The Imperial College London in Kensington broke the mould when it commissioned Brighton-based graphic design practice, Studio Tonne last summer to design 16 pieces of fibreglass furniture. Since their installation in the College courtyard, the shiny, colourful modular outdoor units, which have been manufactured entirely in the UK, have generated much interest and curiosity among users and passers-by.
‘I wanted them to be sculptural and colourful, yet functional,’ says Paul Farrington, founder of Studio Tonne. ‘But because they are shiny, people do not know how to behave, as they think they might be part an art installation,’
Farrington is intrigued that the studio’s first foray into furniture design has been bewildering people, and says that during the construction process, he was regularly quizzed about their use, even by the manufacturers. Studio Tonne is otherwise renowned for its websites and album covers for Depeche Mode and Moby, as well as cover design for Penguin Books and, more recently, a Vodafone advertising campaign.
To begin with, the studio identified four geometrical shapes and colour selection. Just two of the four forms originally designed went into production: the quarter circle and the hexagon. The same principle was applied to the selection of colours and eventually resulted in contrasting deep blue and a bright green.
The design process for the furniture was not so far from the graphic design and advertising work the studio does. Finding a manufacturer, however, was more complex due to the short deadline and the limited budget. Farrington identified Sussex-based manufacturer Elite Composites, which constructed the furniture in five weeks.
In 2007, Studio Tonne was commissioned by Imperial College to create a large art installation. The result was a 200m-long noticeboard, illustrated with graphics inspired by the College’s roots in science and technology, with the intention of being a public place for students to pin up events, messages and even their own illustrations.
‘The client has been very open to new ideas with both projects, it is pretty amazing to work with an organisation like this,’ says Farrington. Although the furniture remains officially unnamed, Farrington calls it Kitti Pins, after a toy named by his five-year-old daughter. ‘In a way, I see the seats as big toys,’ says Farrington. ‘I also see them like my extended family. I often visit them when I’m in London and make sure they are being looked after.’
Mass production is the next challenge for Studio Tonne, as for now, only a limited number have been commissioned. Farrington’s ambition, however, is to get involved in furniture design, and architecture.
