Design is meant to surprise, delight, inspire, and provoke. It allows us to manifest a point of view and impact how people experience the world. To keep the poetic minds of our designers engaged we find it useful—necessary, in fact—to tease out the elemental powers of creative expression through conceptual exploration. One approach to this exercise is to reflect upon a common object, and use the power of design to craft aesthetic statements that question our fundamental perceptions of culture and ritual.
Industrial designer, Sasha Tseng, explored the idea behind the diamond engagement ring. Little girls grow up dreaming of it, big girls get jealous over it, and advertisers cash big checks on it. Sasha’s prerogative was to question which part of the ring is the most important—the shine of the gem sitting atop the band or the emotion that makes you want to say “forever.” To her it was easy – the ring itself is merely a representation of an intangible devotion. To embody a feeling as ethereal as love, she wanted to create a piece of jewelry just as transcendent.
From inside the box, the ring glitters with the promise of karats in spades. But upon opening the box, it is revealed that the sparkling facets are, in fact, only on the surface of the package. This is the moment of impact. When the essence of the design, and the intentions of the designer, hit you in the gut. The promise now, though still of love, is that no material can represent that devotion.
