AI EYEWEAR
Filippo Nassetti uses Midjourney, a form of artificial intelligence that produces images in response to a text input, to design a collection of concept eyewear.
Inspired by biomorphic patterns, the pieces are designed by asking the AI to produce them as composed by natural forms, drawing a range of features from biological and mineral microstructures to fibrous architectures, ferrofluid to corroded metal, biorock accretion and more. Nassetti curates the series to show a different synthesis of natural and artificial elements: while some pieces suggest eyewear that could be worn every day, others fall more radically in mask territory, to the extreme of becoming sculptures.
"I have been researching on headwear, masks and eyewear for several years, and much of my previous work focused on developing a concept into an actual product or artwork. While I still value the physical object as the main outcome of my process, I enjoy leaning into the production of concepts with AI. These tools are allowing the designer to widely expand the initial pool of concepts, out of which eventually select something to be developed."
"I am aware there is a bit of a disconnect between these images and the production processes and functionality requirements of eyewear products. However, this disconnect can also become a way to explore new ideas, that would be otherwise left behind. For instance, in eyewear design, a distinction between lenses and frame is generally axiomatic: you start the design by thinking them as separate. AI productions instead blur the boundaries, patterns appear that beautifully merge parts in a continuous whole. Instead of reading it as a mistake, this can be taken as a starting point for a radical re-thinking of the product."
"The speed at which you are able to go through a vast number of ideas is impressive, I believe the tool is very able to expand our natural imagination. The challenge I see for the future, will be how to match such velocity with the workflows of design development, from 3d modelling to the production and refinement of prototypes."
CREDITS
All images produced by Filippo Nassetti using Midjourney AI.