In this thesis I have been growing and designing with living materials and applying it to products. MY focus is on bacteria and fungi to develop bio-materials. As a part of my experimenting with living materials I want to test and built on existing material experimentation and solutions, for inspiration and understanding of the concept of living design. My main material will be bacterial cellulose, a bio-film/material sheet grown on the surface of a culture liquid by bacteria. To do this I have frame my project by using the Material Driven Design Method (Karana, Narati, Rognoli & Zeeuw Van Der Lean, 2015).

By reducing the use of non-renewable natural resources, bio-based materials have emerge. Design research has directed its attention to living materials that sense, respond, adapt and eventually decomposes without any toxic contamination. This has inspired me to explore the world of growing design. Growing design refers to growing materials from living organisms to achieve unique material functions, expression and sustainable solutions for design. Elvin Karan a professor at TU Delft and her team explores the potential of designing living products, by developing theories and methods to incorporate this thinking into the design process. I want to
use these theories and methods to focus on the material experience (aesthetic experience, experience of meaning and emotional experience) in growing and living materials, my aim has been to design aesthetically pleasing product that give a high signal value. As a designer I want to
an active maker of materials, and to encourage others to think of material as a primary design element instead of the final problem that has to be solved.

How can designing products made of living materials bring forward the aesthetic and unique qualities of the materials in products?