Have you heard of CMF?  It’s a relatively new field that explores the possibilities available in product design.  For this article, industrial designer Noemí Cortizas shared five of her CMF projects with us.  Research, science, and design all come together in the search for new materials, colours, and finishes. There are still many things waiting to be discovered…

 

The answer is in timber offcuts

As part of her search for new materials, Cortizas has developed new boards made of timber offcuts through Material Innovation Hub.  She uses them to create realistic patterns on surfaces.  The idea is to offer a sustainable alternative to the plastic structures that are usually used.  It’s an interior design solution that uses biodegradable and recyclable panels in retail and architectural spaces.

 

Bimaterials – two materials in one

Bimaterials might end up being the alternative of choice to plastic.  With this in mind, Cortizas launched an investigation into whether new types of surfaces could be produced on an industrial scale by combining two materials in the same sheet and without having any defects along the line where the two materials meet.  Her research was part of a project focusing on the design of cosmetics packaging.

 

Environmentally friendly mobile phones

It’s hard to imagine a life without our mobile phones. So why not make something that is so necessary in our day-to-day lives a little more environmentally friendly?  This cork case is a prototype that was made using alternative industrial moulding techniques for a study that focused on sustainable phone cases.

 

Old clothes, new products

Did you know that we could build a tower 37 times taller than the Empire State building using all the clothes that we throw away each year?  Auchan Retail came to Noemí Cortizas looking for a solution to the thousands of clothing items that end up in rubbish tips every year.  Can something old be transformed into a new product?  The answer is yes, it can.  One example is this phone case made from old clothes.

The case was part of a study that resulted in panels made from this new material, serving as the basis for other products made from used clothing.

 

Car headlights and a map of Paris

This is an extremely detailed a map of Paris with different textures that create visual effects both with and without light.  It was the result of a collaboration with a resin supplier and an industrial technology company, which resulted in a new high-end design for environmentally friendly car headlights.  The study explored the possibilities of injection moulding technology for creating new types of car headlights.

Like what you saw?  If you want to know more, make sure you read our CONNECTION WITH… Noemí Cortizas, which will be our next post.