Liquid is the Water impact area. Dishware, containers for liquid preservation, interface piping, lab glasses, plumbing, ceramic tiles and alike things are not accidentally made from ceramics, stone, sand and similar materials.

When talking about a human being and other living creatures, we imply the Earth element. Materials of natural origin are characteristic of this element: wood, leather, fabric, caouchouc and further on. It’s no coincidence that the things that are in direct interaction with the human body are made from these materials.

The Air element is the most indefinite, elusive and intangible. Synthetic fabric, disposable bags and dishware, plastic bank cards, season exterior furniture and invisible electronic processes, this is just about everything connected to “air”. I feel that the Air element has an important component – virtuality. Even the current of air from a blow drier or a fan is in some way virtual. Light and sound and time…

The choice of materials on the analytic stage can really influence the final form of the product. Material dictates the technologies, in their turn they determine the form. That’s the reason why, to create “non-random” forms, one should begin designing from analyzing the processes inside the object. This can be done with the help of my method.

Blow dryer.
A blow-dryer is an item that is an object of the Air element, as its main task is to supply a current of air. It can be made out of plastic only on the elementary level. But inside there are complex connections. The item is in direct contact with the human body and has a thermoregulator for control of air temperature, therefore, it has a heating system. Consequently, I see the blow dryer as a three-element device Air, Earth/human, Fire.

Vacuum cleaner.
Just the same, but the air current is not supplied but retracted.

Sometimes it happens that one object can combine several solutions. I attracted special attention to a simple spoon for a reason. A human operator is clearly present in a spoon, some liquid food and fire, because food can be very hot. A spoon also is in an aggressive atmosphere: it is constantly bitten, washed, rubbed, the Fire element is perfectly visible, so metal is its material. To this simple level of research it’s notable that the spoon can be made fully out of wood or out of metal or out of ceramics. Combinations are also possible, such as: wood/metal or wood/ceramics. The creator has a right to choose the priority in a spoon. If it is to be “imperishable”, it has to be made out of metal, if it is to be “human”, it should be made out of wood. One can also combine a metal base with a wooden or bone handle. This is noticeable in the world of spoons.

On the other hand, there are exceptions. For example, in the case if expendability is the main characteristics. A plastic spoon is irreplaceable in some situations, it guarantees the consumer absolute cleanness from the hygienic point of view. In this short life I see a virtuality that I talked about earlier. This is not a spoon in the usual conception – it is an expendable device for eating outside the home with a short period of exploitation.

The same situation can be observed in the case of syringes, expendability dictates material. Despite the fact that good syringes of centenary age were made exactly to suit my theory, they will never be used again, because now, the main characteristics of a syringe is its guaranteed and evident expendability.

But in most cases these rules work.

There are some examples of appliances at the bottom of which a right choice of material plays a big part in, from the point of view of my theory. Modern irons, electric teapots… Cheap, neat, logical and very human.

This is just one of the methods of design, one can say, a designers’ point of view. Not necessarily it should be followed literally, it should just be kept in mind.