Naked Shapes

Naked Shapes is an exhibition of aluminum Japanese household objects from the first half of the 20th century, cleaned of dirt and any sort ofmake-up such as paint, labels or other excess decoration.

The objects were collected over the years by industrial designer Seiji Onishi, gallerist Keiichi Sumi and graphic designer Nobuhiro Yamaguchi. A group of students from Parsons The New School for Design in New York did the cleaning.

The items are currently on display at the Domaine de Boisbuchet, a country estate in the Southwest of France.

Semjase

The Italian lighting manufacturer Lucente is about to introduce their floor lamp Semjase.
The lamp, from the hand of industrial designer Sandro Santantonio, flows from the base to the top in one continuous curve, giving the lamp a fantastic minimalist and futuristic feel.

Tua

Tua is the new table lamp by Venice-based designer Marco Zito for the great Italian lighting company Foscarini.

Tua is Italian for Yours - it wants to be a personal lamp for intimate places. The design resembles the palm of a hand, holding a light.

Twisted Pencil

Korean product designer Giha Woo is the creator of the Twisted Pencil. The design is a vase comprising of pencils, which form an outline of its shape, albeit appearing as one. The design also conveys aesthetic value with a nuance of amusement by representing the relationship between the pencil structure and utensils stored within it.

Beth

Beth is a recently produced table and floor lamp designed by the Italian architect Carlo Colombo for the also Italian manufacturer Oluce.

Beth is made in a shiny aluminium cylinder structure with an angle cut, and features a touch dimmer. The design was inspired by the 70s. 

Simplissimo

The Simplissimo collection was created by French architect and designer Jean Nouvel for the furniture manufacturer Ligne Roset. The line consists of chaise lounge, banquette, fireside chair, footstool and bench. As the name suggests, the objects are deliciously minimal and understated. Viewed in profile, each Simplissimo piece looks as if it has been designed with two strokes of a pen.

Bulb

At this year’s London Design Festival, British designer Mark Holmes of Minimalux presents the brand’s latest creation, Bulb – a simple table lamp in the shape of the classic incandescent light bulb. Comprising of hand blown opal glass with a subtly branded machined brass stem, the table lamp exudes elegance in minimalist lighting.

Photography by Peer Lindgreen

Sand Vase

Taking inspiration from the game Bou-Toshi, Japanese designer Yukihiro Kaneuchi created a series of minimal vases made of sand and resin.

The vases resemble the heap of sand and the flowers placed in a glass tube would be the pole – time stopped with resin. The shape nears collapse, bringing a tension and delicate beauty to the flower.

Studio SC

Studio SC is a food photography studio in São Paulo, Brazil, designed by Brazilian architects Marcio Kogan and Susana Glogowski from studio mk7, incorporating and synthetizing design principles from both modernist Brazilian architecture and contemporary Japanese architecture.


The simple and linear building has its space greatly defined by the suspended concrete catwalk, connecting the two wooden boxes that house the specific programs necessary for the food photography studio, such as a technical kitchen for shoots and other technical and office rooms.

Its double-height space is open and neutral enough for different configurations and maximized flexibility, with a longitudinal working area along the far wall. The sliding doors along the main facade and also around the wooden boxes, too, allow for several different configurations, customizing the layout according to the user needs.

The building has its longitudinal disposition mainly in order to accomodate a generous outdoor garden.

Photography by Nelson Kon.

SOLUS

German industrial design agency Botta Design are the creators of the lightweight SOLUS wristwatch. The elegant and unobtrusive design of SOLUS is reflected by combining functional clarity with simplicity.

Revolution by Felicia Ferrone

The Revolution glassware collection by Italian designer Felicia Ferrone is strikingly minimal in form. Despite its ethereal looks, however, the line is highly durable. All pieces are made of hand-blown borosilicate glass, a thermal resistant material that makes them oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

Minimalist History by H-57

This work of art, of the collection of pictogram history posters, was designed by H-57 creative agency as a part of their collaborative project with the website First Floor Under. The posters are designers’ take on famous biographies, real and fictional, expressed in not more than three or four steps. Thus, the lives of Michael Jackson, Hitler, Darth Vader, Jesus, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Bruce Lee and Caesar were summarized in a pictographic and humorous way. 

With the popularity of typography and infographics on the rise, we see a lot of movie and music posters, art and literary works getting beautiful minimalist makeovers. These H-57 historic strips are a noteworthy addition to the array of inspiring designs.

EXTRA

Italian furniture brand Extra, founded and directed by designer Henry Timi, has recently launched its website redesign. The beautifully executed website design is the result of Italian visual communicator Demetrio Mancini‘s work.

The Extra website features some minimal pieces by a design collective including Claudio La Viola, Federico Delrosso and Mario Nanni.

Bookmark Lamp

The Bookmark lamp, created by Paris based designer Léonard Kadid, is actually only half a lamp, because it uses your book as a base. This refined piece is made of ultra thin plywood and fitted with a simple LED stripe. The details are seamlessly merged together, creating one fluid shape. The lamp is light, flexible and, thanks to its interactive nature, personal.

Steel stool

The steel stool prototype by Noon studio, was created according to their philosophy of using honest materials and simplicity of execution.

The steel stool consists of only 2 elements; a metal sheet supported by a wooden t-frame. Not only do the materials give the stool a cool character, they also make the stool is very robust and durable.

With several stools you can also easily assemble a unique shelving storage for books.

House in Melides

Projected by the architect Pedro Reis this house in Melides, Portugal, has two volumes in the shape of a cross. In the upper volume are the main spaces: living room and dining room in an open plan format, the kitchen and the main bedroom. In the lower volume are the secondary spaces: bedrooms, bathrooms and the garage.

Donald Judd

The American Donald Judd (1928-1994) is widely considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century worldwide. In the 1960s he came to fame as one of the champions of Minimal Art, and expanded his creative reach to include the fields of architecture and design.

Few have known to date, however, that Donald Judd also worked intensively on furniture design. This aspect of crossover between design and the visual arts has prompted a collaboration between two institutions that live under the roof of Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, namely Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich – and the Sammlung Moderne Kunst – Collection of Modern Art -

A Good Chair is a Good Chair exhibition presents a focussed selection of furniture designed by Judd. It also includes prototypes and early items that Judd himself built for his own use that, up until now, have rarely been on show outside Judd’s home towns of New York and Marfa, Texas.

Mensa6

Mensa6 table is the latest piece by Michael Schougaard Svane, who thinks that maximum strength can be achieved with a minimal use of material and components. The number 6 refers to the thickness of the tabletop (6 mm), while Mensa is Latin for table.

X-Table

Dutch designer Ronald Knol of Utrecht based furniture design studio RKNL has recently completed the X-Table. Based on the the cross-leg refectory table, Knol wanted to strip the structure down to its essentials and reshape the X to introduce a slightly softer appearance, whilst maintaining its stability.

Grand Ecart

Grand Ecart is an excellent design by the French architect Jean Nouvel for the Italian manufacturer Palluco.

It is a minimalist table made in painted aluminium and its points are the extendible models made up of two parts; one fixed, and one you can move as you need, with legs fitted with castors.

Mutewatch

The simple Mutewatch , designed by Norra Norr, is a silent alarm in the shape of a vibrating wristband.

By gently tapping the touch screen the time lights up. Swipe the screen to browse through the clock, alarm and timer functions. The watch features a built-in motion sensor that automatically adjusts the strength of alarm vibrations. A simple flick of the wrist activates the glowing display.

Inner City Bike

Designed by Joey Ruiter, the ultra compact Inner City Bike is about simplicity in design, it is the ultimate stripped away piece. So stripped even the chain is gone.

House of Depth

House of Depth in Japan was built by FORM/Kouichi Kimura back in 2007. As in other projects by Kimura such as House of Vision, House of Integration or House of Diffusion, House of Depth is also excellent example of minimalist approach to architecture. It was built on deep lot, 10m wide and 23m deep, with open space and a high wall sheltered from neighboring houses on one side.

Burd-Haus

Designed by Nathan Danials, the Burd-Haus birdhouses are actually inspired by famed case study architects.

The Burd-Haus birdhouses are colorfully abstract and minimal, adding a sculptural presence to regular home or garden places.

Casa Olivi

Aproximately 300 years old, this Italian villa has undergone a 4-year long renovation by Swiss architects Markus Wespi & Jêróme De Meuron after a fire in 1995 almost destroyed it entirely.


The house is located in Treia, in the region of Marche. Protected by the Italian Cultural and Historic Administration, the façade was maintained and restored, while the interiors were completely refurbished. The villa was converted into a vacation residence along with a guest house and an infinity pool, overlooking the countryside from atop a gently sloping hill.


The adopted design language is elegantly understated, with light, airy interiors and straight lines, with furniture designed by the architects, but also complemented by names like Vitra and Philippe Stark. 


Photography by Hannes Henz.

Dancing Squares

Distinguished Japanese design agency Nendo have created the Dancing Squares collection consisting of a series of minimalist furniture pieces based on the concept of motion.