Envisage Design Studio

Jonathan Mizzi

In an age where we both want to catch up with and invalidate the trends that swirl around our heads, we have to ask ourselves, do we really know what is going on? Does kitsch mean the same thing it did many years ago? What exactly is a fixed gear bike?! One term you may have seen tattooed on the chest of many a web web page, is ‘concept design.’ As a studio, we like to class our selves within the aforementioned description of the modern person: caught up in conflicting zeitgeists, and itching to maintain elements of archaism in our work. Yet we find ourselves falling under the same roof as other artists who define themselves as ‘concept designers’. We don’t simply do branding; interior design; graphic design. Instead, we have come to develop a word for a niche point in commercial art that you now have to ask yourself: what exactly does it mean?

There is no greater example of why this term is so important, than Jonathan Mizzi, the creator of the eponymous Mizzi Studio. He specialises in -you guessed it- concept design! We have included a few examples of his work in this post- perhaps you can already see what stands him apart from his more rigid contemporaries? As you probably know about our studio, we revel in tasks and artists who focus on uniqueness. Mizzi does this. Oh boy, he does! Bold and academic in his designs, he takes simple interior design and branding and turns it into a concept that transcends functionality whilst it also maintaining it as the core of his work. It is this sumptuous slither of a cross section that he teeters on, which makes us addicted to his results. Recently, Mizzi has been focusing on industrial, naval design and incorporating into his projects. This reflects once more, this cross section: beauty meeting functionality, if you will.

The final product doesn’t necessarily need to be completely functional- it just needs to absorb and compliment the space it was assigned. Our challenge is to make art that doesn’t overshadow the operative space of a restaurant, bar or cafe etc. We define functionality in this case as this seamless blending of art as an interactive force with a public space. A public space must be receptive to an idea that takes what it means for example, to eat in a restaurant and make it an experience outside of the ordinary. Mizzi Studio Tom Raffield

Avant-Garde uses of Concrete

We talked a little last week about the gradual emergence of industrial art in the interior and concept design narrative. Here is our chance to peak under the rigid pleats of its skirt and discuss its exponentially appealing use this decade. What is it about cold slabs of grey material and un polished metal that have had this affect on us all? Sure, industrial, space-y, futuristic motifs were hot in the early chunk of the millennia. Academically, we can attribute this to the flick of three 9s to a few zeros that left us all wanting to grapple with a future that was unknown and yet appeared malleable to us. We had made it to the 21st century! We were in the era of exploration and post-analogue dreariness. Our tastes and lifestyle reflected this and we all liked to think, on the boring commute home, that we were returning to a house that was a slice of this zeitgeist.

Then the zeitgeist evolved- as it does. Our tastes once more swirled and shivered inside the mixing glass and we went greener and more colourful; flat packed and cash strapped. Now we find ourselves once more at the door of industrial design, something that post- 2000, we have never deviated too far from. Sure, we are less minimalistic in our application of it; edges have become curves and new found metaphysical, artistic depths exist. We are also now in the age of bespoke art, homes and furniture. Naturally, industrial design has found a new home (only a few minutes down the street) in an era where skill and craft shape the aesthetic portion of our lives. Industrial design also has a great potential for sustainability which has attracted a wider audience for its merits.

Industrial design’s poster girl, if you will, is concrete. Brutalist architects, including Marcel Breuer and Paul Rudolph, were concrete fiends, and trailblazers like W***y Guhl were shaping the weighty substance into delicate furniture as early as the 1950s. Yes, boring, clunky, under-appreciated, surprising concrete has made a huge comeback. Floors are perhaps the most natural application when using this material in your home. Recently, Carr Restorations showcased in an episode of Grand Designs, polished concrete floors as well as ones with stone accents embedded. If concrete floors aren’t your thing, concrete walls also have a great charm. Concrete has the power to add an incredibly subtle texture to a room. It is natural without appearing shabby and clean without appearing clinical. More people are choosing to incorporate concrete in their interiors because it’s a particularly easy material to maintain. Concrete is a natural balancer, a substance that silently allows other design accents to shine whilst certainly earning its spot as a noticeable design trend. When it’s used, it lends a ton of visual weight to the room.

Some key examples of recent, avant-garde uses of concrete include the Tilted Kilt Pub which has stained its concrete floors to appear wooden, thus adding metaphysical layers to our understanding and interaction with materials. Another manipulation of concrete is by staining it with acid which affords it a wonderful, rich, brassy look. We have included some pictures in this article so you can see what we are talking about!

A new generation of designers are also shaping the very make up of concrete. They are colouring it and complimenting it with found, interesting objects. Some examples are London-based designers Hannah Plumb and James Russell, who are known for reinventing pieces from the past. Perhaps their most seminal piece of work was filling the negative spaces of broken, antique chairs with concrete to repurpose it as modern masterpieces. Amelie Marei Loellmann is perhaps the most bold in her use of concrete, creating carpets and other pliable textiles from the material. She has fashioned a concrete skirt, hat and bag; most of her collection is rigid, although the pieces are relatively lightweight. Again, we have included pictures of these pieces below! They all serve as testimony to the ever increasing creativity of the modern art world which fosters a balance of a beauty, skill and functionality down to a tee. DezeenCulture TripVogue UK - USA