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chapter 1
Introduction to Furniture Design
Dictionary and encyclopedic sources use words like accessories, equipment, and movable objects to define furniture.1 Words can describe the performance and physical characteristics of furniture, but those who design, make, and use furniture know that furniture design extends far beyond dictionary or encyclopedic definition. Furniture design concepts lead to the production of useful items that result in tactile experiences (Figure 1.1). In nearly every case, furniture is something people experience through direct human engagement. In addition, one’s understanding and knowledge of furniture evolves with use and over time.
Designing furniture relies on intuition, judgment, design skills, engineering principles, and knowledge in a broad range of disciplines helpful with problem solving. Designing furniture requires inspiration, a concept or idea, and the commitment to give pleasure to those who use it.
The inevitable shift from designing furniture to fabricating furniture generates an appreciation for both the obvious and subtle ways in which making can influence the design process. Through the process of making furniture, one will learn about hand, power, and digital tools, material properties and working methods, assembly processes, and the time required to finish a project. Fabricating furniture demands precise skill and workmanship and often results in a sense of craft for those directly involved in the process. Making furniture does not necessarily guarantee an ability to design furniture, but it will result in an expanded knowledge of materials, tools, and joinery, which in turn generates a broader appreciation and respect for furniture design.
Furniture design is deeply rooted in the human condition. It is a social science that belongs to the humanities, an applied art that draws upon many design disciplines, and is dependent upon a working knowledge of materials and fabrication techniques. It is a holistic and interdisciplinary field of study.
Before delving into the nature of furniture design, consider the terms furniture and design and reflect upon the fundamental and symbiotic relationships bound in the meaning and etymology of these two words.
Furniture
furniture
- noun 1. the movable articles that are used to make a room or building suitable for living or working in, such as tables, chairs, or desks. 2. the small accessories or fittings that are required for a particular task or function: door furniture.2
By many accounts, furniture includes a broad range of moveable objects organized in four main categories:
- Human body support devices (Figures 1.2 and 1.3)
- Surfaces and objects to support various activities (Figures 1.4 and 1.5)
- Storage and display pieces (Figures 1.6 and 1.7)
- Spatial partitions3 (Figures 1.8 and 1.9)
Furniture pieces are designed and fabricated to assist in the many ways people sit and rest, work and play, organize or display items, and partition space. This view suggests a broad utilitarian framework, in which function is perceived to be the primary intended purpose of furniture. Although function, utility, and social use are important aspects of the performance of furniture, rarely does function alone inspire great design. Furniture design draws upon ideas of beauty, principles of design, theory, material properties, fabrication technologies, business economies, environmental design matters, and the surrounding spatial context in which it is placed, all of which are integral and intertwined with function, utility, and social use. Considerations that influence what we think about and feel regarding furniture design include:
- Aesthetics (the meaning of form)
- Historical precedent (examples from the past)
- Principles of design (i.e., unity, harmony, hierarchy, spatial order)
- Function and social use (ergonomics, comfort, proxemics)
- Design processes (sketching, iterative overlays, model studies, digital modeling, full-scale working prototypes, collage assemblies)
- Material (classification, characteristics, properties, availability, cost)
- Fabrication processes (hand, power, digital)
- Environmental design matters (sustainability, renewable materials, off-gassing)
- Surrounding context (the spatial setting for furniture)
- Professional practice (economic, legal, and business decisions)
A goal in designing furniture is to consider all design aspects in a comprehensive and integrated manner, while maintaining focus and critical engagement upon the primary concepts and ideas that inspire design.
Utilitarian considerations can channel the development and refinement of design ideas but rarely inspire them. Utility is grounded by specific categories of social use, associated with the broader classifications of building and zoning nomenclature. In this book, categories of social use include:
- Health care
- Hospitality
- Institutional
- Office
- Recreational
- Religious
- Residential
- Retail
- Storage
Broad categories of social use are dependent on pa...
