A new website called MaterialExperience is designed to bridge the gap between design engineers and industrial designers. Formed by Chris Lefteri, a design consultant and materials application expert, the site is designed in a flashcard style, rather like what a designer might hope to find while going through a materials library, while containing technical information of value to engineers. "We translate the technical information into language that's relevant to design," says Lefteri.

"Designers don't just choose materials based on performance," Lefteri continues. "They're looking at the aesthetic and emotional properties of materials, too--how they make people feel." On the other hand engineers, as we all know, are an emotionally frigid group of automatons, but hopefully we can change that one touchy-feely material at a time.

via design news