Careers by design

Undergraduates studying furniture design at Monash University are being encouraged to meet people's design needs while plotting a path to a successful career in the commercial sector. RICHARD EWART reports.

Flat Pack With a Twist was an appropriate title for a recent exhibition of furniture designed by undergraduates from the Bachelor of Industrial Design course in Monash's Faculty of Art and Design.

The 'twist' reflects a course and attitude intended to show students what it would be like to ply their design skills for a living.

Course coordinator Mr Selby Coxon

To match the real-life demands of companies, the furniture exhibition, sponsored by IKEA, required the third-year students to work to strict dimensions and produce something that could be flat-packed and self-assembled.

In the lead-up to the show, the students studied modelling, form and some of the basics associated with furniture production. But the exhibition presented a new challenge - to build their first full-size prototypes.

The finalists produced an array of stylish designs, all of which fitted neatly into flat-pack boxes, and which could be put together quickly and easily without tools.

The assignment made a strong impact on the students. Mr Antonio Citera says he is determined to make a career for himself in furniture design and get back to his Italian roots in the process.

"I would like to end up in Milan because the market there is awesome. That's the dream, but you have to start off small and just work your way up from any breaks you can get," he says.

"It's very, very tough to get into the industry, but getting noticed at an event like this is a great starting point."

Course coordinator Mr Selby Coxon says it is important that industrial design is relevant to people's needs and that the course prepared students for the rigours of working in the commercial world.

"We're very keen that the process the undergraduates go through is similar to the commercial process they would experience in the real world," Mr Coxon says.

"They are not necessarily designing one-off pieces of fine art - they are doing something for the commercial world that meets the needs of many.

"I hope the experience raises awareness among young people that there is a career in this branch of design, and a varied career at that.

"From the same course that propels consumer product designers and automotive designers, we have furniture designers operating in a very commercial world like IKEA."

Nick Butselaar

'Nochlas Shelves'

"Our brief was to design a piece of flat-pack furniture, incorporating a curve and capable of being assembled by the user. After some teething problems in the model-making stage, the design came together well. I wanted to produce something that looked dramatic and quite sculptural but was also functional. I've tested it and as a bookshelf, it works incredibly well - the shelves don't collapse and the books don't fall off. There are only eight steps in the assembly process, and one person can put it together on their own."

Anthony Tawfik

'Flex Chaise Lounge'

"The idea came from draped curtains and the way they curved. I had a photo of that on my theme board, and under lighting it looked really good. Bringing the design to life was a lot easier than I had imagined. I used polypropylene, which proved to be much stronger than I had anticipated, and it flexes really well. Two people can easily assemble the piece in around 15 minutes. Until this design, I hadn't really worked on furniture, but this project has really fired my imagination to do more."

Rob Tang (IKEA prize winner)

'Cuppa'

"I am an exchange student from Carleton University in Canada, and I wanted to create a piece that would flat-pack small and light enough for me to mail home. If I could do that, it would surely be cost-effective as an IKEA product as well. The piece has a clean, simple look with no fasteners showing other than the bolt heads on the bottom, which act as four feet. My future plan is to establish myself as a designer in a prominent design firm and then start my own design establishment."

Action: To find out more about the Industrial Design studio, go to the Art and Design website.