ABOUT "THE BOUBA CHESS SET"
This project, sets and seriation, consists of creating a set of pieces that, while being distinctive, also have a cohesion that brings them together into a family that has a clear concept that not only sustains the references and ideas for the set in its entirety but also the character of each piece on its own. As explained in the brief given to execute the project, there were several characteristics that were to be followed when materializing the pieces. These characteristics were the following: King as strength, Queen as skillfulness, Bishop as principles, Knight as knack, Rook as safety, and pawn as fear.
The Bouba Chess Set was created through a process of experimentation, which involved brainstorming with clay and eventually settling on cold porcelain due to its firmness when dry. The cold porcelain was used to create an inner skeleton, which was held in place with sticks and wire before being dipped in alternating pink and white wax. The resulting design features distinctive and cohesive pieces with a playful nod to cognitive science through its name, inspired by the Kiki and Bouba effect.
The Bouba Chess Set was created through a process of experimentation, which involved brainstorming with clay and eventually settling on cold porcelain due to its firmness when dry. The cold porcelain was used to create an inner skeleton, which was held in place with sticks and wire before being dipped in alternating pink and white wax. The resulting design features distinctive and cohesive pieces with a playful nod to cognitive science through its name, inspired by the Kiki and Bouba effect.
PROCESS
This chess set was designed with the concept of Kiki and Bouba, a psychological phenomenon where people associate certain sounds with certain shapes. The “bubble skeleton” technique was utilized to create the shapes of the pieces, with several spheres made from cold porcelain stacked on top of each other and then dipped into hot colored wax. This creates a more fluid and “Bouba-esque” shape. The rules for the hierarchy of the piece were: decreasing levels of the “bubble skeleton” while maintaining a shiny, wax texture. Materials used for the execution of this design include cold porcelain, wax, and wooden sticks. The technique employed for this set was based on the hand-dipping candle technique.
