Based in Toronto, Rob Southcott is an industrial designer who “creates common objects with their own unique sense of individuality.” To that, I would have to add “and humor.” There is a lot of humor in his work, which only increases its appeal.
From top to bottom, left to right:
What Lies Beneath Table; United We Stand Chairs; Jet Set Paper Airplane Hooks; Correlation Chandelier; Community (drawers); Down with the Ship Candlestick; Totem Cups
See more at Rob’s site.
Yes, it’s a bit gross but the idea behind Consumption Dinnerware made me laugh. The plates are a map of the digestive tract, from mouth to anus. The saliva glands and oral cavity cup is not shown here, but clockwise from top left corner: Esophagus plate; Liver/gallbladder/stomach/pancreas plate; small intestine/colon plate; and finally, appendix/rectum/anus dessert plate. Don’t be surprised if your guests pass on dessert, or the whole meal for that matter…
Pre-order your set here.
Continuing with the impressive student work at ICFF, RIT’s “booth” stood out through and through. Wilsonart International (a manufacturer of laminate surfacing materials) teamed up with RIT to create a student competition called Metaproject 01. Twenty senior industrial design students were given the task of designing seating prototypes using the Wilsonart laminate. The palate was limited to the use of black, white and red laminate colors in order to focus attention on the design. Further requirements included:
– The product must be well crafted and bear substantial weight.
– The product must be recognizable as a seating device. The product must function as a seating device.
– The product must incorporate an image of the Wilsonart laminate sample chip.
The $1,000 scholarship prize was awarded to Dan Fritz for his chair The Trance (top). There were 5 runners up who had their pieces displayed at ICFF, but the other 14 projects not exhibited were included in the beautifully designed catalogue that were being distributed by the students who were also enthusiastic and eager to show and explain their designs.
Daniela and I would have had a tough time deciding who to pick as a winner; good thing they didn’t ask us to be judges. Other projects shown here include: The Cooler Bench by Andy Clark; The Nodule by Francesca Pezze; The Reader by Megan Searle; and The Encounter by Tim Kuo.
I’d have to say that, for me, some of the most creative and interesting work at this year’s ICFF and its satellite shows came from design students. One of these is Vivian Chiu, a furniture design student at RISD. What first caught my eye was her Inception Chair at the Noho Design District show, then later I noticed her Fu Lei Zhi bench at ICFF as well, and have since visited her website to see a slew of interesting work.
Chiu seems fascinated by repetition and intricate pieces fitting together perfectly in a puzzle-like fashion. Together the pieces create a whole, yet separately, they function (to some degree) as well. In addition to the originality of the work, her craftsmanship is remarkable.
To see more of Vivian Chiu’s work visit her site.
On the eve of ICFF here in NYC I’d like to keep with the industrial design theme and present Synapse a modular lighting system by Francisco Gomez Paz, an Argentinean designer who lives in Milan. I don’t know whether these lamps will be at ICFF but if so, I certainly look forward to seeing them live. I think they’re beautiful. I can imagine these looking just as great in a private home as in a public space, whether office, hotel lobby, or store.
Each module is a smart cell that when combined with other smart cells creates illuminated surfaces of any size and composition. The use of advanced RGB LED technology allows the light to be white or colored. And the fact that they can be configured as desired, whether used as a single piece or a whole wall-ful makes each one a bit unique, no?
Manufactured and distributed by Luceplan.
via 90mas10
With this cleverly designed espresso maker, you can shoot your shot of coffee straight into the cup. Designed by four students at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, (Nicolas Schwarz, Stefan Riegebauer, Florian Kainz, and Christina Carli), Il Tiro (gunshot in Italian) seems like such an obvious solution to get that high pressure necessary for a good espresso. The portability aspect is a plus as well, not allowing the espresso to cool from coffeemaker to table. Watch the video below for the full explanation.
via designpumpa
Made of inflatable paper dunnage bags, a metal frame and rubber straps, the paper Blow Armchair is simple to inflate (just use a blow dryer), easy to transport, and recyclable. Not to mention hard to ignore in a room! The young designers at Malafor, a Polish design studio, have now come out with a new plastic version called the Explore Chair which is made of DAKRON sailcloth, very durable and weather resistant; perfect for outdoor use.
The sofa version can be purchased here.
Pretty much anything with nice typography is bound to catch my eye. And pretty much any object that uses typography as an integral part of its design is likely to win me over. Here are but a very few:
Clockwise from top left:
Typographic Dress at the Met
Alphabet Poster
Jacqueline Rabun Type Jewelry
Veer Character Scarf
House Industries Neutraface Pillow
Alphabet Ice Cube Trays
Red Plastic Letters from Etsy
Domino Clock
British Route Signs Chair
Fontables
Typography Coasters
Typolade Chocolates
Type Bookends
CB2 Letterpress Rug
Alphabet Bookcase
Letteroom Alphabet Eco Wrapping Paper
This lovely teapot was originally produced in ceramic in the 1960s, but has now been redesigned by Erik Magnussen, in Denmark, and produced in bone china. It’s a testament to the original design that this teapot still holds up as a modern and timeless piece. The built-in handle in the back is a very cool feature that makes the hand seemingly disappear into the teapot when serving.
Available here.
The Join Table, designed by Ding 3000, is the new “big brother” to their Join Cutlery (see our earlier post) based on the same principle. Made of oak and glass.
Having a possible future industrial designer in the family makes us especially interested in furniture design, and even more interested and impressed by student furniture design work. Strolling by Parsons yesterday, Dan and I noticed these beautiful chairs through the windows and went in to see, what turned out to be, part of the Parsons Festival 2011. These spectacular chairs are designed by Sophomores. Second year, undergrad design students. Unbelievable! “Parsons product design students present full-scale study models of bent plywood chairs that are the result of a six-week project in which students learned the basics of ergonomics, sound construction principles, and finishes.”
Parsons Festival runs through May 23rd in the lobby of the 2 West 13th St. building. The rest of the show, which includes interaction design, looks equally impressive.
These bags in their organic shapes are part of Argentinean designer Ivana Crivos’ clothing and accessories creations and company called ‘Hedón’. Hand knit in Lycra, Crivos likes the melding of new technology with the traditional process. The priority for Crivos is that the material work well with the body, covering it and molding its shape to it. “I want my products, clothing or accessories, to transmit love, happiness and comfort,” says the designer. “My designs are basically about the human body, as well as thinking about the requirements of modern life.”
You can see more of Ivana Crivos’ designs here.
Lampa E is designed to be playful; inviting for interaction and repositioning. It can be used as a reading or desk lamp, or as a sculptural lighting object. Designed by Vesna Pejovic from Serbia using aluminum and LED light source.
via designspotter
Maybe one of these to replace the bean bag, Dan? Designed by Bauke Knottnerus, Phat Knits is a series of giant threads used to create, knitted or not, interior products. These are part of two special editions of Phat Knits made for an exhibit called Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion going on now through mid-August at the MoMu (Mode Museum) in Antwerp, if you happen to be there in the next couple of months.
You can see more images here.
Aren’t these delightful? Designed by Brian Schmitt these mobiles “feature a playful interplay of geometric and organic forms” in a bunch of bright color options. Powder coated finish on lasercut aluminum.
Available at Schmitt Design.
d˚light Bubbles are soft, cool to the touch and squeezable silicone bubbles that can be made into concave shapes by pressing in on them. They can be hung on a hook, or bunched up on the floor, or any other arrangement you might prefer. Designed by Diana Lin Design and available on her site.
Em pointed me to this cleverly designed prototype. Designer Chengyuan Wei conceived of a phone handset made from cardstock, including all the minimal essentials: chip, microphone, and electrical wire. This flat board folds into a three-dimensional object when pressed on its sides. Much simpler than making a paper crane…just sayin’.
via PleatFarm
en.light.en interactive lamps are designed by Barrangan Studio in Colombia. Apart from the basic lamp function of lighting their environs, en.light.en lamps contain different narratives that can be triggered by the user, creating a more “poetic and metaphysical relationship” between man and technology. One lamp seems to answer your questions à la Magic Eight Ball. Another will keep your ego in check displaying messages determined by the user’s psychological needs and desires. It can uplift those who are down, and bring down those with overinflated egos, creating a healthy equilibrium. Oh, and finally, one of the en.light.en lamps displays the time in scrolling LED type as well, (for the more practically-minded), while reminding the user that time is limited and they will not live forever.
For those who understand Spanish, here’s a video of all the different en.light.en lamps and what they offer…down to serving as an egg timer.
CollabCubed 