Blog 9:

Organic Design in Products designs

A very holitistic approach and gave a humanizing feel of design was in fact Organic design. This was firstly introduced in architecture by having the whole work a replica or have a great feel of nature. The organic approach was this: having individual elements such as object and furniture throughout the house connected with the surroundings such as the building and the interior itself. Organic design is exactly how everything connects to everything.

Quite ironic is having an organic design which rarely uses organic forms! This was one of the styles that adapted to what nature had to offer but in a whole new other manner. 

Alvar Aalto, a great designer of this period had induced soft flowing curves in his designs. Following with a very natural material: Wood, which in his opinion it was the only material that inspired the human feeling. He totally rejected the alienating materials which where made in the industry and not naturally provided, such as the tubular steel; industrialized material. Along with this path that Alvar Alto took, he was very successful in the United States which changed this type of style from organic design to more organic modernism. 

This style is also very present now a days. In both architecture and in prodcut designs, organic design made a step forward with the help of better ergonomics and computer aided designs. The manufacturing process also made a step froward and everything related became very strong and successful. 

Alvar Alto's as mentioned already was a great advocate fro organic design. One of his great designes produced was the Model no. 43 the Lounge chair which was made out of solid and laminated birch frame and has woven paper straps for the seating part of the chair. This lounge chair shows a great example of what organic design really means. Having flowing curves and natural materials makes this chair outstanding to its function and design.

Alvar Aalto - Lounge Chair No. 43 

Moving on to recent decades, Ross Lovegrove a British designer, followed some of the footsteps of the Organic design. In fact he calls his designs as 'Organic Essentialism'. I think one of his influential chairs was the: Supernatural Chair, 2005, which is the result of economy, lightness, liquidity and resourcefulness of high technology. He believes that s designer has to have a 3D printer always near him to produce such innovative works.

This chair as opposed to the one Alvar Aalto had made, is stackable. Manufactured primarily for the Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso. This chair was greatly inspired but the forms which where found in nature itself. Lovegrove described this chair as and elegant and functional design. 

This chair is made from injection moulded polypropylene enforces with fibre glass and the detail that is evident in this chair is the perforated back. The perforated back was made like that for excess material, for the chair to be light weight, elasticity and to improve comfort for the user. 

Ross Lovegrove - Supernatural Chair 2005

Reference: 

Fiell, C. and Fiell, P. (1999). Design of the 20th century. Köln: Taschen.

Latimesblogs.latimes.com. (2016). The Look for Less: Ross Lovegrove's Supernatural chair versus an eerily similar imitation. [online] Available at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/02/moroso-ross-lovegrove-supernatural-chair.html [Accessed 22 May 2016].

Phaidon. (2016). 'The chair is an infinite source of potential' | Design | Agenda | Phaidon. [online] Available at: http://de.phaidon.com/agenda/design/picture-galleries/2010/september/23/the-chair-is-an-infinite-source-of-potential/ [Accessed 22 May 2016].

Jacksons.se. (2016). Jacksons - Alvar Aalto Lounge Chair No. 43 - Alvar Aalto. [online] Available at: http://jacksons.se/products/alvar-aalto-chair-5687/ [Accessed 22 May 2016].