Karim Rashid

, International Industrial Designer

Background

¢  Born in Cairo, Egypt in 1960

¢  Half English, half Egyptian

¢  Raised mostly in Canada.

¢  1982 - Bachelor of Industrial Design from Carleton University, Ottawa.

¢  Moved to Milan and worked at the studio of Rodolfo Bonetto.

¢  He opened his own practice in New York City in 1993

¢  Clients globally such as Umbra, Prada, Yahoo!, Magis, Issey Miyaki, Estee Lauder, Tommy Hilfiger, Giorgio Armani, Sony.

Influences

¢  Father - artist and he grew up in an artistic environment.

¢  Artists like Picasso & Brancusi inspired him greatly.

Influences

¢  Amorphic form - Jean Arp & the whole organic movement.

¢  The radical Italian designers of the 1970’s

¢  Their philosophy of design guided him to study at the feet of Ettore Sottsass.(Post Modernism)

¢  Archizoom Associati, Gio Ponti, & Joe Columbo were his role models.

¢  The organic architecture of Richard Neutra & the flowing lines of Saarinen’s TWA terminal in New York inspired the shapes of the products he designs.

Approach to Design (Characteristics)

¢  Democratic’ design sensibility.

¢  Aim - to create high-quality design available to the masses.

¢  Design should appeal to most people & should not be limited to expensive, limited editions.

¢  His approach is holistic & functional.

¢  People will notice design more & become more design conscious about what they choose to use in their daily lives.

¢  Most simple, elegant shape that will effectively meet the object’s function.

¢  He is trying to change the aesthetics of product design & alter the nature of consumer tastes.

Characteristics

¢  Designed over 2000 products which include interiors, fashion lighting, installations and appliances.

¢  He designs for famous brands like Alessi.

¢  Many consumer goods from inexpensive watches & toothbrushes to designer shoes.

¢  Interested in designing commonplace things like manhole covers, rubbish bins, plastic pens & pepper shakers.

¢  He also believes in what is called ‘multi-functionality’ – the designing of a product which can double as something else. His child’s chair is also a toy box.

¢  The shapes of his products are free-flowing & sinuous.

¢  His style is called ‘blobism’ because of of its amorphous, randomly rounded forms.

¢  Form does not dictate function. The object is designed to operate efficiently using simple uncomplicated lines.

¢  Designs are brightly coloured in what could be called the ‘ice-cream’ shades of apricot, pink, lilac, turquoise & yellow.

¢  Worked in clear transparent plastic, sometimes coloured.

¢  Mainly in plastic, which he feels is a democratic material which can be used inexpensively, can be brightly coloured to reflect the contemporary environment & which is recyclable & biodegradable.

¢  There are many different polymers and they vary enormously in the way that they can be used.

¢  Retro

¢  The Kant stool is a chair which consists of a pedestal, footrest, and seat set around a central pivotal pole. The stool is designed to be used in a cluster or as a single unit.

¢  The stool is a ‘Retro” design which harks back to the designs from the late 50’s bar stool from American diners.

¢  It reminds one of chewing gum and has popular appeal.

¢  The stool is an amorphous form which is abstract and has rounded corners on all 3 levels. It has two cantilevered sections

¢  which are placed above the pedestal foot.

¢  They are all placed off-centre.

¢  The stool is produced in either a monochrome or two-toned version.

¢  It is available in 7 colour options for the seat, creating a total of 63 colour combinations.

¢  The stool is made from a reinforced industrial plastic which has a soft & flexible cushion.

¢  It has a silky finish & a glossy surface.

¢  The Kant stool is made from injection-moulded polypropylene which is able to support a maximum of 200 kilograms.

¢  It is made of recyclable plastic & is very stable on its base.