Innovative seating designed using clever surface projection!

Inspiration from the ‘Throws’ seating series comes from a very interesting place. Throws are usually blankets that are (oftentimes) casually thrown or spread across sofas or lounge chairs to make them more snug and comfortable… They’re a product in their own right, but Alex Boem decided to turn their unique pliable-fabric property into design inspiration. The Throws series of seating is inspired by the very way the fabric assumes the shape of the furniture it’s draped on. Boem used that surface projection and turned it into seating that looks like a 2D mesh draped on a 3D object. It’s unusual yet unusually pretty, creates a wonderful illusion depending on how you look at it. View it from the top and the furniture actually looks like a 2D grid, but the minute you shift your PoV, it assumes a three-dimensional form, becoming a funky, Memphis-inspired, comfortable-yet-sturdy piece of wrought-iron wire-frame seating you can actually place your derriere on!

Wouldn’t it be fun if there was also a tongue-in-cheek flat grid-carpet to complement and poke fun at the seating too??

Designer: Alex Boem

The ultra-portable CLIQ chair folds down to the size of a water bottle

Designed to occupy the same amount of space as a travel-tripod when folded, the CLIQ chair is a four-legged robust little portable seat that you can easily carry around with you and open up in mere seconds. Tiny, lightweight, and deployable with the mere push of a button, the CLIQ opens up into a seat with 12 inches of ground clearance and the ability to hold up to 300lbs in weight.

The foldable four-legged seat comes with aerospace-grade aluminum construction and rubber feet, making it perfect for anywhere from the beach to your porch. The seat’s fabric is crafted from twice-stitched ripstop ballistic nylon that gives it durability along with waterproofing, making it ideal for use on a riverbank or even on beaches. The seat’s tensile nature even factors in lumbar support, giving you a surface to lean on, so you can literally kick back and relax… and when you need to travel, the CLIQ folds down into a mere fraction of its size, occupying the same amount of space as a 1-liter water bottle. It even comes with a bag to store multiple CLIQ seats to elevate those outdoor get-togethers… while you’re sitting down of course.

Designer: CLIQ

The Conch seat is perfect for those Instagram-worthy “sit down with a book” moments!

Designed to be compact enough to fit into any space, yet comfortable enough to have you sink right in with your favorite book, the Conch comes with a molded-plywood inner body and a dual-density foam outer body, giving it structure as well as supple softness. The chair’s form conforms to the contours of the body, allowing you to sit comfortably, while also conveniently having a storage unit right under you for everything from books to a cushion to other bric-a-brac. Heck, add a rug inside it and it could even be your pet cat’s den.

Conch’s design combines a dual-purpose approach with an eye-catching design, making it a chair that just invites you to interact with it, sit on it, and marvel at its use of form and hollow space to create something that is doubly functional!

The Conch is a winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award for the year 2019.

Designer: Wei He

Nissan envisions car-themed esports gaming chairs

Nissan's connection to gaming might extend beyond the occasional car in a racing sim. The automaker has joined with FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming to design a trio of "esports gaming chairs" themed around (what else?) some of its more iconic cars. The...

Familiar Yet Fresh Seating

star_chair_layout

Reminiscent of the Eames Eiffel-style base, Lazariev Design’s Star chair is a prefabricated seating solution distinguished by its steel rod sections and soft back and seat. The design is composed of four distinct sections that can be easily assembled by the user with simple bolts. The finished product produces a striking geometries complemented by vibrant colors. Sure to be a timeless classic, order them in solid hues or mix and match colors to suit your personal aesthetic.

Designer: Fydor Lazariev

starchair_02

starchair_01

starchair_03

starchair_04

starchair_05

starchair_06

starchair_07

starchair_08

starchair_09

starchair_11

starchair_12

starchair_13

starchair_14

starchair_15

The ‘MEET’ is a self-driving virtual conference room from the year 2030

seat_automobile_1

Designed for Spanish automotive manufacturer Seat, Miguel Mojica’s automotive concept named MEET is a compact, aerodynamic, slick car for 2030. Its purpose (aside from transportation, of course)? Being a space for meetings of both formal and informal natures. As cars move towards an autonomous future, the car interiors change too, adapting to a situation sans a driver, or passengers facing the road. The interiors become more independent, and start becoming the focus of the car’s design. It’s perhaps for this reason that the MEET has a relatively plain outer aesthetic with little to no design embellishments, while the interiors tell a completely different story.

The outer aesthetic comes with a streamlined design that’s mainly metallic gray paint and glass, along with blue light-based detailing (there’s even a greeting light on the front), while the interiors come with magnetic levitation seats that can independently turn (I imagine they provide incredible shock-absorption too). Designed keeping in mind that 5G and AR/VR will absolutely uplift the smartcar experience, the MEET goes all out with a central gadget that’s adaptable to all ecosystems, which will supposedly serve as a support table, a computer, and even a hologram projector tailored to provide virtual reality experiences. I’d like a generous slice of that future!

Designer: Miguel Mojica

seat_automobile_2

seat_automobile_3

seat_automobile_4

seat_automobile_5

seat_automobile_6

seat_automobile_7

seat_automobile_8

seat_automobile_9

seat_automobile_10

seat_automobile_11

seat_automobile_12

This article was sent to us using the ‘Submit A Design’ feature.
We encourage designers/students/studios to send in their projects to be featured on Yanko Design!

Japanese Revivalism in a Rocker

logan_01

One look at the Logan bench and you’ll see that its Japanese through and through. The rocker takes inspiration from a variety of areas including the work of furniture maker George Nakashima, Japanese architecture, calligraphy, as well as design principles such as enso, balance and asymmetry.

Everything from the simplistic joineries to its upward curves edges are a nod to the signature look of Japanese structures. An aesthetic twist reminiscent of George Nakashima’s signature butterflies on the top surface of his works, the Logan bench’s dual plank seats feature laser engraved details of Japanese calligraphic strokes. A bench built for two, this elegant rocker aims to bring people together so that they might work in tandem to create their own motion.

Designers: Shwetha Iyengar, Srishti Singh and Aakanksha Gupta

logan_02

logan_03

logan_04

logan_05

logan_06

logan_07

logan_08

logan_09

logan_10

logan_11

logan_12

Anxiety Vs. Aesthetics

suction_stool_layout

When I’m putting together my own place, I have a few rules I tend to stick by, and one of those is to avoid any furniture designs or placements that might cause anxiety. For instance, I don’t hang any artwork above my bed because I believe it causes subconscious fear that it might fall during sleep (call me crazy, but I do live in an earthquake prone area!). Another example is no glass coffee tables because I like to avoid the stress of slamming anything down too hard or, heaven forbid, taking a tumble and falling into it. Whether you find these to be irrational fears or not, my point is… the Suction Stool by XYZ architecture probably wouldn’t make it into my collection!

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not good or even great. It’s certainly hard not to appreciate the design for its unique construction which utilizes levered suction cups that grip on to a thick glass plate. That, combined with a robust stainless steel frame make it mighty sturdy, I’m sure. You’d just better be braver than I if you’re going to keep one at home!

Designer: XYZ Integrated Architecture

suction_stool_01

suction_stool_02

suction_stool_03

suction_stool_04

suction_stool_05

suction_stool_06

suction_stool_07

A Better Planet

greenplanet_01

MZPA’s Planet chair just keeps getting better and better! The original and its big brother are followed by all-new innovative features that make it even more appropriate for the workplace.

Plants make people happy. Period. Designed with this in mind, new paneling options are available including ones with integrated planters for growing succulents, mosses, or other types of vegetation to uplift your mood and enhance your air quality. Other panels are now equipped with a white-board finish so you can doodle and brainstorm directly on the furniture the moment an idea pops in your head. Last but not least, an integrated light panel provides ambience and reading light when you need it. All are shaped in the same familiar triangular form. They’re proof that the possibilities are endless!

Designer: MZPA

greenplanet_02

greenplanet_03

greenplanet_04

greenplanet_05

greenplanet_06

greenplanet_07

greenplanet_08

greenplanet_09

greenplanet_10

greenplanet_11

greenplanet_12

greenplanet_13

greenplanet_14

greenplanet_15

greenplanet_16

greenplanet_18

greenplanet_19

greenplanet_20

greenplanet_21

greenplanet_22

greenplanet_23

greenplanet_24

greenplanet_25

greenplanet_26

greenplanet_27