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Andromeda Sculptural Lighting by Cole Gerst

Home > Winners > Design #42605 >Interview
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Cole Gerst (CG) for A' Design Awards and Competition. You can access the full profile of Cole Gerst by clicking here. Access more information about the award winning design Andromeda here.



Interview with Cole Gerst at Wednesday 20th of April 2016

FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
CG: The inspiration comes from mid-century modern string art lamps. I wanted to take those shapes and update them with a more modern color palette and to use modern fabrication techniques.

FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
CG: The main focus was to blend a functional object with a work of art. I wanted toe piece to be beautiful both used as a light or simply looked at in a sculptural context.

FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
CG: I want to make more combinations and further the shapes and sizes into larger site-specific type pieces.

FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
CG: About a year.

FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
CG: I was inspired by studying tension and compression and models by Buckminster Fuller.

FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
CG: Right now they are all done in-house but we are open to licensing the designs or some sort of collaboration in production.

FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
CG: It comes from the love of combining materials in new and unexpected ways.

FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
CG: The many mid-century modern string and wire lamps that were designed in the 50's and 60's, George Nelson & Buckminster Fuller.

FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
CG: Anyone who loves lighting or wants to make a bold statement in a room.

FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
CG: There are other similar concepts out there as we have come across them over the years, but I think our unique color palettes and fabrication process make them a more striking and unique piece.

FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
CG: Andromeda is the closest solar system next to the Milky Way. It only made since to have some sort of star theme since they are lighting.

FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
CG: Mostly sketching and using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
CG: The customization aspect is unique. Someone can mix and match colors to match most any decor.

FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
CG: Yes, Joe Mansfield of Engrave Goods here in Portland was very helpful in honing the final design of the lamps.

FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
CG: We use laser cutting for the frames.

FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
CG: The only research was just based on size and other lighting related questions, wiring etc.

FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
CG: We had to create many prototypes until we got not only the designs dialed in, but also the production of them becomes a challenge.

FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
CG: It was mostly done to validate our belief in the beauty of our product.

FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
CG: Patience, Learning pricing and sourcing many different parts. I believe my skills in color were improved.

FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
CG: No thanks


FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.

A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.



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