The term 'Pop Design' was coined in the 1950s, and as a movement it started off in London as an Independent Group. Due to the negative impact of the war, designers were questioning the role of design in society. Contrary to the belief in the 1930s, functionality in design was questioned. Movements against functionalism emerged; designers wanted to treat society as though it were art itself, rather than classifying art as a separate entity. The designs of the past were regarded to be inhuman, cold and outdated. Influenced by the hippies, pop music and the 'flower power', the style of the day was bombarded with bold, symbolic colours and the use of easily-available material such as plastics and PVC.
One of the industries which were highly influenced by the Pop movement was furniture design. As shall be seen in an example below, designers took a subject that was in vogue at the time and used that as a starting point for their designs. More-over, they used these designs as a means of commenting on what was going on in society. For example, the Bocca sofa or Marilyn sofa produced by Studio 65 in 1972. This is a good example of how pop design was influenced by what was going on in the Pop Art movements as well as the highlight of the day: Marilyn Monroe. Just like Andy Warhol's silk screen prints of Marilyn Monroe, the sofa is so iconic that it is easily identifiable with the movie star herself, and reflects her influence at the time. The sofa in itself is quite simple in concept: an over-sized shape of bold, red lips in a seemingly cartoonish manner, which still functions perfectly as a sofa despite its structure.
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| Bocca sofa - Studio 65 |
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| Side view of the Bocca sofa - Studio 65 |
Another characteristic which is synonymous with Pop Design is the use of bold colours in conjunction with minimalistic designs, specifically done so as to catch the viewers' attention. An example of this is the Malitte lounge furniture by Roberto Sebastian. At first glance, the piece seems to be a pointless mass of green blocks with a yellow circle in the centre. What is interesting is the fact that automatically, the viewer's eyes seem to turn towards the yellow in the centre, which in turn evokes a sense of curiosity to learn more about the piece. Despite this, the viewer is given the opportunity to freely interpret the piece.
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| Malitte lounge furniture - Roberto Sebastian |
As mentioned before, Pop designs were known for their use of material such as plastic. This can be further seen in the introduction of inflatable furniture. Despite the low durability of the material, this invention seemed to appeal to a younger generation since it could allow the user to travel anywhere and literally take their furniture with them, and thus it became quite popular at the time. Although they proved to be uneconomical and environmentally unhealthy in the long-run, today we can still see the impact of these designs since we are still able to purchase similar items such as air mattresses and lilos.
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| Newspaper advert which shows the promotion of inflatable furniture |
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| 'Aerospace' collection - Quasar Khanh |
Pop furniture designs seemed to have been a highlight of the Pop Design movement since it reflected the societal influences on people's lifestyle. Through bold, symbolic colours and witty yet effective designs, it retranslated the materialistic mentaility of the 1960s.
References
Design Addict, (2015). Quasar Khanh, pioneer of inflatable furniture. [online] Available at: http://www.designaddict.com/blog/2012/03/15/Quasar-Khanh-pioneer-inflatable-furniture [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015].
Theartstory.org, (2015). Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. [online] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015].
Voicesofeastanglia.com, (2015). Blow Up - Quasar Khanh’s Inflatable Furniture - Voices of East Anglia. [online] Available at: http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2013/07/quasar-khanh-inflatable-furniture.html [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015].
Theartstory.org, (2015). Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. [online] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015].
Voicesofeastanglia.com, (2015). Blow Up - Quasar Khanh’s Inflatable Furniture - Voices of East Anglia. [online] Available at: http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2013/07/quasar-khanh-inflatable-furniture.html [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015].
