One of the most innovative collaborations I’ve encountered since canvassing the floors of the Merchandise Mart has been that between Dupont Corian and the students at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, a curated exhibition of designs created to inspire interaction between user and object.

Senses. Designed by Emily Lin in collaboration with Dupont Corian.

Of particular note were two experiments, one by Corinne Farmer called “Fragmented” where Dupont’s Illumination series was used as a material to diffuse light disco dancefloor style. The other, an inventive light box called “Senses” by Emily Lin with a labrythine inlay which suggests “a state like Zen with the philosophy of balance.” These and several more student designs will be on view at the SAIC thesis exhibition “Making Modern” June 13 – July 25, 2009.

Fragmented. Designed by Corinne Farmer in collaboration with Dupont Corian.