Why design jewelry when you can grow it? Enter Floraform, a new line of jewelry that uses advanced computer algorithms to organically "grow" necklace, ring, and bracelet designs which were inspired by jellyfish arms and iris flowers.
A generative design studio based in Somerville, Massachusetts founded by MIT graduates Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Nervous System, started working on the Floraform project back in 2011. Rosenkrantz and Louis-Rosenberg came across two scientific papers, describing how leaves, flowers, and other forms of life grow into their recognizable forms. The duo discovered that the beautiful, complex ruffles seen in nature are formed from a relatively simple procedure: they just push all of their growth to the edge, and exotic ripples, ruffles, and waves will start to form.
Plugging that logic into a computer algorithm, Nervous created a line of 24 unique pieces, 3-D printed out of nylon and silver. These designs are divided divided into three sets: one inspired by flowers, the other based upon the arms of a jellyfish, and the third incorporating design elements of both.
For the flowers, Nervous tweaked its algorithm to grow what it describes as "curling, convoluted" forms that explore concepts of symmetry (or its absence). The jellyfish necklaces, on the other hand, "incorporate directional, gravity-like forces, resulting in a more elongated draping of form with dripping cascades of ruffles." As for the third set, they're not really like anything on Earth: incorporating elements of both flowers and jellyfish, the resulting necklaces are neither beast nor plant. They seem almost like the flora of an alien world.
Available as a line of bracelets, necklaces, and rings, the Floraform line of 3-D printed jewelry is available directly from Nervous System's online shop. They range in price from $25 to $390, depending upon material.
[via: Prosthetic Knowledge]