Design for Industry graduate from Northumbria University, Rachel impressed the judges with her deliciously innovative ‘Teana’ design for creating modern tea rituals where colour and taste are blended to suit your mood and personality. Find out more about Rachel and what she’s got on the boil for the future.
How do you feel about being spotted by the judges as a One to Watch and what does I mean to you?
To be spotted by the judges was an amazing feeling! It is an accomplishment in itself to have my work recognised by a panel of such great designers and artists. It means a lot to me to be recognised as I feel that this project really shows a lot of my personality as a designer, I love experimenting with colours and designing around the full experience of a product.
How important is colour in your work and how do you choose and narrow down colours?
Colour is very important within my work, even on alternative projects I find it very useful to design around a specific colour trend or work with colours that lend themselves to certain materials. On this project the colouring was a key part of the user experience, using different colours to reflect mood and create a talking point. I stayed away from darker tones of each colour on this project as I wanted the tea to look vibrant and interesting, currently flavoured teas are quite dark and gloomy and I wanted the colour burst to be a talking point for the consumer.
What inspires you?
My main source of inspiration for this project was from looking into futuristic trends and how consumers may experience dining differently in the future. The main product 'Teana' was designed with inspiration from a spaceship looking silhouette and the gel tea bag pods themselves were designed to look simple but create an explosion of colour when dissolving in the water.
What makes you happiest/most fulfilled in your creative process?
Within my creative process I am happiest when I get to experiment with form and finishes, I feel that my best designs have come from multiple stages of experimentation and iteration of the product. I find it useful to do user testing throughout a project to make sure the end product is always suitable for the consumer in mind.
What are you working on now?
Currently I am updating my portfolio with projects and working on a sustainable fabric-based project that involves using alternatives to leather within homewares. As this project is very material based, I am continuing to work on designs and testing small samples, I can hopefully get back into a workshop when Covid restrictions allow.
Where do you want to be in 3 year’s time?
In three years' time I would want to be working at a design consultancy in an Industrial Design role, I would love to work on projects that tackle sustainability issues. I aim to continuously work as creatively as possible, whilst I am not currently working in a Design role, I keep busy with design and drawing projects in spare time to keep my skills fresh.
Creative high point?
A creative high point for me has been getting my work recognised this year at New Designers. Although it is a shame that this project couldn't have been taken down to London to be seen face to face, it is a real achievement to have it recognised by the judges!
Creative low point?
A creative low point for me would have been this year when Covid first hit, as my final university project was material based I had to leave the majority of it at University and head home. It was disappointing to not have had the opportunity to complete the physical models however I’m sure this was a creative low point for many students this year.
One special person who made a positive difference to your creative journey?
For me, the technicians within the design facilities at Northumbria did a great job at guiding me in the right direction with my work, it is always great to speak through projects with different people to get opinions and feedback. They were often great support when parts of a project went wrong or if I felt that the work was not going down the route that I initially intended for it.
Favourite colour?
My favourite colour is Duck egg blue!
Image credits: Rachel Morley
Contact Details: rachelmorley98@hotmail.co.uk
Instagram: @rachmdesigns
My portfolio link is : https://issuu.com/rachelmorley0/docs/rachel_morley_design_portfolio