Designers go head-to-head in CDW Customizer Challenge

We were honoured when designers from three renowned practices: HASSELL Studio, Tribe Furniture and Peldon Rose agreed to take part in our Customizer Challenge, as part of our programme of activity at Clerkenwell Design Week. And now, as the festival fast approaches, we can’t wait to unveil the inspiration behind their imaginative creations.

After six weeks of fervent activity, which saw the design teams use our app The Customizer to conjure up three unique chair designs, day one of CDW will see the finished pieces go head-to-head in a public vote.

Visitors to our stand in Design Fields (DF19) will be offered a first glimpse of the chairs and the opportunity to choose their favourite. Votes can also be entered via Instagram. The winner will then be crowned at a special VIP event on Wednesday, where we’ll raise a toast to the winning team!

With CDW now just one week away, we’re offering exclusive insight into the creative processes of the three teams to wet your whistle for the main event…

HASSELL Studio

HASSELL Studio is a leading international design practice with offices in Australia, China, South East Asia, the UK and the USA. Having been recognised with more than 1,000 awards from leading industry bodies, we were thrilled to have them participate in our Customizer Challenge.

What was your design inspiration?

“We began by looking back at HASSELL’s heritage, and the strong influences that the Bauhaus had on some of the practices’ early buildings. This tied in nicely with the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus school this year and also HASSELL’s 80th birthday, which we celebrated last year.

“So we took some of those iconic, geometric shapes, which are so prevalent in Bauhaus design. But we also wanted to play with craft as a nice contrast to the technology that we would be using with the app.

“We asked ourselves the question ‘how do you achieve authenticity in a printed fabric, how do you create texture?’. We found materials around the studio and sat and printed patterns, testing repetitive shapes, lines and strokes with current industry trends of the 1970s and art deco in mind. We then explored different scales, overlaying these prints onto the Bauhaus forms.

“This was our inspiration, but for us the app added an element of surprise – rather than using it as a tool to create a preconceived idea for the chair, we ran with the ability of the app to reconfigure the patterns in unexpected ways – tessellating, playing with scale, mirroring. This allowed us to discover something completely different from anything we initially had in mind.”

Which colours did you choose and why?

“In terms of colours, we played with a palette that sat with current industry trends of the 1970s but we also wanted to include one vibrant ‘pop’ of colour, which we found in a royal blue.”

Peldon Rose

Peldon Rose is an award-winning office design, refurbishment and workplace consultancy with over 30 years’ experience. Through every project it undertakes, the team aims to transform office design for the benefit of people and businesses – something that truly resonates with us, and made the team perfect for undertaking our challenge.

What was your design inspiration?

“The inspiration behind our chair tells the story of the Peldon Rose name, which can be found here. It involves the swinging 60s and a 15th century coaching inn, plus a motorcycle, side-car, and a yacht.”

Which colours did you choose and why?

“We chose our brand shades as the colour palette to support the story and tie in with our new offices. The story behind the design, taking place in the 1960s, was a really important theme for us!”

Tribe Furniture

Tribe comprises a team of furniture experts dedicated to creating tailor-made working environments. Collaborating with a project’s design team, Tribe ensures the furniture choices are on-brief and within budget. After long being fans of the team’s work, we were delighted to have them onboard for our Customizer Challenge.

What was your design inspiration?

“The inspiration behind our design reflects the growth that the company has accomplished during the last three years, as we approach our third birthday, just a week before CDW.

“Having recently undergone a brand overhaul, the design is a unique and bespoke pattern that was created by playing with elements of our branding in addition to subtle nudges towards the mark of the anniversary.”

Which colours did you choose and why?

“The colours chosen are contemporary, on-trend and beautifully contrasted against a darker background. The blue, green, coral, yellow and beige are ‘toned down’ colours, taken from our original branding in 2016.

“The previous versions of these colours were much louder and brighter. Since we’ve now established ourselves significantly within the market during the last three years, the new brand colours that have been used within the design reflect maturity and growth, without having lost our playful touch, which has always been at the heart of Tribe.”

Is there anything else you’d like to say about your design?

“Lots of time and thought was spent on determining ways that we could deconstruct the Tribe logo and turn the symbols into, not only a unique design, but one that also tells a story. In short, the three stripes symbolise Tribes’ three years of age, the triangle is representative of its establishment within the ThirdWay Group and finally, the squares hint towards our future and further growth as furniture consultancy experts.”

Visit us on Stand DF19 at Clerkenwell Design Week to see the finished chairs in all their glory, and cast your vote to help your favourite clinch the title! Special thanks to HASSELL Studio, Peldon Rose and Tribe Furniture for taking part in the Customizer Challenge!