Fun and functionality of Karim Rashid’s chairs

Trippy. Colorful. Candy. These are the words that came to mind when I first came across pictures of furniture designed by Karim Rashid. He was born in Egypt, raised in Canada, and now lives in New York City. Maybe his experience of different cultures has had an impact on his designs, who knows for sure? But some things are certain: he is a force to be reckoned with in the design industry, and his pieces are seen and appreciated in commercial settings in various places all over the world.

Take the Love Seat, for example. It doesn’t look anything like your typical contract hotel furniture. Actually, I don’t think it was designed for a hotel setting at all. In fact, Rashid created it especially for champagne-maker Veuve Clicquot (hence the receptacle for a bottle of champagne separating the two seats). But there is at least one hotel that prominently features the Rashid Love Seat – in the lobby, no less – and it’s the Murano Urban Resort in Paris, France. Looking like large flower petals, it fits in rather well with the hotel’s playful design scheme.

Another example of Rashid’s bright and unconventional chairs is the Poly. It doesn’t have the soft curves for which many of his other designs are known, but they do capture his sense of fun and play. Despite its geometric look, it doesn’t come across as stiff. It’s made from polycarbonate and the back and seat, though having different surfaces, do not clash. And the chair does more than just look good; extensive planning and testing were done to make sure it provides optimum comfort as well. The Poly chairs can be stacked together and are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

It’s part of Rashid’s design philosophy, which is informed by factors like form, vision, contemporary culture, human experience, and physical and mental interaction. Beauty ties it all together. After all, he says, beauty is a collective human need.