcases, some of the offerings, of computer fabrication startups. Recommended.

[Alana O'Flynn]

Love all things Franklin Till related