Category: Design

Dezeen promotion: Design-led wallpaper company Wall&decò has created the Essential Wallpaper Collection, which has a range of textures, inlays, engravings and relief patterns.

Each design in the Essential Wallpaper Collection, which have been created by architect André Fu, Milan design agency Studiopepe and  Wall&Deco founder and art director Christian Benini, are united by the fact that they all share a focus on texture.

“Material research is the key to interpreting the Essential Wallpaper Collection,” said the brand.

“Since its first edition, it has been based on full collaboration with designers such as Studiopepe and Christian Benini: surfaces to be explored with the hands as well as seen, a universe of micro signs, 3D textures, inlays, engravings and light details in metal that create real bas-reliefs.”

Each of the … Read more

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Rosy-hued shells of organza encase the wearer of these garments by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate Violet Zhou, which explore different states of mind experienced during personal struggles.

Inspired by her own personal experiences and “emotional turbulences”, Zhou sought to translate certain feelings into tangible products.

Her fashion collection, titled Within, comprises six looks, each representing a different stage in the process of going through and overcoming various emotional and mental challenges.

These include angry, weighed-down, wounded, sinking, numb and emerging.

Designed to create a sense of “confinement”, many of the pieces literally seal their wearer inside the garment with an outer layer of fabric.

Each look progresses onto the next, until finally “emerging” from the turmoil into a lighter state of mind, where the wearer physically breaks free from the material casing.

“I wanted it to look like the model is vacuum-sealed in between two plastic sheets, … Read more

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California practice Umé Studio has created a modular sofa with bolsters, wooden units and traditional Japanese Zabuton cushions that are often used on tatami floors.

Umé Studio created the Zabuton Sofa to provide a different use for the cushions that are traditionally placed on tatami, which are woven-straw mats placed on raised floors in Japan. For centuries, the cotton-filled cushions have been used to make resting on the floor more comfortable.

“Our Zabuton Sofa is a take on re-introducing traditional Japanese living into a modern piece of furniture,” the studio said.

“With the raised floors being popularised in the 17th century, Japanese society as a whole adopted tatami living as the driving design principle of housing design, Zabuton were used to bring comfort to the seating of the nobility.”

The cushions are used to pad out the wooden furniture piece, which comprises a low, maple wood plinth that has grooves … Read more

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Nendo has designed a range of products for Chinese lifestyle brand Zens, including a chair based on the design of a paper clip and glass vases shaped like space helmets.

The Japanese design studio’s collection for Zens ranges from bowls and vases to tables and chairs.

This includes a series of vases and bowls called Scent, which take the form of glass spheres that Nendo likens to “space helmets” that encapsulate tall vases and shallow bowls.

Each glass hood features a circular opening through which the flower, plant or fruit can be seen.

The unusual hooded design keeps the scent of the encased item close, like a bell jar over a scented candle, so that when the user gets close to the vase they enjoy a more intense smell.

Nendo made a version of this design in frosted glass to hide the content thus “intensifying awareness of the sense … Read more

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In this week’s comments update, readers are debating car makers rebranding with flat versions of their logos and sharing their views on other top stories.

Nissan, BMW and numerous other car manufacturers have reverted back to flat designs of their logos having rebranded with three-dimensional, chrome-effect logos in the 80s and 90s.

Thanks to advances in technology, logos are now designed primarily with screens in mind – simplified, two-dimensional logos replicate better on screens and in miniature as app icons.

“Cheap is the only word that can describe how cheap they look”

We rounded up seven examples of logos to demonstrate the change in style and readers are divided.

“Cheap, just cheap,” said Raulin Miami. “Cheap is the only word that can describe how cheap they look.”

“Less is not always more,” added Ken Steffes.

“The old logos were okay,” continued Zea Newland. “I fail to see the necessity … Read more

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