Kvadrat's new Shoreditch showroom

Danish textile company Kvadrat appointed graphic designer Peter Saville and architect David Adjaye to work together on the design of their new Shoreditch showroom which opens this month (March 2009). A 7m high space, it comprises mezzanine offices and a lower-ground retail space. The focal point is this multi-coloured glass staircase linking the space together, offset by an otherwise neutral palette of grey, black and white.

When I first read about the project in Design Week, I was immediately drawn to the simplicity of the design and its firmly graphic approach. Here is an example of spatial design undertaken in part by a graphic designer, which somehow retains the feel of two-dimensional graphic design whilst at the same time fulfilling a spatial design brief. Together, Saville and Adjaye have used colour and geometry in the same way a designer might approach the design of a piece of printed artwork. Indeed on reading the article, Saville says that his back catalogue of graphic design work played a part in forming the concept - in particular, the colour coded alphabet on his Blue Monday single cover.

Interestingly, Saville's take on the role of space as a communication tool in its own right closely follows my own view of the links between branding, communication and spatial design. He has been working with Kvadrat for nearly five years, principally as a communications consultant, and believes his involvement in the current project was a natural progression of that role. He says,

"Everything within the context of how an organisation acts is part of how it communicates. The London showroom is a significant dimension of Kvadrat's communications and, as such, the company was interested in my contributing to the aura of the new showroom."

(LORENZ, Trish, 2009. 'Double Act'. Design Week, 24(10), pp. 19)

Second image from: Rose Etherington, 2009. 'Kvadrat showroom by Peter Saville and David Adjaye'. Dezeen. Available at: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/03/20/kvadrat-showroom-by-peter-saville-and-david-adjaye/ [accessed 20/04/09]

Droga5’s Puma projection

Posted on the CR blog a few days ago, this is a great new ad for Puma, from Droga5 in New York. It uses a fascinating combination of choreography, spatial design and projection techniques to show a couple’s journey through life.

'Droga5’s Puma projection and more nice work'. CR BLOG, Centaur. Available at: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/droga5s-puma-projection-and-more-nice-work/ [accessed 19/03/09]

Inspired

By Giovanna Forte

"Three simple things inspire on a daily basis. The second is my Brompton bicycle. It transports me effortlessly and with dignity across London and beyond. It is beautiful, compact and elegant. The third is my Chanel No 5. The clean graphics, the Modernist bottle and the way the top makes a satisfying and feminine 'click' when replaced. Sublime on every level. Neither could be improved upon. This is good design at work.

But let's look at the more generic number one. The first sight which, on opening my wardrobe in the morning, gives me a frisson of pleasure is the evenly spaced regiment of identical hangers that keep my clothes perfectly placed, perfectly creased, perfectly hung. The blissful repetition of
sensuous, stainless steel curves that sit lightly on the rail, reflecting the morning light with even, perfectly positioned stars. Each a gleaming crescent of metal that slopes gently into a black, rubber-covered horizontal, from which my clothes hang so naturally.

The satisfaction of visual and sartorial order and balance is a simple pleasure, derived from an elegantly crafted, utilitarian yet decadently sexy storage accessory. Someone, somewhere designed it. Whoever you are, wherever you are - thank you."

FORTE, Giovanna. 2009. 'Inspired'. Design Week, 24(10), pp 10.

Manifesto

These images are of the work I produced in response to the Manifesto Poster design brief.

My intention was to explore both two and three-dimensional composition. Within this, I wanted to retain a clear visual link between the pieces, underpinned with a strong graphic style. I also wanted to explore both making and experimentation so as to add another layer of personal meaning and relevance to my MA.

A spatial element was introduced to the posters through cuts and folds, with the audience needing to move around in order to read the full text.

The plywood slot-together letterforms, spelling ‘branding’, ‘communication’ and ‘spatial design’, were extracted from the poster text and used the same font (FontSmith's Pele Two) as on the posters. This font was chosen not only since it lends itself well to the slot-together approach, but also because it is an up-to-date and fashionable font amongst the Graphic Design community. This enabled me to suggest a link between my previous work as a graphic designer and the new ground I will be covering through my MA studies.

I was particularly pleased with the outcome of the printing experiments I carried out. I found that, by printing on the reverse of silver card and then cutting and folding the vertical slots, it became possible to see the reflection of the text on the reverse, in these folds. The overall effect was to give an illusion of the text floating just behind the surface of the poster. This added a layer of spatial complexity to the poster. It is also in keeping with a key aim of mine over the coming months - to bring making and experimentation forward in my process so that it becomes more formative in my work.

Images clockwise from top left:
1. Manifesto posters
2. Close-up of poster constructed using silver card
3. Branding, Communication & Spatial Design
4. Close-up of slot-together letterforms