Design Challenge and Design Ideas

We recieved a request from the owner of Hang Tough Contemporary to create an invigilator table for their new show, Paipear opening on College Green. The brief was to work with the client’s branding and produce a special piece where they could greet clients and also work at. The shows logo is a gif of a folding piece of yellow paper. We wanted the table to be as clever and dynamic as the logo. The exhibit is original art on paper by 115 Irish artists. We began folding pieces of yellow paper to come up with a concept for the design. We found our shape and decided powder coated steel was the only option for strength and finish. The table needed to stand alone and be strong enough to work at while being a simple piece of art. Steel would give us strength with a delicate profile.

How the brief was fulfilled

The main focus for the design of the invigilator table was to be a useful piece of art. The client wanted to stand at the desk and greet patrons as well as sit in behind the desk at a stool height to work on a laptop.
We folded many pieces of pieces of paper until we found the winning design. We moved from the initial paper folded models to card and then wood, working towards the final design and usability of the piece. We did not want any additional pieces to be added to the initial design for stability so we needed to make sure the desk was engineered properly.
We sent the images of our model and drawings to a company in Kyiv which were recommended by our newly arrived Ukrainian neighbours. The workshop in Kyiv worked back and forth with us to make sure the desk was structurally sound.
We normally work in wood so we had Ross from RT Metalcraft, whom we often collaborate with, assist us in constructing the desk. Ross built the desk from a sheet of 5mm steel to keep the build light and strong. Ross bent the two bottom corners and welded a perfect seam onto the desk top. The desk top had to be a separate welded piece as the bending machine could not achieve a right angle. Ross’s work was impeccable and after the powder coating was on, the piece was seamless.
The only addition to the initial design was a 20mm piece of metal at the base to accommodate a threaded rubber foot which is adjustable and allows the piece to float 5 mm off the gallery floor.