Tools for Everyday Life
Tools for Everyday Life is a project showcasing the community of practice surrounding the BA Furniture and Product Design programme at Northumbria University. This community has evolved through a dialogical approach to teaching and learning, where academic and technical staff act as facilitators in an ongoing process of shared inquiry with students. The project sets design briefs to create everyday objects that bring joy in use, proposing artefacts that recognise and celebrate the innumerable skilled actions that shape daily life. The aim is to draw inspiration from materials and processes that not only define the objects people interact with but also shape the relationship with the surrounding environment.
During 3daysofdesign, Northumbria University presents the latest iteration of its Tools for Everyday Life project. The exhibition presents products and prototypes that encourage users to viscerally engage in commonplace activities. The question asked is: “What are the results of a designer treating people as skilled and active users of functional artefacts rather than passive witnesses of a designed experience?” Everyday objects presented in Copenhagen include rulers, pencil holders and money boxes. The designers are academics, alumni, Designers in Residence and students all connected to the BA Furniture and Product Design programme at Northumbria University based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
