Australian innovation - the award winning Tankmasta "donut" underground tanks designed by industrial designer Luke Troja.
The history and practice of Industrial Design in Victoria Australia is my research interest and this blog include posts related to this interest as well as my practice as a designer and design educator.
Friday, 14 October 2011
An orange donut? - Luke Troja
Donuts are not usually orange, pink or chocolate maybe, but not often orange. The tankmasta "donut" underground tank design by industrial designer Luke Troja is also not usually in orange. Orange is the complementary color to blue so it stands out against our vivid blue sky and attracts attention. Most commonly this is for safety applications but here it is for product promotion and with the ORANGE exhibition on at the moment it certainly caught my eye. The innovative aspect of this design is the solid external ribs that exploit the rotomoulding process making a strong one piece tank. The Tankmasta Donut & Bagel Underground tanks won the ARMA Technical Product of the Year 2006, the Endevour Innovative Australian Product of the Year 2006 (Consumer) and the Green Plumbers® Product of the Year award 2005.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Laine Furnishings support ORANGE
The iconic Stem chair by Grant and Mary Featherston has a bright orange stage thanks to the generous support by Laine Furnishings.
Iconic Stem chair by Grant and Mary Featherston. Stem chair appears courtesy of Gordon Mather Industries.
ORANGE exhibition supported by Laine Furnishings pure wool fabric - New Aquarius in Circus
ORANGE - Design Gallery Design Institute of Australia
"ORANGE" currently on show at the Design Gallery features the Grant and Mary Featherston Stem chair, the Aloha chair by Kjell Grant, the Studio K Lamp by Planet and more than forty products designed in Melbourne.
Aloha and Stem chairs feature in "ORANGE" exhibition curated by Ian Wong.
ORANGE - October 6th - 28th
Design Gallery
10am-4pm Monday-Friday
Design Institute of Australia
Level 1 - 175 Collins Street
RMIT Wacom Lab - Concept sketches
Bernie Walsh continues to provide inspiration to students with projects that demand creativity.
Concept sketch by Ryan Fonceca for desert racer.
Concept sketch by Glen Tay for desert warriors.
Concept sketch by Ryan Fonceca for desert racer jet engine.
Lecturer Bernie Walsh discusses concept sketching in the RMIT Wacom lab with final year student Paul Raikkenen.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Archive drawing - Grant and Mary Featherston
The pioneering approach to industrial design of Grant and Mary Featherston is well documented. In the late 1960s Grant and Mary worked with Yannis Putnins and Graham Cole at ACI Plastics in Moorabbin on tooling details for the moulds for the innovative iconic Stem chair. The process of rotational moulding plastics was relatively new in Australia and mostly used for large industrial containers. The drawing below is dated 18 September 1969 and was drawn by Bob Watts. The part Number E286 makes it only the 286th item designed and manufactured at the Rotational Mould division. I had the good fortune to work for more than twenty years with Greame Cole and Yannis Putnins at Nylex Rotomould and I learned of this link to the Stem chair from Yannis. He recalls the innovation required at the time and challenge of the project well.
Archive tooling design drawing for the iconic Stem chair by industrial designers Grant and Mary Featherston. 1969
Iconic Australia design the Stem Chair 1969 designed by Grant and Mary Featherston. The chair is a feature of "ORANGE" an exhibition curated by Ian Wong at the Design Gallery - Level 1 175 Collins Street . October 6th-28th.
Football,Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars - Classic 70s
The sighting yesterday of the HX Holden Premier reminded me of this classic 70s Australian advertisement for Holden. The catchy jingle lyrics "Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars" have become part of the vernacular. Note the Orange HX Kingswood featured. Leo Pruneau was Head of Design at this time with Phillip Zmood Head of the Torana Studio. The LX Torana is also featured.
Classic 1970s Australian television commercial for GMH. Football Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars.
Classic 1970s Australian television commercial for GMH. Football Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars.
Monday, 10 October 2011
HX Premier - Holden at RMIT
All I see at present is orange. Thank you to the owner of this Sebring Orange HX Holden Premier for choosing to park in Franklin Street at the North end of Bowen Street today. All I could see as I snapped away with my iphone was original sketches by RMIT alumnus and DIA Hall of Fame member Phillip Zmood. Phillip is well represented already in the ORANGE exhibition currently at the Design Gallery with images of the taillights of the HK Monaro, early GTRX images and LX Torana renderings. These images may just be for my research archive.
HX Holden Premier badge.
HX Holden Premier outside RMIT University.
HX Holden Premier front on view at RMIT University.
HX Holden Premier front grill.
HX Holden Premier tail light.
HX Holden Premier wheel trim.
HX Holden wheel trim concept sketch by Holden automotive designer Phillip Zmood.
Flower Powered Fler - Fred Lowan
I am yet to confirm this chair as an original Fler by industrial designer Fred Lowan but that is what it is believed to be. In search of an orange Caroma stool I was delighted to meet proud owners of this and another as yet unidentified bright orange Australian 70s chair.
Iconic Australian design the Fler Narvick chair designed by industrial designer Fred Lowan - 1961.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Monaro - Australian design icon
The theatre of the 1998 Sydney Motor Show release of the Michael Simcoe designed Holden Monaro is legendary. This metallic orange one looked fantasic today in the bright sunshine and will find its way into the digital presentation as part of the ORANGE exhibition.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Planet Lamp - Australian design icon
Always the collector, but this week a burnt orange Australian design classic available in time to be a part of the "ORANGE" exhibition had my name on it. It is in excellent condition, a handy local pickup from a very passionate mid century enthusiast living just a stones throw from the Chancellor and Patrick Iggulden House. The Iggulden House was the home of the John Iggulden, the brother of the Studio K lamp designer Bill Iggulton. Bill lived in Balcombe Park Lane in Beaumaris. The Studio K task lamp featured in the exhibition STILL09.
Studio K task lamp is an Australian design icon designed in 1962 by Bill Iggulden for his company Planet Lighting.
Chancellor and Patrick - Iggulden House Wells Road Beaumaris 1957-58.
Image copyright SLV
Friday, 7 October 2011
Paper Plane Academy - Flying high!
Always a winner with children and parents the Paper Plane Academy was recognised last night with a Melbourne Design Award in the Events category. The Paper Plane Academy was created by product design and development consultancy, JONESCHIJOFF. The inspiration for the event was to create a place where design could be experienced in a fun, hands-on way.
During the 2010 State of Design Festival the Paper Plane Academy and my exhibition 175 Years of Design in Victoria shared a wall so I experienced at close range the joy, challenge and enthusiasm for creativity of the participants. It is brilliant!
During the 2010 State of Design Festival the Paper Plane Academy and my exhibition 175 Years of Design in Victoria shared a wall so I experienced at close range the joy, challenge and enthusiasm for creativity of the participants. It is brilliant!
Paper Plane Academy at the 2010 State of Design Festival.
Photo Credit : Claire Ropartz
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Willow - Melbourne Design Awards winner
CEO Ralph Wilson of Melbourne's iconic company Willow proudly accepted the Melbourne Design Award for Product Design tonight. The Wilson family have been innovators for almost 120 years and through design they continue to compete in a global market place. The significance of the contribution to design in Victoria by Willow was celebrated in the exhibition 175 Years of Design in Victoria. New product development under the direction of RMIT industrial design alumnus David Flynn has been recognised and rewarded with this award.
The Willow 27L Touch Top Clipaway Kitchen Bin offers an attractive, functional way to secure and conceal a liner bag inside the bin and a top that opens in two ways – with the large red button which operates a spring loaded lid and with a hinged lift-up top for larger items.
The Clipaway feature secures the bin liner, ensuring it does not collapse within the bin, which improves waste management and keeps the bin clean.
The Willow 27L Touch Top Clipaway Kitchen Bin offers an attractive, functional way to secure and conceal a liner bag inside the bin and a top that opens in two ways – with the large red button which operates a spring loaded lid and with a hinged lift-up top for larger items.
The Clipaway feature secures the bin liner, ensuring it does not collapse within the bin, which improves waste management and keeps the bin clean.
Award winning 27 L Touch Top Clipaway Kitchen Bin by Willow
Orange - Design Gallery Exhibition
Orange exhibition - October 6th - 28th
Design Gallery
10am-4pm Monday-Friday
Level 1 - 175 Collins Street
The Skyhooks debut album ‘Living in the Seventies’, released in October 1974, declared loud and clear that it was a great time to live in Melbourne. Home Beautiful magazine declared with its April 1973 cover that the colour orange was “in” and homes from Balwyn to Beaumaris made the dream a reality. 'Orange' is an exhibition currently being shown at the Design Gallery in Collins Street, home of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA).
Home Beatiful magazine cover April 1973 featuring Featherson Stem chairs by Aristoc.
The seventies was about bright colours as designers grasped the opportunity provided by developments in plastics to mould solid colours in exciting space age materials. Manufacturers looking for innovation and award-winning design, employed on staff or as consultants the emerging crop of professional designers from local universities. Like we have recognised the members of Skyhooks, these once young and influential designers are now recognised for their contribution to our culture, many as Hall of Fame members of the Design Institute of Australia.
Curated by Ian Wong and drawing from his private collection of Australian-designed products, the exhibition is a rich nostalgic journey as we return to objects familiar from our own past. “Built in 1971 our family home had orange vinyl chairs, orange floral curtains and my bedroom had a bright orange nylex clothes bin,” said curator Ian Wong. “The Holden Sandman and Wiltshire Staysharp knives are Victorian designed classics from this period.”'Orange' also includes a few earlier vintage pieces and some more recent examples of local designers’ use of orange.
Products featured include the Wiltshire Staysharp Knife, Holden Sandman, BX Plastics Bickie Bins, original $20 note, Décor egg cups, measuring cups and stacking kitchen canisters, Willow coolers, Bessemer dinner sets, Nylex kitchen tidy, Kambrook powerboards, and the Prince Phillip Prize winning GE kettle. A star of the show is a rare public outing for the iconic Aristoc Stem chair by Grant and Mary Featherston which was featured on the Home Beautiful cover and is provided courtesy of Gordon Mather Industries.
Aristoc Stem chair designed by Grant and Mary Featherston 1968
Designers represented include Grant and Mary Featherston, Phillip Zmood, Richard Carlson, Tony Wolfenden, Brian Davis, Charles Furey, Garry Emery, Gordon Andrews, Lionel Suttie, Peter Bayly, Kjell Grant, Geoff Fitzpatrick, Barry Hudson, Richard Henderson, and the design studios at Holden and Ford Australia.
Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame member Phillip Zmood concept sketch for the Holden LX Torana hatchback and advertising image.
Torana LX Hatchback brochure image.
'Orange' is now on until October 28th at the
Design Gallery
Design Institute of Australia
10am-4pm Monday-Friday
Level 1
175 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 1300 888 056
Tel: +61 3 9662 2345 (intl)
Email: admin@design.org.au
www.design.org.au
Curator
Ian Wong
M 0409554964
ian.wong@rmit.edu.au
Click this link to see more "Orange" posts
Steve Jobs - Champion of industrial design
Steve Jobs passed away today. I sit here typing on an apple keyboard, checking messages on my iphone, listening to music on iTunes and reflect on a lifetime of joy using Apple products. At RMIT as a student I used my first Apple 11e and remember seeing the Macintosh for the first time at Dario De Dianna's studio in Burwood Road Hawthorn in 1985. The passion and commitment for industrial design shown by Steve Jobs is legendary and our profession has perhaps never had a greater champion.
Apple says goodbye - www.apple.com - Tribute screen shot for Steve Jobs 1955-2011.
Nylex Vynaprufe - Geoff Fitzpatrick
Archive material from RMIT interior design alumnus and Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame member Geoff Fitzpatrick will feature in the exhibition ORANGE curated by Ian Wong which will open to the public this Friday.
Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame designer Geoff Fitzpatrick and Katherine Sip at ORANGE exhibition.
Detail of poster advertisement for Nylex Vynaprufe awning material.
One of a series of presentation panels from the personal archive of Geoff Fitzpatick FDIA.
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