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NTU Furniture and Product Design students visit prestigious design fair Maison&Objet in Paris

Furniture and Product Design students explore Maison&Objet 2018 in Paris.

Paris by night
Paris by night captured by our school photographer

Furniture and Product Design students and academic staff visited the international design fair Maison&Objet last month as part of a course trip to Paris.

Their trip also involved visits to famous landmarks museums, galleries and shops, where they soaked up French culture, lifestyle, and contemporary trends in design.

The international design fair takes place bi-annually and is the largest of its kind in Europe.

Students were asked to conduct a trend analysis whilst at the fair and to gain an understanding of the way we inhabit and arrange our homes, in the context of both private and social behaviour, and acknowledging the huge impact our changing relationship with work has on leisure time.

As part of the trip students also visited fashion and home store Merci where students were asked to analyse the manner in which a variety of design objects were displayed to the stores different audiences,  and visually record this, evaluating the contrast between  retail  design environments. Students also visited Galerie Kreo and were also asked to consider the nature of objects on show, why they exist, and how they communicate with their audience.

Designs on display at Maison&Objet 2018
Designs on display at Maison&Objet 2018

Six students and two students from Strate School of Design also took part in a collaborative furniture design workshop project as part of the trip. The project takes place every year and gives students the opportunity to prepare ideas for Light Night.

The workshop, entitled ‘Bend / Fold / Crease’,challenges students to work in pairs or groups of three to design a piece of contemporary lighting for the homeware market.

Year Two students, Georgia Cook and Kate McCormack, teamed up with Strate students respectively to produce innovative lighting designs.

Georgia commented: “It was fantastic and so enjoyable. The Maison&Objet fair was such a worthwhile experience; it helped me learn more about new materials and design trends in furniture, which will help me a lot going into my placement year.”

Kate added: “Our design was created for people with small living spaces; I was inspired by our class trip to Maison&Objet. It was a great opportunity working with someone I had never met before, and it was interesting to learn about how they worked, and to balance both our styles".

Rebecca Gamble, BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design Course Leader commented: "Cultural visits to European cities such as Paris really help broaden our students mindset in terms of design and culture. Exploring Maison&Objet for a day also enables our students to gain insight into the emerging design trends in our industry and prepares them to think about their degree show work."

Interested in studying BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design? Book onto an Open Day to meet our students and staff, and find out more about life in the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.

Published on 2 February 2018
  • Category: School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment