If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll have come across the work of our guest contributer, Nick Baker. A designer with a unique, creative bend and a need to solve problems with clever products, Nick’s work usually inspires the reaction “whoa, why didn’t I think of that!”. Committed to uploading all his creations and explorations on his Instagram page (his Gravity Sketch design-sessions are sheer joy to watch), Nick one day uploaded the sketch below, of a chair made from unlikely materials. The image garnered a great amount of attention for its creativity, but also created somewhat of a controversy, as followers doubted its practicality (the chair uses no screws, no glue, no joineries, just woven straps)… so much so that it became very evident that the only way forward was to build a prototype and test it out in real.
The Strap Chair was created as a prototype to validate an idea, and its process is one worth watching. Designers often spend more time conceptualizing and less time looking at those concepts objectively, or more importantly, testing them. The Strap chair, whether its the sketch or the final prototype, looks absurdly beautiful… a combination of rustic and robust, and looks perfect for the outdoors, especially since it’s made from things you’d find outdoors… but most importantly, it looks like a product that went successfully from concept to prototype! When you ideate, always validate!
Designer: Nicholas Baker
