A young pioneer in the making
An award-winning designer from Solihull has found himself at the centre of the design world and having recently won an award for one of his iconic creations, things are about to get even busier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BVHQYMw8B4
An award-winning designer from Solihull has found himself hailed as one of the most exciting designers in the country, and having recently won acclaim for one of his iconic creations, things are about to get even busier.
See pictures of Majid's other designs in our gallery below.
Solihull designer Majid Asif is a wanted man. Since he came up with the Tetra Lamp, a design inspired by the iconic Tetra Pak containers, the twenty-five-year-old has been asked to exhibit in London and Milan, has lectured at universities across the country and featured in several leading design magazines.
Majid was also invited to take part in a photo shoot with U2's Bono as part of the singer's RED Campaign at Liberty's department store in London, where Majid exhibited his paper mache armchair.
The exhibition, called Trash Lux, featured a collection of recycled furniture created by a host of international designers in a bid to raise funds to help fight AIDS in Africa.
At this year's Interiors Birmingham show, which ended at the NEC on Wednesday, Majid's Tetra Lamp (below) won him the coveted Young Designers Award for the second year running, despite tough competition from a host of other design graduates.
And he's managed to do all this on top of his day job as a furniture designer in Northampton, to which he commutes daily from his home in Shirley.
"It's an ongoing journey for me," he laughs. "I'm not sure how these things happen but they just seem to come together!"
Fortunately, Majid says he's happiest when he's busy.
"I can't stand the thought of not being active or having nothing to do. I see life as a world of opportunity and believe the sky has no limit!
He's thrilled with the recognition he's received and but has kept his feet firmly on the ground.
"I'm not from a wealthy background and I've had to work very hard," he says.
"But I've always had a passion for design – at uni I often ventured into the jewellery workshop or a company's workshop to ask technicians every possible question about manufacturing."
Majid says at the heart of all of his designs is an ethos of creating minimum waste. He recycles materials such as waste paper, sheet metal and polypropylene.
His 'Tetra Lamp' is made from semi-sandblasted polypropylene and battery-powered LED lights, with an integrated keyhole which allows them to be mounted onto walls.
"Because the lamps are battery powered, there are no plugs and cables to trip over, so they can be carried anywhere and used in any environment," says Majid.
Watch the video below to see how the Tetra Lamp works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BVHQYMw8B4
Majid uses paper during the modelling stages of a new product.
"The two-dimensional qualitites of paper helped me to develop an understanding of waste material and see how much is wasted as a result of producing a product.
"It made me think more carefully about the way I use material and hopefully I can inspire other people to do the same."
You can find out more about Majid and his company, Masif Designs, at www.masifdesigns.com
By Lara Page
See pictures of Majid's other designs in the gallery below.
The Tetra Lamp - "These are a fun and user friendly product which have great aesthetic appeal on a desk, on the floor and even in the garden," says Majid.
The paper mache armchair - "There are 18 layers of newspaper on an inflatable chair," says Majid. "Early on in the project I found that with minor reinforcement, the balloon chair was strong enough to withstand the weight of 100kgs. The reason for this is the fact that the egg form is one of the strongest three-dimensional forms in the world."
The modular wine rack - "I attempt to design products which are simplistic in nature and which consumers can relate to on more than one level," says Majid.
The 'Phantom Chair' - "Sheet metal fabrication is great because producing a linear fold is easier and more cost effective than attempting to produce a curve with any metal," says Majid. "The Phantom Chair aimed to replace as many curves as possible on the original Panton Chair by Verner Panton."
The modular bookcase - "I enjoy experimenting and exploring a variety of different machine-based and labour-based production processes," says Majid. "I often like to simplify designs to the bare essential compnents that allow a product to function."
