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IMM Cologne 2015

By Anki Delfmann - February 23, 2015

Designers Tower, Klappstuhl 2 by Klemens Grund In their second year, Designers Tower presented a selection of contemporary independent designers. Chair by Klemens Grund. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 1 of 43

pm12° by Anna Bens This is a swinging chair rather than a rocking chair, with the seat suspended from two pivot points in the frame. Rubber bands provide a gentle restriction to the movement. Design by Anna Bens. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 2 of 43

Goldmarie by Lea Porten This ‘outline of a lamp' is made from aluminium sheets and gold-plated on the inside. Design by Lea Porten. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 3 of 43

Grid by Manuel Welsky Grid by Manuel Welsky is a set of side tables made from laser cut steel sheets, creating graphic patterns depening on how they are arranged. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 4 of 43

Wrap by Markus Krauss Wrap by Markus Krauss consists of a cylindrical white steel wrap holding table tops made from contrasting materials such as wood and copper. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 5 of 43

Designpost Designpost opposite IMM trade fair presented work by Kvadrat, Buschfeld and Agape, amongst others. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 6 of 43

i.rain for Buschfeld Hans Buschfeld and Thierry Gauguin joined forces to create i.rain, which is based on a custom low-voltage system. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 7 of 43

i.rain for Buschfeld The blackbody OLED elements in the i.rain vary in color temperature and can be individually detached with a stereo jack. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 8 of 43

Copper cubes by Paul Kelley This modular piece of furniture uses the patent-pending BOB system by designer Paul Kelley. BOB’s magnetic connectors mean all sides of each cube connect to each other allowing endless configurations. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 9 of 43

The chicken window, K30/K18 A long-time favourite for visitors of Design Quartier Ehrenfeld, a group of live chickens in a window had disappeared this year and been replaced by a room full of feathers and fans. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 10 of 43

James by Christine Herold This popup stool borrows ideas from fashion design. By pulling the cord, the elements fold up and find their three-dimensional shape. The material, Foldtex, is made of two wooden panels and linen. CNC-milling unveils the textile as a live hinge. Design by Christine Herold. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 11 of 43

Woodlebar by Jennifer Grab Jennifer Grabe’s Woodlebar is handmade from one solid piece of wood. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 12 of 43

Animal Coffin by Christian Frank Müller, Louise Knoppert and Amanda Österlin La Mont This Animal Coffin for small pets is biodegradable, made from recycled waste materials and embedded flower—and tree seeds. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 13 of 43

Sister Blister by Walking Chair These lamp shades and lighting objects are made from scrap material from pharmaceutical packaging. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 14 of 43

Schuldenhemd by Swetlana Schmidt Swetlana Schmidt’s Schuldenhemd (debt shirt) has been woven from her grandmother’s bank statements. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 15 of 43

Salon D at Dreiform Salon D hosted an evening at the interface between physical experience and digital extension, with talk topics ranging from VR rollercoasters to digital interiors. 16 of 43

Black Sheep by Michael Konstantin Wolke The black wool ‘sleeves’ of this wardrobe cover a rack made of solid wood and copper. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 17 of 43

Cucula Sebastian Daeschle and Corinna Sy from cucula help refugees in Berlin build a life for themselves by building Enzo Mari’s ‘Autoprogettazione.' Ann-Kristin Delfmann 18 of 43

Cucula The furniture from cucula's project also works as a memorial to the origin of the project, telling the stories of the refugees by partly reusing materials from the boats they came to Europe on. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 19 of 43

Thermoformed lamps by University of Applied Sciences Mainz University of Applied Sciences Mainz showed lamps made from thermoformed fiber composite originally intended for soundproofing. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 20 of 43

LLot llov Osis Technique Llot llov experiment with osmosis for surprising effects on wood and glazes for furniture surfaces. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 21 of 43

Freeda by Frieda Femfert Freeda’s flexible waffle sole promotes a joint friendly forefoot strike by supporting a natural rolling movement. The air-permeable mesh fabric provides a breathable alternative to closed footwear. Design by Frieda Femfert. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 22 of 43

Friederike Delius What looks like an artful wall piece when folded flat is Friederike Delius's take on the much unloved clothing rack. Foldwork is made from brass and inspired by timber frame constructions. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 23 of 43

Chapeau! Pneumatic knit bike Helmet by Fynn Freischmidt Fynn Freyschmidt has developed a 'pneumatic knit' for his material project On Air. When inflated, the loops compress and cause the structure to harden. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 24 of 43

Stool V by Hon-Tan Trieu The three-legged stool by Hon-Tan Trieu has oak legs and a laser-sintered polyamide seat. The seemingly grown organic cells have been calculated according to the Voronoi algorithm, providing strength in areas with a higher load, and reducing the weight to a minimum. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 25 of 43

Nina Eberle’s lamp Make Believe The light itself is the on and off switch: held close to its hanging counterpart, it magically starts to levitate and glow thanks to electromagnetic induction. Design by Nina Eberle. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 26 of 43

Cobbles by Malte Kebbel These wall panels designed by Malte Kebbel have 3D printed luminescent textures. Visitors were given flashlights to paint on the panels and create ephemeral art that lasted only for minutes. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 27 of 43

Libelle by Christian Kueller and Christian Zander Libelle is a dynamic lighting robot rather than a lamp. Intended for the modern, constantly changing workplace, it consists of four motorized elements connected by 5 axes that can adjust to various positions. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 28 of 43

Buoy by Frederik Scholz Buoy was inspired by the abundance of sandbags in the cityscape of Jerusalem. Two nylon strings, attached to the sand bag and running through holes in the wooden pole, hold the lamp in the desired angle through kinetic friction. Design by Frederik Scholz. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 29 of 43

Klanglichter by Onat Hekimoglu and Tobias Kreter Klanglichter is a laser harp that combines gamification and music-making. Fueled by the will to hit targets on a projection on the wall, users play the laser harp and create new compositions. Design by Onat Hekimoglu and Tobias Kreter.
Ann-Kristin Delfmann 30 of 43

Bird house exhibition at Alte Molkerei Birdhouses for the style-conscious sparrow. We were distracted by the amazing railing on the staircase in the background, though. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 31 of 43

Bunkerkollektiv, Chaddia Haddad, Bianca Quasebarth Bunkerkollektiv, a collective of European design students, occupied an abandoned bunker, creating a ‘heterotopia,’ a place of otherness. This installation is imagining coziness and warmth bursting through the thick damp walls of the WWII relict. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 32 of 43

Stanley Sagart, In Walls We Trust According to Stanley Sagart, the bunker walls have caused a religious cult of tiny people in cans to develop within the building. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 33 of 43

Hayashi by Michael Rösing for Radius Hayashi is Japanese for ‘Little forest’ and is made of a steel plate and 600 chopsticks. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 34 of 43

Tecta exhibition at the Qvest Hotel The first floor bar of the recently opened QVEST Hotel in the beautiful historic city archive building was equipped with Bauhaus classics by TECTA. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 35 of 43

System Design exhibition at Museum fuer Angewandte Kunst MAK showed old and new masters of systemic approaches to design. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 36 of 43

Customized Adidas mi ZXFlux trainer by Sam Handy, 2014 How one-offs can become the norm: the system of production allows this Adidas trainer to be personalised by the customer. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 37 of 43

Sedici Animali Jigsaw by Enzo Mari, 1957 This jigsaw puzzle shows how a systemic approach can save waste during production, and allow for beautiful forms dictated by the process. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 38 of 43

EUR-pallet by Julius Hofer, 1966 A seemingly humble object, but a system design and standard that has had an impact on global logistics and business since the '70s. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 39 of 43

360 by Konstantin Grcic, 2010 Adapted from standardized rolling containers for factory workers, Grcic’s design can be configured using different modules. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 40 of 43

Munich Olympic design guidelines by Otl Aicher, Rolf Müller, Ian McLaren, Nick Roericht, 1972 These guidelines show how geometric systems can be applied to define form, and at the same time provide for versatility and flexibility. They seem surprisingly up to date when thinking of modern applications like CSS coded shapes. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 41 of 43

Glass tableware Kubus by Wilhelm Wagenfeld, 1935 I grew up with these containers providing me with cheeses, salami and ham for my sandwiches. The design is 80 years old, but the strict reduction to the stacking system functionality makes them timeless. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 42 of 43

Paperback book series Edition Suhrkamp by Willy Fleckhaus 1963 Each year, 48 books are published in the Suhrkamp Edition. Fleckhaus used 48 different colors, so each year a new complete rainbow unfolds in the bookshelf. Ann-Kristin Delfmann 43 of 43

Once again, design lovers from all over the world flocked to the city on the Rhine to browse the newest in furniture and interiors, but increasingly also other areas of design and related fields. There's lots to cover within one week: the huge trade fair IMM itself, plus the expansive parallel event Passagen, which is spread across the city and includes many group exhibitions, talks and associated shows like Cologne Music Week.

What started in 1949 as a business event for the furniture trade to show off their new sofas and kitchens has developed into a platform for everything creative. This year there was a visible movement towards withdrawing from the current turmoils of the outside world into a home of coziness, faux patina and decoration. However, the most exciting trends for me were not within the physical objects themselves, but in the realm of the invisible around them: The space between the object and the user, the relation of the object to a wider system, the coming to life, maintenance and afterlife of a product, or its ability to change and adapt.

User experience and interaction

Climbing through a re-imagined bunker, painting ephemeral light strokes on luminescent walls, playing music on laser rays, sending binary smoke signals and turning on magically hovering lamps were amongst the experience design highlights this year. Ideas and components making this possible included electromagnetic induction, Arduino microcontrollers, 3D printed luminescent textures and storytelling in reused spaces.

Systemic approaches

Old and new masters of the trade were honoured in the exhibition System Design at MAK. Misunderstood by many, loathed by some, but a proven winner in a multitude of classic design concepts, systems-thinking was demonstrated in a large exhibition showing everything from humble everyday objects to sneakers and visual identities. Other integral approaches on show this week even aim to improve existing systems through design for social change, like cucula's pilot project for the integration of refugees in Berlin.

Product life cycles

New forms of making were shown in examples of algorithm-based shapes borrowed from engineering and nature, and homogenous recyclable materials striving to preserve the latter. Many products aim for longer life spans through modularity to allow for easy maintenance, but also through adaptive use and space saving construction.

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Anki Delfmann

Anki is a senior independent design consultant working in product innovation, design strategy and user experience. She balances her own projects with consulting jobs for small and international companies including Vodafone, Trivago and Fatmap. Her work has varied from designing a FAD award winning baby chair, snowboard boots and 3D UX for social networks, outdoor adventure and digital city twins, to design strategy, UX and brand consulting for startups.
Having earned her Diplom and Masters in Cologne, Sydney and Barcelona, she now splits her time between London and Cologne, and has made her suitcase an integral part of life.
On the hunt for inspiration, she writes about design and travel, and has recently founded a small but mighty global collective with like-minded designers, writers and engineers. She loves language, the discovery of our planet, and everything science-based, automated, 3D, collapsible or responsive.