One of my favorite pieces in the [D3] Design Talents exhibition at IMM Cologne was Dear Disaster by Jenny Ekdahl.
Dear Disaster was Jenny’s graduation project from the Lund School of Industrial Design in Sweden. Inspired by recent global events, she says: “While natural disasters are perceived as terrible occurrences, natural forces can also be viewed as awe-inspiring and magnificent.”
The aim of the project was to facilitate a process of recovery after natural disasters, to help the user regain their trust in nature. The moving tiles let people express their emotions and create their own personal imprint on the cabinet. Jenny says: “This was inspired by the idea that creating images and graphs might aid a psychological recovery process.”
Jenny looked into whether certain shapes, textures and patterns, and ideas such as rhythm, complexity and playfulness, can comfort and intrigue us as human beings. She explained that basing the patterns and colours on water, waves and sand enabled people to reverse and replay natural disasters like tsunamis and says: “The structure creates a tactile and rhythmic interaction with the user, through its ever-changing images and underlying meanings. The structures’ irresistible appearance encourages exploration and playfulness in whoever touches it, making it possible for all people to create their own ‘please touch’ art.
The beech wood cabinet features more than 2000 water jet cut, veneered and painted wooden parts, threaded onto a piano wire, that each can be individually flipped. One side of each wooden scale is painted blue, white or grey, while the other side has been left plain. The cabinet itself provides a space for small keepsakes from the past to be placed safely behind a closed door, and the high legs prevent the water from reaching them. A thoughtful and beautiful piece of design.
With thanks to Modenus and BlogTourCGN sponsors, Miele, Blanco, Mr Steam, Du Verre Handware, Axor and NKBA.

3 Comments
sfmosaic on 01.31.2013 at 21:28 PM
I know that art helps people to heal. I think it’s great that young designers are trying to “help” but IMHO this project has missed the mark. How exactly are all these lovely cabinets going to be made and distributed to disaster victims, in time for them to “store their keepsakes” – really? They “regain trust in nature” by flicking the wood flippy chips to “express their emotions”? Perhaps if the flippy chips were on a very grand scale and people could run along a wall of them this might convey some “underlying meaning” …and if that were the case, why not just use all the nicely painted wood to rebuild a house or a school? This designer’s heart is in the right place, but if she wants to be “inspired by natural disasters” perhaps an internship with Partners in Health or AmericaCare, or Medicin Sans Frontier would bump up the reality of the vision. Sorry, Ms. Ekdahl is a promising young industrial designer, and lord knows we need them, but this project is so cloying as to be nearly an insult to those she hopes to help.
Oliver Long on 02.03.2013 at 06:11 AM
Sfmosaic, quit being pedantic. You are failing to see the romantic nature of the piece. Your mindset is exactly the one which is helping seperate any worthy cause from design. I understand your logic but to dismiss it as an insult is dramatic.
Stephen Coates on 02.15.2014 at 07:28 AM
Jenny’s photo is being used by a person on Linkedin as their own profile photo. If she or Design Milk contacts me, I’ll provide full details.
Want your image to appear next to your comment? Get a gravatar!Leave A Comment