The Design of Poetic Things

Timeframe: 2013-2020

This project examines how ideas of the poetic can be applied to designed objects. Through practice and interviews with expert designers, the research seeks to identify traits shared by objects that are described as, or may be deemed, poetic. Drawing on design philosophies – principally phenomenology, Thing Theory and everyday aesthetics – the work identifies how the poetic is manifested in design objects. The research identifies the poetic through a range of qualities including the material, cultural and performative properties of designed things. The research critically examines design artefacts, including practice-based outputs, to identify how these qualities operate in both particular and general terms. Ultimately, the project provides a range of critical tools that inform a deeper understanding of the poetic in design and can serve to stimulate creative practice.