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Sneak Peek: 10 Visionary Designs That Could Be Coming Your Way
Trust the next generation of designers to think ahead — these promising products from the imm Cologne trade fair take innovation to heart
Hello! I am a contributor for Houzz, writer and interior stylist based in the Netherlands. Always in search of beauty in all forms, I founded my lifestyle blog Avenue to satisfy my thirst for design and lifestyle inspiration. I am the loving mother of a beautiful little girl called Lola, and the adoring fiancé of a handsome Dutchman.
Hello! I am a contributor for Houzz, writer and interior stylist based... More »
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This year marks Koelnmesse's and the German Design Council's 10th [D³] Contest, one of the world’s most renowned competitions showcasing up-and-coming designers and their innovative products. Of more than 600 products submitted to the contest, just 21 prototypes were selected to be presented by their designers at imm Cologne, one of the biggest furniture, lighting and interior design trade shows in the world. Three of these innovative products won the prestigious Interior Innovation Award, and many others will be taken into production by well-known manufacturers. Meet a handful of the talented young designers at the fair, including this year's first-place winner.
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by Holly Marder
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| L´Étagère en Bois, by Lucien Gumy, first-place winner With a background in carpentry, designer Lucien Gumy says, “I always try to find not only simplicity in design, but also a new way of thinking.” Gumy designed this interlocking solid wood shelving unit so that it can be assembled without nails, bolts or screws. The prototype was created for the designer’s diploma project at Switzerland’s University of Art and Design, Lausanne. |
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by Holly Marder
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| “I played with horizontal and vertical assembly methods until I achieved a method that requires no screws or glue, and can be dismantled," says Gumy. "I took this process and repeated it at all the intersections.” The size of the unit can be adjusted by mixing elements of different lengths. |
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| Tilt, by Tina Schmid, second-place winner Tina Schmid's prototype is about visual illusion, as the simple graphic becomes a three-dimensional object. What looks like a cube is multipurpose and can be folded out to become a clothing rack. The product is made up of a solid system of rods with jointed nodes that can be rotated as required. Schmid is a recent graduate of the industrial design program at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany. |
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CMYK Lamp, by Dennis Parren, third-place winner
Dennis Parren’s colorful lamp explores the mysteries of light and color. The lamp is made up of LED lights that cast an array of lines and shadows in cyan, magenta and yellow onto its surroundings.
Dennis Parren’s colorful lamp explores the mysteries of light and color. The lamp is made up of LED lights that cast an array of lines and shadows in cyan, magenta and yellow onto its surroundings.
by Holly Marder
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Dear Disaster, by Jenny Ekdahl
Jenny Ekdahl’s Dear Disaster cabinet is inspired by the contradictory love-hate relationship that humans often have with Mother Nature and its sometimes terrifying yet wonderful events.
“My greatest source of inspiration has always been contradicting relations between technology and nature,” says Ekdahl, who graduated with a master's degree in fine arts from the School of Industrial Design at Sweden’s Lund University. “I’m intrigued by their transformations — natural behaviors transforming into mechanical functions or dreams transforming into reality,” she says.
The cabinet design represents water and earth, contrasting elements symbolic of nature itself.
Jenny Ekdahl’s Dear Disaster cabinet is inspired by the contradictory love-hate relationship that humans often have with Mother Nature and its sometimes terrifying yet wonderful events.
“My greatest source of inspiration has always been contradicting relations between technology and nature,” says Ekdahl, who graduated with a master's degree in fine arts from the School of Industrial Design at Sweden’s Lund University. “I’m intrigued by their transformations — natural behaviors transforming into mechanical functions or dreams transforming into reality,” she says.
The cabinet design represents water and earth, contrasting elements symbolic of nature itself.
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by Holly Marder
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| Ekdahl wanted to translate natural attributes through pattern and structure into a piece of furniture that touches humans on an emotional level. Small, curved wooden chips all over the surface of the cabinet can be moved, creating a soothing and intriguing wave of motion. “My interpretations of natural disasters are used as a metaphor to describe the importance of emotional and poetic experiences in design for today and for the future," says Ekdahl. |
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by Holly Marder
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| Beames Chair, by Eric Chang and Johnny Hu Taiwanese design duo Eric Chang and Johnny Hu are the masterminds behind the innovative Beams Chair. Inspired by the H-beam structure of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the pair crafted this lightweight structure using two types of wood (plywood and multiplex) to ensure a stable design. Weighing just 3 kilograms, it's a stylish, modern seating option. |
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by Holly Marder
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| Chang and Hu have known each other for 10 years and both graduated from the Weissensee School of Art in Berlin this summer. Together they plan to develop their E & J Design Studio in Berlin. |
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by Holly Marder
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| Pilu, by Leoni Werle This contemporary desk and floor lamp is by Leoni Werle, a graduate of the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany. This prototype is made up of a solid oak base with an aluminum shade. The sturdy design of the base and the use of a one-directional hinge allow a seesaw-like, smooth movement between two positions. |
by Holly Marder
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The starting point for the Pilu was Werle's own search for the perfect adjustable desk lamp. “I found that the designs I had seen looked rather unattractive, with visible wires and joints," she says. "I wanted to create a lamp that was adjustable, but a practical and attractive lamp that will provide an indirect light source."
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by Holly Marder
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| Fanions, by Linn Kandel, Dimitri Bahler and Ismael Studer Developed by design trio BKS, this striking collection of three rugs is fuss free and plays with the optical illusion of the traditional rug fringe. They're made of pure wool felt, a comfortable and durable material that lends itself well to their graphic aesthetic. |
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by Holly Marder
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| BKS comprises three independent industrial and product designers: Dimitri Bähler (shown), Linn Kandel and Ismaël Studer. The trio graduated from ECAL, the University of Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2010. As a collective design firm, they work in Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Paris. |
by Holly Marder
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Invader, by Maria Bruun
Danish designer Maria Bruun, a graduate of the Danish School of Design, created this long-legged storage unit with a clean and simple aesthetic. The stackable storage modules vary in size and function to enable the user to customize the display and storage.
The idea for Invader developed out of Bruun's interest in individual ways that bring about the feeling of home. “I realized that 'home' is made up of the things that people own: their pictures, books and souvenirs,” Bruun says. “I discovered that through these collected items, people tell stories about their past, their present and their dreams for the future.”
The modular system is composed of flexible elements of maple and steel. “People's needs are continually changing, so the unit was designed to be flexible enough to grow with the individual, with stackable elements that fit into one another and can be added upon as needed,” says Bruun.
Danish designer Maria Bruun, a graduate of the Danish School of Design, created this long-legged storage unit with a clean and simple aesthetic. The stackable storage modules vary in size and function to enable the user to customize the display and storage.
The idea for Invader developed out of Bruun's interest in individual ways that bring about the feeling of home. “I realized that 'home' is made up of the things that people own: their pictures, books and souvenirs,” Bruun says. “I discovered that through these collected items, people tell stories about their past, their present and their dreams for the future.”
The modular system is composed of flexible elements of maple and steel. “People's needs are continually changing, so the unit was designed to be flexible enough to grow with the individual, with stackable elements that fit into one another and can be added upon as needed,” says Bruun.
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by Holly Marder
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| Shingle Shelves, by Hanna Krüger Inspired by the shingles of a roof, Hanna Krüger’s wooden unit is composed of layered shelves with raw leather shingle-shaped sliding doors. By opening one, you close another. “I wanted to design a shelf with sliding doors that can layer above each other like the shingles of a roof," says Krüger. "[I wanted it] to have open and closed spaces at the same time.” The doors are crafted from leather that will darken with exposure to light over time; the rest of the structure is made of crude maple. The young designer trained as a cabinetmaker and studied product design at the Kunsthochschule Kassel in Germany. |
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by Holly Marder
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| The Royal Family, by Ellen Heilmann Ellen Heilmann’s design is a collection of three American nutwood stools, each topped with a cushion upholstered in emerald-green cotton. Together they form a modular system; each part can be used separately as seating or as a table. The collection has a uniform aesthetic, while each piece has its own individuality, much like a family. Heilmann is graduated from the product design program at Germany’s Offenbach Academy of Art and Design. Did you attend IMM Cologne this year? Please share your photos below. |
Ideabook updated on Jan. 17, 2013.
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You'd always be running around the rugs flipping those stupid things back to where they're supposed to be.