Inside the body

Inside the body

28 March 2023
Article
From the exhibition

Design crosses the threshold of our bodies more often than you might think. Some things are actually designed specifically to go inside the body. To protect or heal, stimulate or decorate it. Designs like this are not always visible from the outside. Medical devices, for instance, such as pacemakers, hip or knee replacements and penile implants. In cases like this, the form of the design is largely determined by the body itself and the function of the object. Strict legal requirements mean that it can take years to design and develop and can cost a great deal of money. Other items designed specifically for inside our bodies, such as cotton buds, tampons, or babies’ pacifiers are less dependent on rules and so can be found in all sorts of variations. Once again, though, it is primarily the body that determines the design of the object. A pacifier or dummy, for instance, is intended to satisfy a baby’s need to suckle without consuming any food. The best way to achieve this is to imitate a nipple, which is where the pacifier’s distinctive form came from.