Modus

The project

Thesis project, design a modular, customizable and highly repairable furniture system. A space to showcase experiences, memories, feelings and emotions.

About

Modus is a family of furniture products capable of containing and “showing off” objects, materials and elements that most described the owner.

The system is modular and expandable, providing a total customization experience based on the needs and requirements of the user.

The product is still supplied to be assembled by pursuing the now-known “Ikea effect” according to which, through assembly and physical contact, it is possible to establish an emotional relationship with the object in such a way as to create a positive experience followed by memories and feelings.

The emotions, sensations and characteristics that determine who we are are the basis of the project. Through modularity, total customization and the establishment of an emotional bond, it is possible to increase people’s awareness of the objects that surround them. The greater awareness we have and the less pollution we produce, because instead of going down the path of continuous consumerism, we are more likely to think about repair in case of breakage and special care and maintenance of the product.

Who is it for

The Modus product family is aimed at an audience that is looking for a completely customizable object, which can satisfy all needs and respond in a functional way to all requests. Owners can communicate their personality and knowledge about their surroundings, in terms of the value and importance of materials and products.

Thanks to its modularity and adaptability it can convert into a more complex and capable system, to accommodate the continuous changes of those who possess it.

The ability to contain anything, be it a waste product or a series of objects that are no longer used is the fulcrum of the entire project. We try to involve the user and make them even more aware of the products and materials that surround them. In this way, users can showcase something they are proud of, giving an even more personal touch to the environment in which the Modus products are placed.

Customising is key

Personalising means giving part of our being, of our character to something external to our person. Through this process, we can load with personal characteristics a product that otherwise could appear empty and without any “meaning”.

The personalization process involves the user both physically and emotionally, leading him to load the object or environment he is dealing with, forming a strong bond between the owner and the object, and influencing both personas.

Nowadays, most objects are completely alienated from the buyer and subsequent user thanks to mass production, empty of all emotions, sensations and meanings, without establishing any physical or emotional link. Its true importance and the imprint it makes on our life are not perceived, leading us to detach ourselves over time while advertising attracts us to a more recent and aesthetically appealing model.

This project intends to restore value to the objects that surround us by making people more aware of the objects that surround us. Through total customization, an attempt is made through establishing a connection between the user and the product in such a way as to obtain positive experiences and memories, leading the user to take better care of it and try to repair it rather than throwing it away.

User assembled

Through user experience and active participation in building an object, the user who buys the product is personally involved in the production process of an industrial product, which would otherwise be completely alienated and empty of the personal and unique characteristics of the owner.

This methodology includes physical and mental involvement and represents a process that promotes a bond with the object just because the owner assembled the furniture, giving at the end of the process personal satisfaction and emotionally connecting the user to the object. Filling up the object with what he believes is important and the characteristics that determine him as a single and unique person, giving to an inanimate object human characteristics that persist even in the future, such as memories, sensations and emotions.

Once this link has been established, if an accident occurs, which may be a breakage or a malfunction of the object, the user will be more inclined to proceed with a repair of this product rather than buying a new one, discarding the previous one. Greater care and maintenance is not only an ecological and environmentalist fact, which allows reducing global pollution and overproduction, but it represents the fact that there is a strong link between the user and the object and his attempt to reestablish it to continue that experience and memories.

The value of things

Our planet today is saturated with objects and despite this, we continue to produce more. Strategically advertising increases our thirst for new things and the ambition of the new model. Furthermore, the depersonalization given by mass production has reached its peak leading us to the complete sentimental detachment from any object that surrounds us.

By now we are not able to understand how much materials are worth and we don’t even think about how much material was consumed for the production of a certain object. Even if both material and object come from the same source, the waste made from the production loses the values ​​it is loaded with. All the “waste” material during the manufacturing process is considered trash automatically, losing all the value and importance compared to the finished product.

With this project, we try to give the right value to the objects and materials with which they are produced, displaying them almost as if they were in a gallery. The scraps of materials that are not able to be reused, or remains of such, deserve to be seen. This way we can obtain greater awareness of the materials that surround us.

Goals

• Enhance people’s awareness of the objects that surround them. Thanks to advertising today, people are constantly bombarded with new products, inviting them to replace what they already have just because it is out of date. With this project, we try to push the consumer towards more awareness and less consumerist philosophy.
• Encourage environmental and sustainable practices. The stronger the bond we have with what we own, the more we care for it and therefore the longer its life will be and the less quantity of waste will be allowed in landfills all over the world.
• Modular and expandable. The customization of a product is essential in the user experience. Having an object that can change according to your needs and requests increases the relationship that has been created. Modifying, personalising and making an industrial object yours, allows us to pour our ideals, thoughts and sensations into it, strengthening the relationship, experiences and memories that will be created.
• Easy repair. A product that can be repaired quickly and easily simplifies the care and maintenance of it, increasing the longevity of the product in such a way as to once again reduce our footprint on the natural equilibrium.

Existing solutions

A simple cube for a complex system

The entire project rests on this small cube, made of polycarbonate and then drilled and threaded on three sides, which allows us to put together up to three plates at the same time, allowing us to conceive and design complex shapes and create an almost infinite family of products, placing man’s creativity as the only limit. The cube is strategically placed to support the discharge of forces from the structural system.

One link, infinite possibilities

The simplicity of the joining system allows for a great variety of accessories that make the entire furnishing system flexible. Every single product can adapt to any environment.

The products can be placed on the ground without support, only with small felt protections to avoid damaging the object. If the situation requires it, adjustable feet can be added in to adjust according to the surface, or wheels can be inserted allowing it to be continuously moved.

Easy assembly