06/05/2019

Obsessing Over Details – Lift Coaster Series by Seattle Design Studio Fruitsuper

Often it’s the little pieces of design in our everyday lives that go unnoticed and offer the most value to us. I always think back to the ‘Super Normal’ project in 2006 by Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa. Super Normal is all about anonymously designed, functional objects that outperform all other objects when it comes to long-term use. In support of long lasting design.

I suppose from an Industrial Design standpoint designers are often looking at these objects from purely a functional standpoint and sometimes failing to look at them from an aesthetic one. Super Normal then is obviously super relevant, excuse the pun, especially considering the amount of frivolity around now to keep us entertained instead of addressing many of the practicalities of producing and maintaining such objects. My concern though is how we focus the attention of the general public to these objects. It has to be a subtle shift, not an extreme cold one that is sometimes being pushed by the modern design community.

For this reason I was attracted to these pieces from the ‘Lift’ series by Seattle based designers Sallyann Corn and Joe Kent of studio Fruitsuper. These are two minimal objects handcrafted from brass that can be used to protect surfaces from hot pots or dishes. The shapes are simple but thanks to the use of material it gives them a luxury but contemporary feeling that I think will surely draw us in to using them. With more objects like this we can make people outside of this industry feel a connection with these objects and consider not only their environment but also the choices they make. More objects can be found on the Fruitsuper website linked below. They have plenty of well-designed objects on show that are sure you get you thinking.

fruitsuper.com