Product Design
Richard has deployed his creative skills and penchant for problem-solving in the development of innovative product designs.
"In my designs I like to create the sense that all matter aspires to be alive."
G2V SUNDIAL
An award-winning commission from Glasgow City Council, G2V was a collaboration between Richard and astronomer Dr. Graham Woan of Glasgow University.
The innovative sundial design deployed astronomical data for unprecedented accuracy.
It was exhibited at Glasgow's Lighthouse Design Centre as part of the Glasgow Collection and subsequently at the British Embassy in Paris.
In the Renaissance,
Geometry was the common basis of Art, and Architecture.
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Today, design software presents new opportunities for a fertile partnership between Art and Design.
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A simple, elegant design, G2V was designed and manufactured as a flat-pack, self-assembly educational product for schools.
Die-cut from a single sheet of laminated, recycled board, G2V's slot and tab leg design allows for easy levelling.
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The gnomon casts a shadow that accurately tells both time and date.
"BLADE" COFFEE TABLE
Inspired by a Spitfire propellor blade, this is one of a range of slot-together furniture concepts designed for manufacture from recycled acrylic. The design minimises waste through integrating the shape of legs and top for cutting and flat-packing.
UNDERSEA FORMS
Examples from a series of papier maché products (left) that were both retailed and used in restuarants in Glasgow (L'Etoile, Modern India).
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More recently Richard has evolved these designs into a series of organic sculpture concepts developed using digital software for 3-D printing (below).
FURHAUS
This one-off commission for a flat-pack cat shelter is inspired by the paintings of Mondrian, with added Bauhaus functionality! It could be manufactured in a range of materials, including the latest environmentally-friendly recycled board.
The plywood prototype proved very popular with the feline client!
"THE DANCING HEART" FRIEZE DESIGN
This energetic design created in Adobe Illustrator exploits the fact that the human eye cannot picture a heart and a dancing figure at the same time. As a frieze it could be digitally printed or laser cut.
"In my commission in Calabria I painted an imaginary recreation of the palace of Roger II in Palermo, with tiled decoration inspired by Arabic designs. The stencils I made for these aroused my interest in tiled patterns and the possibility of creating repeated shapes that could be painted or digitally printed."
This design could be digitally printed or laser cut as a frieze... or a 3-D sculpture (right)
MODULAR SHELVING
The interlocking shapes of the laser-cut side panels allow freedom to create patterns in different colours as well as different heights of shelving.
The modular unit (above) has the look of a primitive life-form
CELLULAR WALL PANEL
Parametric design software opens up new possibilities for creating 3-D products and bespoke sculptures. This wall panel design can be 3-D printed in a range of sizes and materials.