Dimensions: 21" (533mm) deep x 19" (482mm) wide x 18" (457mm) high - seat at 8.5"
Materials: Injection Molded Polypropylene (two pieces)
Designer: Karim Rashid, purchased by Offi & Company

The Kapsule Chair won the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Silver Award in the consumer products division in 2002. Not only does the chair encapsulate everything that makes Karim Rashid a brilliant and wildly popular designer especially for kids beds and kids bedroom furniture, but also stuffed animals and other such toys. The opening in the back allows the chair to double as both a fun, comfortable chair and as a plaything storage device. To read the full story on Mr. Rashid, scroll south…

The Story:

I feel a little nervous trying to sum up Karim Rashid as a designer in the short space below. He is the first product designer whose name I ever knew, before I even knew exactly what a product designer was. I distinctly remember my Mom returning home from a trip to The Container Store with a simple but beautiful trash can. I thought, ‘that is pretty cool’, and threw a balled up sketch into it.

Years later, it is a proud moment to incorporate a product from that same designer into the catalog of my own company. Behold, the story of Karim Rashid:

[the wastebasket for Umbra, his chess set, and the cover of his book 'Evolution']

He was born in Cairo in 1960 to an Egyptian father and an English mother. Raised in Canada, he attended Carleton University in Ottowa before setting off for Italy. There, his education continued under such luminaries as Ettore Sottsass (think Valentine Portable Typewriter or Carlton Room Divider, the multi-colored, oddly-angled geometric bookcase from the ‘80s).

I’ve read more than one article stating that Rashid believes in a ‘holistic approach to design’. Sometimes, I am not entirely sure what that means. I suppose it could mean that the sum of the parts is more beautiful than the parts themselves. Perhaps it refers to the way a design can affect not just an activity but also a life. Then again, maybe he is referring to submersing one’s self totally in style and function.

I think it means designing for living. As consumers, we purchase things and then live with them, sometimes for the rest of our lives. They may affect the way we sit, the way we entertain, maybe even the way we feel, and if so, then it affects the way we think, too.

This is what Rashid addresses with his designs.

His style often reflects the type of underground music culture he once surrounded himself with as a former DJ. Whether that means a certain disregard for design “rules” or an uber-hip level of extremeness (usually represented in his curves), it is for the viewer to decide.

He exploded onto the modern design scene with the aforementioned wastebasket for Umbra, and quickly followed it up with the equally popular “Oh Chair”.

The design world soon became his oyster, and Rashid took advantage of it. He explored his love of form through projects like chess sets, lamps, clocks, and vases. He explored his love of form AND function through projects like couches, eating utensils, more lamps, and yes, a DJ booth.

[the appropiately titled 'Ego Vase'- a vase whose form is derived from the profile of Rashid's face rotated 360 degrees, the 'Oh Chair', his DJ Booth, and the 'Kite Chair']

Since conquering product design, Rashid has moved into interior design and architecture. His successes have included the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and the Semiramas Hotel in Athens.

His website claims he has put some 2000 objects into production, all while earning an Honorary Doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and Design, a 2005 Pratt Legends Award (from the same school The Design Can founders attended), a 2002 ID Magazine Best of Category Award, and the 2003 Award for Best Retail Store in the USA.

His work is in the permanent collection of 14 museums worldwide including MoMAs on both coasts. He has published several books including “Design Your Self” a guide to living a well-designed life, “Digipop” a digital exploration of computer graphics, and his own entry into the Compact Design Portfolio book series. He has also published two monographs titled “Evolution” and “I Want to Change the World”.

Despite all this, American audiences may best know him as that incredibly tall judge who always wore white suits and giant pink glasses on the USA Network reality show “Made in the USA”. The show attempted to use an American Idol-like format to award one team of everyday inventors/entrepreneurs a one-year contact with the Home Shopping Network. Woohoo.

I am not sure who won that prize or with what product, but I have no doubt it was designed “holistically” (but was probably not near as holistic or as brilliant as the Kapsule Chair!).