Material Design Interview with Creative Review
Creative Review wanted to understand how changing material approaches are helping us engage in more responsible futures. As part of their creative insights section they asked Ma-tt-er how material design can help to create this more sustainable place.
Every item we encounter is made from something. But how much we do we actually know about the materials that we interact with on a daily basis? Where are they sourced? What impact do they have on the environment? And how are those materials turned into the items we own?
Seetal Solanki worked as a textile and materials designer for automotive, fashion and architecture brands before founding Ma-tt-er in 2015. The London studio runs a consultancy service for brands – helping them devise new materials strategies and implement more sustainable ways of working – and has also been raising awareness of the role that material design can play in creating a more sustainable future through public events, workshops and creative projects. In 2018, it published its first book, Why Materials Matter, which highlighted materials-related solutions to environmental problems, and recently partnered with Riposte magazine to create a series of articles on sustainability for the magazine’s Agenda section.
“I wanted [material design] to be more understood and accessible – and something that is looked at as being valuable and meaningful. Material research always kind of existed within academia and science but it wasn’t really understood in design … and I wanted to show how we can have a positive impact on society and policy and the environment,” Solanki tells CR.