We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Nora Voon about their original and creative Folding Chair design work. Nora Voon is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original folding chair works.
Nora Voon ("NV") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Memphis Folding Chair. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
NV : The main principle of this chair is to have a folding chair in the market that looks good, works well with contract but is also fun and elegant in design. The inspiration came from a paperclip (shape) and childhood candies (colours).
NV : The main focus is to make sure that it is easy to store away or shipped as that's a key factor to consider especially if you are manufacturing an item for production. The design aspect has to be minimal and timeless so that it will always be relevant at any space and time.
NV : I plan to collaborate with a company that would produce this for mass consumption because I think it works so well in commercial spaces such as cafes, hotels, public spaces or even schools.
NV : Funny you asked as this didn't take that much time at all. I was thinking how can I design a folding chair that looks good but at the same time can even look fun and make you feel happy. That's where the colours came in, inspired by love heart candies. It took me about 20 minutes to come up with the idea and the rest was making sure the functionality and durability is strong.
NV : I was sourcing for folding chairs for a particular project and found that most folding chairs on the market is not very good looking, so I decided to design my own. At the point, I decided that it should be very minimal in design but let the colours and shape of the chair take centre stage.
NV : Currently we can produce them ourselves working with a factory in Indonesia but we do plan to sell or lease the production rights with a big company if they are interested.
NV : Like I said before, I realized there aren't any good looking fun folding chairs on the market.
NV : yes of course, I worked with another team member to make sure the technical details are correct and that it is strong enough.
NV : Mid range market customer. This item was never intended to be expensive.
NV : It's very minimal in design and you can hang it on a wall!
NV : Memphis - according to ancient Egyptian meaning " A good place to live" - very fitting for a folding chair don't you think?
NV : Autocad, Rhino.
NV : The fact that you can hang it on a wall to save space.
NV : I worked with another team member who helped in the 3D rendering and technical drawings.
NV : The material for this chair is either steel or Aluminum. Aluminum is great due to its lightness in weight which is a bonus for shipping however, it may not be a durable as steel. We are experimenting with both.
NV : I did a search to see what's out there in terms of folding chairs on the market. I find that most of these are bulky and not very good looking style wise, so decided to design it myself.
NV : Making sure the chair passes the strength test! As I intend to sell these as contract furniture.
NV : I submitted another design for competition during 2020 during covid with a covid inspired theme and we won the bronze price last year for it (HQ Table). This year, we decided to try our luck again.
NV : I learned that when designing a product, less is more, the less complicated a design is the better it is. It means that it is user friendly, cheaper to produce and less liability usually.
