Clean lines, Clear Thoughts
Happy First day of May!
As an exploration of design and a reflection of the state of the world I’ve compiled the greatest design trends I have encountered.
These are unique materials, thought processes, and anything else that speaks to the state of design. I hope you enjoy!
Clean lines, Organic materials, Precision Metals
Central Stations
Holmris B8, in collaboration with C.F. Møller Design has developed furniture concept ‘central station’. The concept revolves around the idea of a nomadic lifestyle, quick moving and active. The furniture is meant to support high energy and ever changing office environments. It is built around a unique set of interlocking pieces which can be quickly and easily installed and dissembled completely tool-less. In a world of ever rounder squircles, central station reflects a recent refinement of design methodologies. Soft edges, rounded corners, and sturdy materials combine to create a feeling of comfort, reinforced by it’s own rigidity. The aesthetic qualities of the concept alongside the functional benefits are enthralling.
400
This cabinet, 400, designed by Buenos Aires-based studio FLORA is mesmerizing in every sense of the word. Interestingly, the drawer chest serves a very unique purpose as it was created to store art pieces. Working with preservationists the team behind it was able to create a beautiful piece of furniture to both store and display priceless pieces of art in it’s museum quality drawers. The unique use case directly results in it’s interesting form factor and highly specific material choices. The piece features harsh edges with stamped stainless steel making up the exterior and zinc drawer interiors. Although highly specific, the drawer system itself is beautiful and would be fitting in most modern homes, studios, and workshops. Interestingly, despite the harsh edges and multitude of flat panels the cabinet feels approachable and draws attention in a similar way a traditional wooden cabinet might without feeling too out of place. The tubular legs, glass top, and precision cut components contribute to this feeling of exciting familiarity.
https://leibal.com/furniture/400/
Quill…
An immersive 3D animation platform
Although Older news, I want to point out a project I came across recently, an animation platform called Quill. More info can be found at the link below. Quill is designed to break into the immersive creation space in a way I haven’t seen before. Very similar to adobe animate or premier, Quill has a timeline, animation tools, and a graphical interface housed locally in the immersive world. Although it seems to have been mostly a proof of concept type project, the unique UI aesthetic paired with the immersive development process afforded by the program leads to endless possibilities in a VR environment.
It seems that in recent years development of immersive technology has made a shift from being about the technology and development to the mentality and the ethos surrounding VR and immersive technologies as a whole. Although in many cases this is a great idea, Apple’s vision pro comes to mind, these devices are still largely limited by the physical technology, and the software behind them. Quill stands out in a world of ultra progressive technologies as one that spends the time to refine the details. Focusing on the usage and the experience beyond what is flashy and forward thinking. Whether in Immersive design or more traditional design mediums, the details really do matter. Being able to communicate usage and accommodate a user’s needs is of utmost importance.
Thank you for spending the time to read my first Design Update! I hope you found something interesting throughout.
In the future I’ll plan to continue with (hopefully) monthly updates on my design findings. Happy designing!
-Ethan A