Mimic Memphis design!

In today's design class, we were asked to collaborate on a life-size piece of furniture that mimics the style of the famous design group Memphis. My group was tasked with designing and making a floor lamp. This project required us to think not only about the form of the furniture, but also the pattern and decoration of the surface.

The Design Process
Our work began with a group discussion where we sketched together. The floor lamp design I proposed was inspired by the flip-up structure of a fan so that the direction of the light could be adjusted by sliding it. Responding to the characteristics of the Memphis style, our final design concept abstracted the projection of light with geometrically shaped columns supporting the body of the lamp, while incorporating classic elements of the Memphis style such as checkerboards and dialog boxes.

Materials and Craftsmanship
As required by the course, we primarily used the cardboard and colored paper provided to construct and decorate our floor lamp. Despite the time constraints, we managed to work together quickly and efficiently to ensure that we completed our work by 3:45 p.m. in order to set up a Memphis-style room with furniture from other groups.

Reflections and Shortcomings
Although the overall design was in keeping with the bold and colorful style of Memphis, we encountered some challenges in the actual production. The main shortcoming was that the final product appeared a bit thin, which may be due to the limitations of the materials we used (mainly cardboard and paper). Exploring more sturdy materials or reinforcing structures may be a direction for improvement in future projects.

Through this design project, which mimics the Memphis style, I have come to deeply understand the importance of collaboration and creativity. Despite some physical limitations, this project made me appreciate the innovative spirit of Memphis design even more and inspired me to be more adventurous in experimenting with different materials and structures in my future design work. Additionally, this practicum reminded me to more thoroughly consider material choices and structural stability in order to better realize design concepts.