Design Digest #6
Space saving, whimsical and over-designed
Could this be the happiest news to come from the airline industry since the invention of seat-back entertainment screens? United Airlines recently introduced Relax Row, a clever seat arrangement which converts a row of three seats into a single bed. The idea is simple: the seats come with footrests which can be tilted up to the seat level, thereby creating a flat bed. The friendly air stewards will also provide a fitted mattress and large blanket to complete the experience.
As soon as the gasps subsided, doubts began to roll in. How much extra will this cost? Who is this designed for - a single person who wants a flat bed? In which case wouldn’t it be better to book a business class ticket where a proper flat bed comes with fancy meals and champagne on tap, instead of hoovering-up three economy seats? If this is designed for families, are they really expecting a family of three to cram onto a bed which looks to be barely wider and much shorter than a single-bed? The publicity materials feature many vertically-challenged models (especially kids), but they ain’t fooling nobody (and United is careful to call it a couch rather than a bed). What if you only bought one seat but there are no other passengers on the same row, will you be allowed to convert the row into a bed? How will the seat belts work and will they serve breakfast in bed?? All will be revealed when the new seats are rolled out in 2027…
An equally clever space-saving idea comes from German sauna specialist Klafs, which has developed S1, an expandable sauna designed to fit tight spaces. When retracted, the sauna is mere 60 cm deep, taking up about the same amount of space as a wardrobe. At the press of a button the sauna extends outwards to 160 cm. The S1 works well for sauna-devotees with under-utilised guest bedrooms or studies and is bang on the home-as-a-wellness-hub trend.
Those who care as much about homes for birds as they do for health-obsessed humans should head over to the Home Sweet Home exhibition at MAD Brussels, where curator Connie Husser has shepherded a flock of over 75 international designers to create unique bird houses which explore the idea of home.
The designs range from the decorative (Shishi San’s teapot) and abstract (Linde Freya Tangelder’s shelf) to the downright conceptual. Sabine Marcelis, for example, created a tiny transparent resin orb designed for Goldcrests, apparently the smallest birds in Europe. It’s unlikely that the birds will ever find it, as there are no obvious ways to attach it to a tree.
In contrast, Philippe Malouin’s very conventional looking birdhouse comes with a stretchy cable so that it can be attached around the trunk of a tree without hurting it, which is very awwww.
Marty Supreme, the movie starring Timothee Chalamet, might not have achieved the Oscar glory it was hyped up for, but it did manage to shine a light on the sport of table tennis, which appears to be having a bit of a design moment.
Lava, an Italian design collective, has designed a series of ping-pong tables with catchy designs that can double-up as dining tables. Even more intriguing are the ping-pong tables designed by French architectural firm Exercise.
Designed to encourage kids to create their own rules rather than to train the next generation of Olympic table tennis champions, they come with imaginative features such as side walls and triple nets. I particularly like the hourglass-shaped table with holes, perfect for a game of crazy table golf.
Many people think whimsical designs are utterly ridiculous, a sentiment I don’t entirely disagree with; but in my mind over-designed objects are just as bad. The Japanese are world champions in over-designing (with German car designers coming a close second) and a great example of this genre is the Casio S100X Premium Luxury Calculator. Those who think this (over-engineered) name sounds promising will not be disappointed.
The body of this rather ordinary looking calculator is not made of plastic but a single block of CNC-milled aluminium, similar to how Apple MacBook Pro laptops are made. The numbers and characters are moulded into the keys instead of printed onto them to make sure they don’t wear out. The keys themselves are mounted not by cheap springs but by scissors-switch mechanisms normally used for high-end computer keyboards. The Casio S100X Premium Luxury Calculator retails for £359.99. If that is not extravagant enough there is also a limited edition featuring a hand-lacquered black and red body for just under double the price.
The elephant in the room is why, in this age where everyone has a mobile phone that comes with a calculator, does anyone still need a standalone desk calculator? Perhaps the logic is that in order to sell something that nobody needs it has to come across as more designed and more Premium Luxury than anybody had thought necessary.
Last but not least, I wish you a very happy Easter with the whimsical and extravagant chocolate Easter eggs from Marchesi 1824, the premium Italian patisserie owned by Prada. The 2kg dark chocolate version, yours for EUR 1,300, has details intricate enough to put Faberge craftsmen to shame; though for that price I would expect a Rolex watch inside. Enjoy the long weekend!
For more clever and whimsical designs head over to www.do-shop.com. For great value chocolate eggs head over to your local supermarket after Easter.
And needless to say ...
I have checked and all the £1300 Marchesi Easter Eggs have long sold out !!
🤪🥚🐣🍳