Product Sketching

Mr Chair
Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, 1927


The Mr Chair captures the essence of simplicity, where a single loop of tubing and a little bit of canvas can produce a striking piece of furniture. I was inspired by this product as it is the result of early experimentation with cantilevered seating and in that time this was an innovative concept.

Thompson Couplings
Glenn Thompson, 2002

I chose this product as it is a revolutionary invention and it was conceived locally; the same type of couplings in machinery have been used for hundreds of years and it has not changed much, but the Thompson Couplings were innovative in ways that increased efficiency and reduced hazards.

Kettle, a-9093
Michael Graves, 1985

Otherwise known as the tea kettle with a bird shaped whistle, the kettle is a product in which encapsulates the relationship between product and user. Even though the bird itself possesses no function, it is the symbolism of the whistling bird which makes the concept genius. With its simple geometry, and the use of colours for example on the handle; the kettle has a personality.

"Michael Hirst" Chair
Clement Meadmore, 1959

Many chairs in the 1950s-60s were constructed by solid pieces, thus yielding potentially bulky pieces of furniture. This chair stripped away all the solid pieces and instead, was replaced by plasticised metal, the material was used probably because of its elasticity and the ability to conform to the user's bodyshape; this may have been a new application of metal rods in the 1950s.