We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Tanner Svoboda about their original and creative Dining Table design work. Tanner Svoboda is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original dining table works.
Tanner Svoboda ("TS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Exchange Dining Table. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
TS : The main idea and inspiration behind this dining table was creating conversation.
TS : I wanted to create a beautiful piece that had the dual purpose of benefiting the user/users in a way that is traditionally not associated with furniture.
TS : I hope that this award allows me to get my name out into the design world so that I can find a job after graduation in June.
TS : It took about three weeks to come up with the concept behind this design.
TS : The class I was taking at the time was the man reason behind this concept. We were tasked with finding a human behavior that could be changed (in a positive way) through furniture. I chose to promote communal meals because that is something that has be dwindling in the past few decades in the United States.
TS : I intend to produce the work myself.
TS : My professor, George Perez, helped influence this design. He pushed me to create a piece that didn't have just one meaning.
TS : The residential and hospitality markets would be my primary target customers for this design. I think both could benefit greatly from it.
TS : I try to integrate functions that are not normally seen in residential furniture into my designs. The cut out is primarily seen in desks from the commercial furniture industry, and I think using that same design detail in a piece meant for residential use is what sets this design apart.
TS : Exchange came from the idea of exchanging with one another. Whether it is the exchanging of ideas or the exchanging of food.
TS : The cut outs in the top of the table are the most functional elements of this dining table, but i think the most unique aspect of the dining table is how the legs are designed to look like they are growing out of the top.
TS : Part of this table was fabricated by using a 5-axis CNC machine. As seen in the picture I submitted, the CNC milled out the form of the table top from a form that I created.
TS : For this project I researched how people interact when they eat as well as when they converse with each other, and how to promote these types of interactions.
TS : Time was the largest challenge for this project. Our terms are only 10 weeks long, and it is difficult to go through the whole design process in this short amount of time.
TS : One of the first pieces of advice I was given when I came to SCAD was to get my name out into the design world. I think the best way to do that is through competitions such as the A'Design Award & Competition.
