Friday 23 February 2007

Networked Design -Deconstruct an object

Your task is to choose an object and research it. The research should be wide ranging, consider all the angles, however oblique. Aim to break the object down into parts and consider each of these in it's own right.

Some of my ideas for objects:

A Surfboard
A Key
A pen or writing implement
A shoe
A Camera

I decided to stick with my initial idea of the surfboard. I think the surfboard could be quite an interesting object to research. Its usage has been traced back to as early as the 1700s and is used by millions of people all over the world today. Its invention lead to an entirely new culture, lifestyle and fashion. It has spawned many of the other ‘extreme’ sports that we know today and is key element in a now multi-billion dollar industry. There are many angles to consider. So far I have found the following links, which I have organised in to categories.

The History of the surfboard and its design

Tracing the evolution of the surfboard and the effect of technology on its design.

http://www.woodsurfboards.com/
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/surfboard
http://www.surfingforlife.com/history.html
http://blackmagic.com/ses/surf/papers/boardessy.html
http://www.clubofthewaves.com/culture_surfboard.php
http://www.surfboardshack.com/board_design.html
http://www.surfingmuseum.org

Surfboard manufacturing and Environmental issues.

Modern Surfboards are made from very harmful materials. In 2005, Clark Foam, the company responsible for 90% of the worlds surf board blanks, had to close due to pressure from the government over their waste output. This called for new ‘environmentally friendly’ materials to be considered.

http://www.surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/clarkfoam/

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/whatsnew/16a3e60b60a5c010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Foam
http://www.surfing-waves.com/surfboard.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfboard
http://www.sas.org.uk/

Materials
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyurethane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystyrene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiberglass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy_resin

Surf culture, lifestyle and fashion.

In America in the 50’s and 60’s surfing really took off. The sports popularity created a new genre of music, film and fashion. The media latched on to the cultural boom and spread the surf lifestyle all over the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_culture
http://surfline.com/surfaz/surfaz.cfm?id=916
http://surfart.com/surf_history/fab50s.html
http://www.surfermag.com/photos/potpourri/1960/
http://blackmagic.com/ses/surf/papers/essay1/home.html
http://www.surfhistory.com/html/culture/index.shtml
http://www.surfclassics.com/feature.htm

Other Extreme sports that have evolved from surfing.

Skateboarding, originally dubbed ‘Side-walk surfing’ began due to surfers not being able to surf when there weren’t any waves. So using planks of wood and shopping cart wheels they made the first skateboards.

http://skateboard.about.com/cs/boardscience/a/brief_history.htm
http://skateboard.about.com/od/boardscience/a/DogtownHistory.htm
http://www.towsurfer.com/about.asp

I intend to find out more about :- proffesional surfing competitions, famous surf spots, differences in surfing around the world and the big surf brands.

1 comment:

pete said...

Hi Son well done, where can I see some work, also check out proFessional, Love Pete