Fighting for better design

Look at the brand’s name and see how many words you can find in it. PS: Sorry, there’s no prize.

Interviewed George Yabu this week about the new housewares and furniture line he and Glenn Pushelberg have created. Discovered departo was inspired in part by historical campaign furniture, which turns out to includes anything designed to be packed and carried by troops.

Lots of interesting lines and shapes in the detail of a folding chair.

As this article from Apartment Therapy points out, it’s been around since the Romans, but peaked in Georgian and Victorian times – when Britannia ruled the waves. That makes sense, given that during George and Victoria’s reign, Britain fought several wars, in which the durability, form and function of supplies would surely have mattered a lot: no-one wants their stool to collapse while they’re busy establishing a Colonial power.

I can’t help think that the foldability is actually a design asset – it offers loads of opportunities for clever, symmetric, and visually appealing geometric lines.

Click here for a quick slideshow.

Here’s hoping departo will be deployed in a fight for the good, starting, perhaps, with a global march toward more thoughtful design.

Credit for featured photo of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg: Shayan Asgharnia.