Plastic with soul?

No consumer material has been the source of more hate than plastic. What is it about this material that causes us to revile it? And is it possible to create plastic things with soul?

What is this stuff?

Plastics are polymers, that is, long chains of molecules, usually involving quite a bit of carbon. For various chemical reasons, they repel water and can be molded to virtually any shape or texture. They’re mostly made inexpensively from crude oil.

Strangely enough, plastic is a very organic material. Its chemical structure is similar to protein, and it’s largely made from dead living things. What’s to hate?

It's too easy

Like email or information on the internet, when something is freely available, it becomes devalued. Plastic is spectacularly cheap, leading to the product equivalent of SPAM. It allowed, for the first time, throw away objects made without thought for good design, the future or the environment. But plastic itself isn't to blame. Early bakelite objects for example, were often expensive and refined.

Bakelite fish

It’s an imposter

The thing is, plastic's organic origins are no longer obvious. When you pick up plastic, it doesn’t look like a dead tree, or algae, or a dinosaur (all of which it could be). It looks like an alien egg sac.

Because it has lost its identity, it has no sense of history or place in the world. A knife made from bone has a clear history, it was once an animal before was shaped by hand. You can see the skill of the crafts-person.

Most people have little knowledge of the manufacturing of plastic, and so can’t identify with the story. This is the problem.

Create a story, add scarcity

Here’s where things get interesting. If you can show people how the plastic arrived in the world, you can create a back story, and give it character. For example, marks left by moulding are often an embarrassing imperfection. What if they were a highlight?

This concept is best summarized by the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi, which centres on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. For plastic, that means not trying to disguise itself as something else.

Plastic takes complex shapes and colors easily, but these things too add to its alien, incomprehensible nature. Only by removing these distractions can this amazing material be beautiful.

Exclusivity can be imbued by good design. 3d printers have created the opportunity for the first generation of plastic artisans.

Yes, plastic can have soul.

Examples

Bag by Muji

Flow Chair by Jessica Tran

Nylon plastic lamp by Nervous System

Hold Musak

Credit: chronicle.su

"Who picks this music?"

If you're like me, you've asked this question many times after eleven minutes on hold to your bank or insurance company. It's boring and repetitive, and most of all it makes you feel frustrated and patronized. But it doesn't have to be that way. Hold music is sonic branding, and you can use it to reinforce your positioning while (hopefully) providing something actually fun to listen to.

Pick a risk

Fun things contain an element of risk - from sports to travel, art and certainly music. Without risks you have no fun, and no brand, so pick music that takes risks your customers would enjoy. It might be music that's less formal than they expect, or music that's newer, or even funny or ironic. A youth focused mobile brand shouldn't play music their customers' parents would like. Older people tend to be more risk averse, but that doesn't mean no risk.

License more songs

Choose more than enough songs to cover your longest wait times. When songs start repeating, customers feel they are stuck in an endless loop. This has been my single biggest source of complaints. If I’m going to be stuck in an endless loop, I want it to be while skydiving or eating a five star meal, not on hold.

Be coherent

It’s tempting to choose music from twenty different genres so everyone will like something. Which is the same as everybody hating most of it. You already have a clear style when it comes to visual design, so have one for your music. It might all be from local artists, it might all be hip hop, it might all be about beards.

Just say no to Pina Coladas

Resist pressure to include some of the old favourites in the mix. You’re making a statement here, and the more you compromise, the more you’ll lose the effect.

Good luck!