The final segment of a four-part series that contemplates how purpose and creativity merge when you “design with intention.”
In any commercial project, the designer must balance creativity with accountability, materials with functionality, practicality with ethical choices. You might say that designers who master this puzzle have a gift. Whether it is Zen or persistence, it is personally rewarding to juggle the parameters of an assignment into a successful project.
Understanding the purpose of a project and identifying the client’s objectives are only part of the equation. A critical part of the mission is to be the Subject Matter Expert on materials - the SME. The wise curator who brings performance together with aesthetics, balanced with responsible choices, is truly the mindful designer.
"In your own work, capture the idea that will allow you to create your canvas, make it something that we want to look at and engage with, then begin to lay the foundation that allows your audience to navigate, understand, and connect with your idea. The result will be a design derived from beauty and supported by function."
- Jonathan Speh, inspired by New York City’s High Line Park, built on a historic freight rail line saved from demolition and opened in 2009 as a hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art, and design.
Let’s look at decorative surfaces, and specifically at wood-based solutions. The true beauty of wood is the many forms it can take. Composite wood decorative panels like thermally fused laminate (TFL) check all the boxes for aesthetics, performance, and practicality yet represent the most responsible use of precious wood fiber, because they enable us to use 99% of the wood harvested in managed forests. Harvesting for solid wood only leaves fully half of the tree on the forest floor, as waste to be burned or landfilled.
ARAUCO Prism® TFL is a composite wood panel bonded with thermally fused decorative paper-based laminate surfaces in woodgrain and solid color designs. TFL is the most efficiently manufactured decorative wood panel, with durability that rivals the high-pressure laminates (HPL) we’ve been using for 75 years.
The decorative faces of Prism TFL panels are the key to their success in commercial and residential design, and to their value as a more responsible alternative to other materials. 
The woodgrain designs on Prism TFL are created with high-resolution scans of the best examples of both popular and rare or fragile wood species and edited for the scale and character needed for cabinetry, office furniture, retail fixtures, and millwork. Unlike solid wood and veneers, consistency in color and character are never an issue with Prism TFL. Authentic woodgrain textures, matched to the printed décor designs, are highly realistic, satisfying even to the touch of seasoned furniture experts. Offered in a wide palette of options, Prism woodgrain designs are a practical, durable and budget-friendly alternative to veneers and solid wood.
Prism is also offered in many fashion-forward uni-colors as a replacement for painted wood, plastic and other materials, with durable surfaces in smooth matte or even woodgrain textures.
Prism TFL panels are one of the few design materials that are truly Climate Positive Now.1 Trees capture and store carbon as they grow, and sequester it until that wood decays or burns. Every sheet of Prism TFL stores at least 40 pounds of naturally captured carbon, which is more than enough to offset all of the C02 released in its production and use. This benefit, shared by no other material, is what makes Prism TFL Climate Positive Now. 
It’s not often that we can successfully meet design, performance, budget, and sustainability challenges with one single solution, especially one that brings so much beauty to the equation. Prism TFL is the ideal material for commercial and residential furniture and interiors, allowing designers to stay true to their inspiration while meeting the objectives of a successful project.
Find the rest of this series on our blog.
As you lead the discovery process with your clients and develop successful projects, we hope you remember our fun refresher about designing with intention. We invite you to learn more about how ARAUCO Prism® TFL can help. Visit www.prismTFL.com to search designs, download software assets, use the Room Studio visualizer, and request samples. Samples are always free to qualified A&D professionals. To keep your professional credentials current, we also offer credit approved CEUs.
1Kenn Busch, “Climate Positive NOW,” Material Intelligence, September 15, 2021, https://www.climatepositivenow.org/