SerendipiTea

Approach & process

Material Driven Design : designing from a material (rather than the end mean) through experimental characterisation of how it is received by people, and what it makes them think, feel and do

Although not linear, these are the key steps of my process :

TeaClay is made from tea leaves waste and natural binders. Like any other clay, it offers the interesting property of malleability allowing to shape it freely. What sets it apart is its capacity to absorb and retain the scents of other organic materials mixed into it.

As it is entirely made from natural ingredients, TeaClay is compostable, resulting in a zero waste product. The approach taken for this project explores how these properties can guide the design of a new application of it.

We explored TeaClay’s physical properties to map the limits and understand its functional behaviour.

1.

discovering TeaClay and experimenting with the recipe parameters

characterising mechanical properties (density, tensile strength and structural integrity)

studying the emotional and interactive responses elicited by the material

Technical characterisation

Exploiting the malleability and scent-retaining properties of TeaClay, we studied the emotional and interactive responses elicited by the material when testing it amongst users.

2.

Emotional and behavioral mapping

creation of a batch of samples with varying texture patterns and aromas

interpretive and performative evaluation of the samples with 3 participants

3.

Drawing from the material's characterisation insights, we imagined a vision for how users could interact with and experience TeaClay.

TeaClay’s printable patterns and lightweight nature encourage tactile exploration—holding, flipping, and rubbing—while its scent-releasing properties reveal hidden aromas. This creates a playful and sensory experience.

Material's experience vision

Like stars lighting your way through the night, TeaClay should awaken and lead you to discover your senses of touch and smell, as a shared experience.

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4.

Final concept

We designed a revisited memory game whereby players are deprived of sight and must use their touch and smell senses to memorise and find identical pairs. The purpose of this design is to create an inclusive experience by bringing together visually-impaired with non-visually-impaired people. The non-visually impaired player gets to experience smells and textures as a visually-impaired person.

Watch my final concept video!

SerendipiTea exhibited at the local tea shop

Reflection & learnings

• learn and take ownership of a new design method

• turn a material characterisation into an experience vision statement

• develop a game with a serious dimension

• shoot and edit a product video with Premiere Pro

I absolutely thrived in this project! The blend between exploring the material's properties in the lab with the more traditional designer's take on product conceptualisation truly suited me. I am proud of the final product which we showcased at our faculty and at the local tea shop where we got the tea leaves.

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