The development of man into a self-aware, rational being was marked by a continuous struggle to master and gain control of the materials available around him.
Materials are part of our lived environment. We shape them. We work with them. We use them. What are their properties? What process takes us from matter to material?
We live in an era in which the new properties of existing materials as well as the plenitude of new materials open up a wide range of possibilities for design and product development. There are more opportunities than ever to create a project or product that will stand out from the rest and have a high added value in the market.
But it's not only the functionality and effectiveness of a product or project that will determine its "success". There are many intangible aspects that will also play a role, including its emotional properties, which are a consequence of its technical and sensory properties—today, materials can interact with their users, become autonomous, or even grow and die.
Designers’ work is no longer simply about finding other uses for each newly developed material. Instead, they must attempt to create and/or synthesise the most suitable materials to meet the modern needs arising in the design world.