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Matthew Oural
06.09.1983My name is Matthew. I am a product designer. Or maybe just a designer. I think that sounds more intriguing. It's a little bit ambiguous. A lot pretentious. Like Prince.I try to make things that are simple, functional, responsible, and hopefully a little bit playful. Many of the objects in our lives are designed with simplicity in mind, but a lack of tangible interaction frequently leaves us jaded. Fundamental actions, like pushing, pulling, twisting, or turning, are often replaced by less instinctive, at times even automated, processes.My aim is to restore some of those natural behaviors by creating crude, visceral objects that communicate with our senses in a positive way. I feel that good design should elicit both an emotional and intellectual response, without sacrificing either.Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Extra points, redeemable for my gratitude at any time, are available for good music suggestions.
06.09.1983My name is Matthew. I am a product designer. Or maybe just a designer. I think that sounds more intriguing. It's a little bit ambiguous. A lot pretentious. Like Prince.I try to make things that are simple, functional, responsible, and hopefully a little bit playful. Many of the objects in our lives are designed with simplicity in mind, but a lack of tangible interaction frequently leaves us jaded. Fundamental actions, like pushing, pulling, twisting, or turning, are often replaced by less instinctive, at times even automated, processes.My aim is to restore some of those natural behaviors by creating crude, visceral objects that communicate with our senses in a positive way. I feel that good design should elicit both an emotional and intellectual response, without sacrificing either.Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Extra points, redeemable for my gratitude at any time, are available for good music suggestions.
A few recent things:
No matter how short or tall one might be, I think there is an inherent sense of self worth when standing on things. Boxes, houses, hills, thin boards. It really doesn't matter what the object is. Big or small, there is always a feeling of accomplishment.Standing on a podium is even better, because it usually means that you've won something. Or at least lost to the person that won something. Or lost to the person that lost to the person that won something. It's all good.
Uplift is a low stool that is shaped like a podium. It can be used to reach a seldom-used dish in a cabinet above the refrigerator, to help change a light bulb, to get nearer a pesky mosquito, or anything in between. Completing a task should always feel good... and be rewarded with champagne.
One day I was watching a program which featured a segment on barnacles. Intriguing, right? Well, barnacles have these useful little limbs that help them collect and filter food. I thought something similar would come in handy to help refine our lives.I often leave things like magazines, books, and remote controls the remote control (I'm not that fancy... or rich) on the floor, a table, or a chair because I think I'll use them again soon... no, scratch that, I'm just lazy. So, usually, they just sit there for a while and end up getting in the way of fundamental activities like walking, working, and eating. Well, actually, that's not what gets in the way of me working...
Anyway, I thought a simple way to get some those items out of the way, but still keep them in an accessible location, would be to filter them in a manner similar to the barnacles. So, I have tried to do that by creating a very basic stool with a cord threaded through the seat. On top of the stool, the cord acts as a crude cushion, while underneath, it is patterned to allow some of the aforementioned objects to easily slide in and out without getting tangled.
I really like the transformative nature of coat stands. Like plants, their appearances change with the seasons, revealing a variety of colors and textures. However, I often find that they are left bare, isolated in the corner near a door.I felt the best way to solve this would be to create one that would have a sense of life when layered with textiles, but would also provide additonal functionality when not used for that purpose. This lead me to add a drawer and a light.
The drawer has a very basic form and holds all of the things that any normal drawer would. Above, an LED light bulb sits between three dowels that form the coat stand and support the drawer. A textile cable runs from the light socket and secures the structure before entering one of the dowels and emerging beneath the drawer. When turned on, the light can be diffused in a variety of ways, depending on the type of object or fabric that is hanging.
Cling is a very simple black shelf which measures about 120cm long. Several L-shaped hangers, intended to rotate forward when needed, are suspended along a yellow rod underneath the lip of the shelf. Shirts, coats, hats, books, keys, budgies, or just about anything else can rest on the hangers. When not in use, they can rotate back into the shelf, hidden from view. The hangers can also slide across the rod horizontally.
