Material Tendencies: Odosdesign

Founded in 2005 by Luis Calabuig, María Mengual and Ana Segovia, the comprehensive design agency Odosdesign focuses on product design and visual strategy.

With a background in industrial design, the design trio’s mission is not only to develop long-lasting design, but also to help communicate products – from the initial concept to product development and art direction. Architonic recently met up with the team.

Architonic: You emphasis on communicating products is quite distinctive, why do you think it is important?

Odosdesign: Many furniture brands are not yet aware of the importance of good photographic styling and visual communication. Both online and offline, a bad presentation can lower the quality of the product. We help creating an imagery and a common identity for the brand, or a product. Knowing how to design products helps us knowing how to communicate them.

A few questions to you from the perspective of an industrial designer… What role does material play for you in the design process?

We understand product design as a fusion of tradition and renewal, and in an experimental approach in the use of materials and techniques. There are some projects where the material is the soul, for example when we work with ceramics. Sometimes material is the consequence of a design process, as there might be only one material that resolves a technical issue when industrializing a product. When we designed the Ensombra parasol for Gandia Blasco, for example, we had to find the right material for the slats, suitable for outdoors, that does not flex too much. Finally we opted for a phenolic plywood.

Have you identified certain trends in materials?

It seems that people appreciate natural materials like stones, marble, or raw wood. But trends change very fast (colours, materials, textures) and design should be timeless and durable. In regards of technical developments within the design industry, for sure the Internet of things will be the centre of new products, and materials will become smart materials, with more functionality.

If you had to confine yourself to a single material for the next three years, which one would you choose and why?

We work a lot with wood and iron. But if we had to pick one, it would be textiles, for its versatility between fashion and technology. We enjoy graphic works, drawings, patterns, mixing colours and fashion, and textiles would be a great material to combine these different art mediums. Also glass would be an interesting material to explore further.

This article originally appeared on Architonic, where TLMag presents articles in French and English.