Inspiration?
- Oct 5, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 16, 2024
I recently attended the much anticipated London Design Festival (LDF) with the rest of my 4th year PDE cohort.
However, waiting for the king to appear wasn't my main goal for the trip. Inspiration. That was goal. Inspiration. So... lets take a deep dive into some examples of inspiration I gained from the LDF.
The first bit of inspiration I gathered came in the Fitzrovia design district at an exhibiton called "Planet Rock".This exhibition explored what the design landscape would look like when designers are forced to be creative and adapt to designing long lasting products that are not made of plastic. The results were breathtaking!
These cute litte alien dudes really embodied this philosophy. A very simple yet striking design that when placed in any room would imediately be a conversation starter. They have real personality and I believe it comes from the material used. The roughness and irregularities produced by the gemsonite conveys that these figures are alive. The only problem I have with the design is the cables reaching out from behind the alien's feet. This makes the illusion of the aliens lighting up the room disapear slightly. However I believe the next design is a great example of how this illusion can be maintained.
While I probably prefer the "Extraterrestrial lighting solutions" design I believe that the illusion of an alien sitting in your living room is preserved a lot better in this design. The first thing is that you can't see the light blub poking out the top of the design (this design uses a small LED). This allows the viewer to believe that the light is being created by the table, coming from deep within its body. Also, no cables. Further giving the illusion that this is a living, breathing thing.
The next bit of inspiration came at the London Design Fair, with an exhibition by Jane Cairns called "Found Forms". This exhibition aimed to highlight beauty in the ordinary. She believes that this can be found in apparently insignificant visual details of the built
environment.
The simplicity of these designs is what attracted me to them. While some pose a practical function, such as the bowl of the lights, most are just ornaments, meant for the user to just sit and admire for what they are. I love the uniqueness of the texture. Their roughness is something that you will not find in many other household items. I'm sure you can also appreciate the uniqueness of this texture from a visual standpoint.
The final product I want to talk about came from the "Farago Studio" at the London Design Fair. The product is a simple desktop structure called "Finned Vessel".
The product is inspired by the cylindrical barrels found on old radial aircraft engines. There are 3 material variations to choose from, aluminum, bronze or brass. The idea of having multiple materials is brilliant as they all interact with one thing differently... light. The way light interacts with these vessels is amazing. At the indents of the fins, all light vanishes, giving the impression that the fins retract indefinitely. This effect is more dramatic with the brass and aluminum. Therefore, I would choose one of these materials if I was a consumer.
Well, there you go. A little insight into my time at the LDF and the inspiration it provided to me. My main takeaway would be that simple forms and features can make stunning effects in products. I would also emphasize the importance of texture in design. Using materials that provide the desired texture is a must!
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