Great design is everywhere. A great design is the hyperbolic paraboloid shape of Pringles that fit perfectly in its packaging, and the Alessi Juicy Salif, a squid-shaped citrus squeezer that doubles as decor. Product design is about creating solutions to problems the users might face. One of the exceptional product design examples today is the Norman Door. It subconsciously conditions us to PUSH or PULL based on the handle or the lack of the handle. No more embarrassing moments when entering new places.
There are several studios and design houses in the current day producing solutions so seamlessly that we do not even question the products. One such studio is Vert Design. Before we jump to all the great products they have created, let’s find out a little more about them. Vert Design is a Sydney-based studio and design house. They collaborate with multiple brands in several fields – offering services from a conceptual design stage to manufacturing. Here are a few products by Vert, starting with their work at the Sydney Metro North West!
1. Sydney Metro North West
The new Sydney Metro project aims to become Australia’s biggest public transport project. The first stage of the project, Sydney Metro Northwest, opened in May 2019. A heavy-duty metro system carrying about 17,000 passengers an hour in each direction. Architectural firm Hassell Studio commissioned Vert Design to design the public furniture for the entire course of the metro. They took on the project and designed the full furniture suite for the metro, right from the platform seating to the drink stations and litter bins. The overall suite had to follow the same visual language, connecting the elements with the architecture. Every piece of furniture followed the same criteria in its own way. Once the design and development were complete, the project was handed over to Fleetwood Urban and Civiq who took on prototyping and manufacturing.
2. Drink Fountains – Sydney Metro North West
The design of the water fountains was stripped down to its most basic form and anthropometrics. A stainless-steel tube of large diameter projects into the air and angles forward to create the perfect trajectory of water for drinking by anyone. A rolled stainless steel plate shadows the steel tube to catch the excess water and directs it back to the fountain. Other design features include the hands-free floor pedal that allows elderly and disabled users to use it effortlessly. There is also a separate tap for filling water bottles.
3. Bus Shelters – Sydney Metro North West
Staying close to the overall design language, the form is expressed through vertical posts angling back to support the roof of the bus shelter. The glass panels on the back and a suspended glass side wall provide extra protection from the weather. The customised section posts conceal a downpipe inside them for water runoff and necessary wiring to power the uplighting and CCTV.
4. Litter Bins – Sydney Metro North West
An enclosure made of stainless steel covers a standard wheelie bin, making it easier to clean the surface and remove the waste. To make sure the design of the bins was in unity with the rest of the elements at the metro, a black hood covers the top and sides. The black and stainless-steel work in visual harmony with the rest of the metro and also highlight the colour-coded rings to help identify between recycled and general waste. To keep the visual symmetry, the bins are two-sided. One side remains fixed to the ground and has fixtures to keep the bin from getting mounted, whereas the other half is hinged and secured with a lock.
5. Help Points – Sydney Metro North West
Video Help Points help provide the required information for the passengers to feel safe throughout their journey. The interface panel provides two-way video and audio communication that can also help with obtaining assistance in an emergency. Anthropometrics play a huge role in helping this design reach both its functional and operational requirements.
Other than public furniture design, Vert has also dabbled with other kinds of products like structural facades, homeware, electronics, recreational, public sculptures, and even medical products.
6. One Central Park Vertical Gardens
In 2013, Vert was commissioned to design 45-meter wall gardens that scale the sides of One Central Park. The main concept was to create a sense of fluidity – with the help of inviting gardens with gentle curves in different colours, shapes, and textures. To come up with the green facade, Vert worked closely with external civil engineers and studied every level of the building to create the necessary design references to fabricate support frames for the vertical gardens.
7. Knight Frank Feature Wall
The challenge was to create an innovative space for an office space. In collaboration with There Studio, Vert Design came up with an interesting wall installation that appears to be moving when one walks along the space. It creates a very special in-between zone in the office.
8. Native Pollen Art Installation
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, a contemporary artist from Australia, trusted Vert to bring her vision to life. Her idea of creating a series of enormous native pollen structures – enlarged from their natural microscopic scale into giant carved stone objects with a great amount of detail. Vert interpreted 2D images of the microscopic pollen into a complex 3D sculpting software. During prototyping, several materials were tested and finally ended up with sandstone for its natural properties that work well with the design idea.
9. Good Citizen Glasses
Vert Design is very environment-conscious. As part of their Kickstarter campaign in May 2019, Vert introduced the Good Citizen Glasses. It is one of the many products by Vert that evoke a question about how we can make life on our planet better. The glasses are made from recycled PET bottles. The aim was to mold them into something repairable and completely recyclable at the end of life – this means that the product was entirely made from recycled PET bottles, with no metal hinges or screws. Here is the video introduction from their campaign:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=62clc6L4wVw&t=74s (A/N: Embed YouTube Video)
10. Wasteland for Mundane Matters
It is an art installation that shines a light on an experimental conservation project conducted in the 90s. 12,000 tonnes of waste orange peel was dumped onto a lifeless site in Costa Rica. 15 years later, the land turned into a jungle without any human interruption. Wasteland, the installation was a celebration of the project’s success. The installation contains 2255 oranges made from over 100 kg of marine debris collected by EcoBarge from the Great Barrier Reef.
11. Minim Guitar Stand
MINIM Studio approached Vert to develop a range of guitar hooks and stands that instantly blend with well-designed interior spaces. From the emphasis on one’s care for their instrument, the idea of a leather sling cradling the instrument emerged. The product adheres to a “form follows function” principle – with its simple form which is solely centered around the function.
There you have it, ten products by Vert Design to admire. Which one did you like the best? Do let us know in the comments below.
