Under Pressure

Abstract

This project aimed to explore the relationship between tools and design; more specifically a printing press and design. The idea emerged from a longing of being able to work with printmaking, the lack of a workshop with the right tools and a feeling of hopelessness in not knowing where to find the resources. The aim was to design a printing press that could encourage presence in the user, instill calmness and joy in a time-consuming craft where the actual pleasure always seem to lie in the end result. By focusing on the tools used in creative work, would it be possible to shed a new light on these objects which aid us in constructing new things? A process of designing and constructing a tool, offered knowledge about machine processing, materials and the need for precision. It all culminated in a functional printing press. Seemingly ordinary, the machine itself may not express all the layers of creative work and philosophies which nonetheless became the purpose of the project. Thus, it has not only been a way to explore the balance between form and function but also to discuss the concept of tools as something more than just means of creating.