Vitamin B 2018
Designed with: Zining Ng and Chang Zixin
Surprise is when there is a contradiction between what we perceive and what actually happens. Vitamin B was inspired by exploring how the action of breaking can be re-imagined as something delightful. Here, the classic piggy bank is re-designed so that breaking can be interpreted as a form of celebration. On first glance, the piggy bank is spherical and has a plain, solid-coloured exterior. The surprise comes only when it is broken, splitting into equal sized pieces and revealing a second colour that discloses its identity.
The process of saving money is likened to the process of planting a fruit. The piggy bank "grows" as more coins are collected, then "ripens" as it is broken. Finally, one can reap the harvest after a long and arduous process of saving up.
Process
We aimed to challenge the notion of breaking by trying to achieve controlled breaking. Experimentation involved varying joint types and individual joint diameters to see which could produce the intended result. Eventually, sliding and breaking-type joints were used to achieve controlled breaking in 2 different situations: when the piggy bank was hammered and when it was dropped from a height.
