We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer James Cornetet about their original and creative coffee table design work. James Cornetet is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original coffee table works.
James Cornetet ("JC") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work get your feet off my coffee table! coffee table. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
JC : The primary assumption that I had to make before realizing the design of this coffee table, was that there was no table top. Once that constraint was eliminated, it provided me the freedom to redefine the typology of the table. Everything that designers previously thought to be true about the table in its essence, has been redefined by this piece.
JC : I wanted to produce a table that was not only functional, but embraced everyday use, while still maintaining the simplicity and beauty of a piece of sculpture. The table is a datum for living, the juxtaposition of the clutter against the clarity of the object, only strengthens its beauty.
JC : I am currently attempting to commercialize the design, and find an international audience.
JC : 3 months from sketch to prototype.
JC : This particular design was not commissioned, and was merely a creative excercise.
JC : I am currently producing the work my self, but would like to sell/lease the production rights.
JC : Anybody who appreciates function and beauty.
JC : The design is unlike any coffee table to come before it. It avoids stylistic fetishisms in favor of a design that addresses the true needs of the end user. That is a table that embraces everyday use.
JC : After a weekend of entertaining guests at our house, we noticed that one of the guests had left a glass of water on our Carrara Marble nightstand that we had just purchased. Upset over the newly spotted table, I began thinking why can't designers design furniture that can only be used in the manner it is intended to be used. I sat on the couch pondering this idea, when my wife walked into the living room and scolded me for resting my feet on a chair. "Chairs are not for feet" she proclaimed. I replied "it's not like I'm resting my feet on the table." I thought about the comment for a minute, thinking about how I hate it when guests rest their feet on a coffee table. I quickly sketched what I presumed to be the most uncomfortable table for someone to rest their feet on. I stared at the sketch in amusement, writing "get your feet off my coffee table!" The final design emerged from an understanding that the design of the coffee table should embrace function and discourage misuse. The name of the table is a vestige of that moment.
JC : Sketches, lots of sketches. The graphics were produced using Sketchup, FormZ, Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, and Maxwell Render. The fabrication drawings were produced using Autodesk's Revit.
JC : Unlike most table designs, this piece maintains its showroom aesthetic while embracing the clutter of everyday life.
JC : The first prototype was completed shortly after winning the A'Design Award. The prototype is constructed of Corian, and the pieces are precision crafted using CNC technology. The efficient design of the table, results in less than 10% construction waste during the fabrication and assembly of the table, maximizing the usage of two Corian 1/2" sheets. Corian enables the table to be constructed out of smaller components in order to simplify the fabrication process, while maintaining the monolithic quality of the design. Looking as if it were carved out of a solid block of marble.
JC : I studied the dimensions and proportions of some of the 'Classic' coffee table designs of the past. Particularly Mies van der Rohe, and the designs of Charles and Ray Eames.
JC : Simplifying the fabrication process by far was the most challenging aspect of realizing the concept, as well as learning how to adequately protect intellectual property.
JC : I knew that the design was special when I built a full scale model of the design out of foam, and decided that I needed to enter it in a furniture design awards program in order to gain more exposure.
JC : The power of simplicity and restraint. I shared the design with a number of designers that I work with, and each designer wanted to complicate the design by adding extra functions such as drawers, hardware, etc, but I resisted the temptation and instead continued to simplify the design down to its core components.
JC : The design of the get your feet off my coffee table questions the norms associated with the typology of the table. My favorite moment is when people encounter it for the first time. Unfamiliar with how to use such a table, they always look puzzled, and then ask: , "When will the glass top be finished?" I smile and politely respond: "There is no glass top, this is the finished design." The fact that most people do not consider the table to be finished is proof that I had succeeded in my quest to redefine the typology of the coffee table.
