Top Designs of the Past Decade

June 2010

This article was produced by leading international art advisory firm 1858 Ltd who provide independent and impartial advice to HSBC Private Bank clients in all aspects of the collecting process in association with the HSBC Private Bank art and design advisory team.

Over the past ten years the landscape of design has shifted radically since the new millennium. At the forefront of change is the development of new technology, processes and materials which offer greater freedom and opportunity to innovate. Motivations for design have also broadened and increasingly designers engage in multidisciplinary practices - drawing inspiration from architecture, art, craft and engineering.

Table #1 by Fredrikson Stallard (2001)

Aesthetically, contemporary designers are embracing a raw and surreal approach to their work, leaving behind sleek identi-kit creations in favour of purposely imperfect and organic designs. In essence, over the past decade a new spirit of design has emerged.

Below are three exceptional and influential designs from the noughties.

Lolita chandelier by Ron Arad (2004)

Table #1 by Fredrikson Stallard (2001)
Table #1 was an early creation of the design duo Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard. Pieces of raw untreated birch were industrially strapped together to form a table with a cracked surface. The organic edges contrasted the smooth top surface to create a final design which at the time provoked dialogue about the designer's careful choice of material and archaic methods of construction.

Lolita chandelier by Ron Arad (2004)
Born in 1971, Tel Aviv, Arad is one of the most inventive designers of this age. In his practice he relentlessly experiments with proportions, forms, techniques, materials and technologies; one exceptional example of Arad's creative design is the Lolita chandelier. Created for Swarovski the chandelier comprised of 2,100 crystals, illuminated from within by 1,500 LEDs, arranged as a ceiling-hung spiral lamp. In addition, the chandelier acts as a pixel-board to display visitors SMS texts messages.

Bone chaise and chair by Joris Laarman (2006)
In 2006, Laarman's Bone Chair revolutionised the design process by using an algorithm to translate the complexity, proportion and functionality of human bone and tree growth into a chair form. The algorithm, originally used by the German car industry, enabled him to reduce and strengthen his designs by optimizing material allocation, weight and stability, while minimising material input. In his own words, he sculpted "using mother nature's underlying codes."

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Bone chaise and chair by Joris Laarman (2006)

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