Acid dye: Printing techniques make wood rust

The designers hit on a surprising combination. ‘We decided to figure out how we could apply this to wood in order to change its appearance and make wood rust,’ said the designers. ‘For this purpose we designed a simple stool that we silkscreen-printed with iron and brass, and over-printed it with acid.’

Viewers can observe the stools slowly changing colour as the chemical reaction progresses over several weeks. The final products feature vibrant shades of bronze and turquoise, reflecting the hybrid wood and metal composition of the surfaces.

More designers are turning to scientific processes to create visually striking products, while adding an element of narrative to their creations, as in our recent Seed about glassware darkened by radiation.