Old and Appreciated: Exploring the Influence of Material Ageing on the Aesthetic Appreciation of Everyday Products

DS 116: Proceedings of the DESIGN2022 17th International Design Conference

Year: 2022
Editor: Mario Štorga, Stanko Škec, Tomislav Martinec, Dorian Marjanović
Author: Charlie Ranscombe (1), Janneke Blijlevens (2), Clementine Thurgood (1)
Series: DESIGN
Institution: 1: Swinburne University of Technology, Australia; 2: RMIT University, Australia
Section: Industrial Design
Page(s): 2203-2212
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2022.223
ISSN: 2732-527X (Online)

Abstract

There is a growing interest in design research to explore sustainable consumption via products that are cherished as they age. This paper presents an empirical study exploring the influence of patina (signs of surface aging) on consumers’ willingness to discard products and aesthetic appreciation. Results show participants are predisposed to discard everyday products regardless aesthetic qualities (patina). This implies designers should look beyond the presence of pure aesthetic qualities of aging and emphasise symbolic qualities of aging to stimulate appreciation as products age.

Keywords: product design, material aging, sustainable design, patina, aesthetics