There was a noticeable theme across the installations and events that I visited during Milan; corrugated cardboard. This material was being used for so many things, from furniture brands using it to make the frames of furniture, to the IKEA Festival using it in their signage, to some installations using it to hold screens playing promotional videos. I noticed this trend almost immediately as corrugated cardboard is a material rarely used in everyday scenarios for anything other than packaging. Visually, I was drawn to the material because of how rich in texture it is. The rough and imperfect surface is incredibly tactile and instantly recognizable. The more I researched in to this topic the more I read about artists who are using corrugated card as their primary material in their designs. Some of the most famous examples are the Wiggle side chair by Frank Gehry for NGV Design (1972) and Alex Uribe's cardboard sculptures.
Corrugated card is a material made of paper, fluting and lining layers. It is durable, economical, versatile, and lightweight, making it ideal for custom-made shipping boxes and point of sale displays and the packaging we receive through the post. However, these qualities also lend it to being the perfect material for a whole host of other uses. For instance, it's durability makes it suitable for use in furniture, as proven by the company TKM, who displayed a variety of tables, chairs and coat hooks all made from corrugated cardboard.
There are many reasons why designers may be choosing to work with this material, one of the main reasons being its cost effectiveness. However it is also an environmentally sustainable medium, as it has the highest recycling rate of any packaging form in the world, with a massive 84% of corrugated packaging being recycled in the UK. This equates to approximately 2 million tonnes of waste saved from being landfill every year.
Despite all these pros for using corrugated cardboard as a material in design, I can still see why designers would be wary of the material being used in final products. It has a clear 'do it yourself', hipster aesthetic which is not appropriate in all cases, and although research suggests corrugated cardboard is a durable material, in most instances it would wear quicker than materials such as plastic or wood.
Personally, I had never really contemplated using this material in finished products, only in maquettes or prototypes. Seeing this material trend sparked my creative interest, motivated me to look in to other possible uses for corrugated card and inspired me to think about how I could incorporate it in to my own design work in the future.
Corrugated card is a material made of paper, fluting and lining layers. It is durable, economical, versatile, and lightweight, making it ideal for custom-made shipping boxes and point of sale displays and the packaging we receive through the post. However, these qualities also lend it to being the perfect material for a whole host of other uses. For instance, it's durability makes it suitable for use in furniture, as proven by the company TKM, who displayed a variety of tables, chairs and coat hooks all made from corrugated cardboard.
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| Table from TKM (made only from glass and corrugated cardboard). |
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| Chair from TKM (made from only painted corrugated cardboard). |
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| Coat stands from TKM (made from only corrugated cardboard). |
There are many reasons why designers may be choosing to work with this material, one of the main reasons being its cost effectiveness. However it is also an environmentally sustainable medium, as it has the highest recycling rate of any packaging form in the world, with a massive 84% of corrugated packaging being recycled in the UK. This equates to approximately 2 million tonnes of waste saved from being landfill every year.
Despite all these pros for using corrugated cardboard as a material in design, I can still see why designers would be wary of the material being used in final products. It has a clear 'do it yourself', hipster aesthetic which is not appropriate in all cases, and although research suggests corrugated cardboard is a durable material, in most instances it would wear quicker than materials such as plastic or wood.
Personally, I had never really contemplated using this material in finished products, only in maquettes or prototypes. Seeing this material trend sparked my creative interest, motivated me to look in to other possible uses for corrugated card and inspired me to think about how I could incorporate it in to my own design work in the future.
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| Corrugated card used to house iPads in the Terzoni exhibition. |
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| Corrugated cardboard used as signage in the Ikea festival. |
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