︎


Cherished Materials


︎︎︎


User Testing the Samples
Glasgow School of Art
BDes Product Design
December 2018

Chewing gum is the second highest source of street litter in the United Kingdom. It never breaks down because of its synthetic nature and is generally regarded as being unhygienic.  Cherished Materials explores how chewed gum can be repurposed into a new material and asks the question if something generally deemed as having no value, can be turned into a cherished material? 

I created a series of 29 samples, as well as, a catalogue documenting how each sample was made, the user feedback I received, possible application for some of the samples and a reflection on the project. Cherished materials lasted only two weeks and mostly took place in the kitchen. I applied different physical processes to the chewed gum by adding heat, freezing it and making composite materials such as bioplastics to explore its physical properties. 





Selected Samples




fig. 30


fig. 20

fig. 17

fig. 29

fig. 28






All Samples




fig. 1

fig. 2

fig. 3

fig. 4

fig. 5




fig. 6

fig. 7

fig. 8

fig. 9

fig. 10




fig. 11

fig. 12

fig. 13

fig. 14

fig. 15




fig. 16

fig. 17

fig. 18

fig. 19

fig. 20





fig. 21

fig. 22

fig. 23

fig. 24

fig. 25





fig. 26

fig. 27

fig. 28

fig. 29

fig. 30








SELECTION OF SPREADS FROM THE CATALOGUE


Initial Research


Sample Documentation


User Testing
User Testing


Possible application of the samples
Final Reflection