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Packaging can be a shallow temptress, a triumph of style over substance. But it also can be the definition of industrial design, merging technology and creativity into an elegant whole. Veuve Clicquot achieves the latter with DesignBox, its new 100-percent recyclable, micro-corrugated coffret for the company’s Yellow Label Champagne. To debut the chic sheath, the company asked Tom Dixon, Front and 5.5 Designers to use it as a building block for a Champagne moment that reflected the maison’s storied roots. The results, unveiled in Milan at April’s Out of the Box exhibit, were as inventive as they were unexpected.   MORE >>

Packaging can be a shallow temptress, a triumph of style over substance. But it also can be the definition of industrial design, merging technology and creativity into an elegant whole. Veuve Clicquot achieves the latter with DesignBox, its new 100-percent recyclable, micro-corrugated coffret for the company’s Yellow Label Champagne. To debut the chic sheath, the company asked Tom Dixon, Front and 5.5 Designers to use it as a building block for a Champagne moment that reflected the maison’s storied roots. The results, unveiled in Milan at April’s Out of the Box exhibit, were as inventive as they were unexpected.
 
“T’was a tough brief,” says Dixon of the task. “It was difficult to understand how to change a piece of packaging into something that was to be associated with such an up-market product.” His cluster of orb-shaped Comet lamps, fashioned from deconstructed boxes, is a lesson in history and geometry. The paper pendants allude to the comet seen throughout the Champagne region in 1811—an exceptional year for vintages—which gave birth to the six-pointed star on Veuve Clicquot’s logo.
 
The cheeky designers of Paris’ 5.5 used the challenge to prompt consumers to reevaluate the wrapping’s worth. “Packaging is getting more elaborate, but is still disposable,” the group says. “We thought it was a pity to see all those nice boxes ending up in the trash can.” Their solution transforms the yellow-and-black coffrets as bricks for a lacquered MDF wine cellar and tasting space. Front’s effort takes a similar tack. Replicating the boxes in wood, the Swedish foursome amassed them on a bed of soft foam, allowing each to move up and down independently, cradling the user’s body. “We took advantage of the fact that people recognize the box, are aware of its purpose and know how it feels to hold it,” they say. So they created a form with the opposite sensation of what was anticipated.
 
The DesignBox has been put into circulation worldwide and will eventually become the default sheath for all of the label’s non-vintage offerings. In the meantime, Out of the Box will continue to travel, appearing at the London Design Festival this month, Japan’s Tokyo Hipsters Club in October and Hong Kong’s Business of Design Week in December. Veuve Clicquot president and CEO Cecile Bonnefond says the company was thrilled with the exhibit’s results: “The designers complemented each other well, in their work and in their auras.” Much like the trio of grapes in fine Champagne, you could say.   << LESS

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Swedish design studio Front is breaking with tradition. In an industry dominated by men, the firm is instead led by four women. And in a scene driven all too often by ego, Front takes a fully collaborative approach. “We never design individually,” explains member Sofia Lagerkvist. “The outcome is always better if we work together.” Having met while studying industrial design at Stockholm’s Konstfack, the quartet, which united in 2003, has maintained an intimate practice ever since, and so far the ethos is paying off.   MORE >>

Swedish design studio Front is breaking with tradition. In an industry dominated by men, the firm is instead led by four women. And in a scene driven all too often by ego, Front takes a fully collaborative approach. “We never design individually,” explains member Sofia Lagerkvist. “The outcome is always better if we work together.” Having met while studying industrial design at Stockholm’s Konstfack, the quartet, which united in 2003, has maintained an intimate practice ever since, and so far the ethos is paying off.

At this year’s Salone del Mobile alone, Front showcased six different projects, including new pieces for Moroso, Skitsch, Moooi, Established & Sons, Porro and Veuve Clicquot. But this is no overnight success story. Collections such as 2004’s Design by...including a UV-sensitive wallpaper and vases that appear to tumble off the shelf—introduced Front’s expertise in exposing the small, often disregarded phases of the design practice. This year, they continue to do so by toying with the notion of image.

“All the 2009 projects are connected, but approached in different ways,” explains Lagerkvist. For Moroso, the team created the illusion of texture and three-dimensions by printing furniture upholstery with photorealistic imagery. The seat cushions of the Kuddsofa appear to balance on their edges, while the Soft Wood sofa disguises a comfortable seat with a fabric that mimics wood. The idea is similar but simplified in the storage collection for Porro. On the credenza, a line illustration conveys weave patterns, while the armoire resembles the twinkle of wind-tousled curtains. Each piece emphasizes how little is needed for a designer to fool the eye. “We want these pieces to play on the knowledge we have about objects,” Lagerkvist says. “They’re intended to make people think about their presumptions of everyday furniture.” It’s this intelligent sense of fun that has propelled the foursome into the big leagues of international design. And it’s this desire to challenge old preconceptions that will keep them there-together. frontdesign.se   << LESS