Core77

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year's Core77 Design Awards 2012! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

Channel of Mindfulness
• Designer: Qianyi Zhao
• Location: University of Tasmania
• Category: Furniture & Lighting
• Award: Student Notable

This project investigates the way in which furniture can operate within the wider concerns of 'art' and affect psychological thought and emotional expression. The goal was to explore the way that furniture can be endowed with 'personality' to evoke the users' subconscious emotion and feeling. This project attempts to deconstruct social relationships that develop between furniture and its users by breaking down stereotypical expectations of for example what a 'chair' should look like and how it might be used.

How did you learn that you had been recognized by the jury?
Honestly, it was really a surprise for me when I learned that I had been recognized as one of the student notable from the email. I was so excited and couldn't wait to share the good news with my family and friends. It is a great honour for me and also an approval for this project.

What's the latest news or development with your project?
My current focus of this project moves from big piece to smaller piece such as lamps. The paper pulp material can really create distinctive result when placed in various lights. I feel that the light on and light off status of the lamp can represent two sides of a person. I am still working on how to appropriately utilize the effect of light and surrounding environment at the moment.

What is one quick anecdote about your project?
The photographing process of my project was quite interesting. I self-shot all the photos, which turned it into a funny show. It was a sunny weekend when I shot photos alone in the school corridor. Some tourists walked by when I was doing weird gestures aside from the furniture. They seemed to think I was doing some kind of performance art. I was shy indeed. However, the unexpected audiences during the shooting created extra experience of design process.

What was an "a-ha" moment from this project?
The 'a-ha' moment of 'Do Not Ignore' project was the moment that I put two or more pieces of furniture of this series together in one scene. It may sound unbelievable that the furniture seems to start a silent conversation. I felt that the furniture possessed certain personality, which made them vivid at that moment. It seemed the perfect way to display them, which create batter interpretation of each piece. More important, I realized later that using accessories as scarf, shoes and books enhanced the furniture's ability of expressiveness.