At a time where product design is at its most accessible, and interior design and architecture has made its way to a widespread, global appreciation, it’s ironic to notice good design, genuine design, and innovative design is increasingly difficult to come across. Cheap materials, impractical design, and ever-controversial replica furniture flood the market blind-siding even the most well meaning consumer.
Perhaps this is why, now more than ever, it’s important to recognize industry players furthering the cause.
Established in 1997, Blu Dot was the brainchild of two architects (Maurice Blanks and John Christakos) and a sculptor (Charlie Lazor), after Maurice and John, fresh out of college and looking to fill their homes with furniture that reflected their passion for art, architecture and design, didn’t like the pieces they could afford and couldn’t afford those that they did. So they sought to bring modern American design to an affordable market.
And every day in the two decades since, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
So it stands to reason they be recognised not only for their contribution to the industry and those who consume it, but for the designs they produce as they stand on their own.
Blu Dot has proudly received the 2018 National Design Award for Product Design as awarded by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
“Many people in the U.S. did not have a reference for good design. These guys helped to define what modern design was to popular culture.” So says Rob Forbes, Founder of Design Within Reach and member of the 2018, interdisciplinary jury.
The awards series as a whole were conceived as a way to honour lasting achievement in American design and awarded to those in recognition of excellence and innovation achieved. In Cooper Hewitt’s own words, the awards “celebrates design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.”
If industry recognition doesn’t get your accountant over the line on some Blu Dot pieces for your own residence, perhaps some more traditional tactics will: from now until 30th June, all Blu Dot designs are 20 per cent off – no exclusions. So whether it’s the addition of a set of the iconic Real Good Chairs around your dining table, a Field Lounge Chair in the corner of your bedroom, or a selection of pieces from the Dang Collection that’s been missing, the time is certainly now and the price is most definitely right.
Blu Dot
bludot.com.au
