Diptych New Window x Lex Pott

Most products begin their life cycle as a sketch. The designer lends form to an idea and goes on to refine this crystallised concept. Material, finish and colour follow later. Very few designers approach their work in the way that Lex Pott does. He has a fondness for wood and metal and enjoys letting their properties guide his work. Instead of dictating the form of an object, he lets it emerge organically from the material he is using. Pott's approach of zooming-in on a material, thereby uncovering its essence, is very much in sync with the philosophy behind the initiative New Window – started by cultural initiator Woes van Haaften – and therefore Pott was the ideal first participant.

New Window is an online platform and design label that gives an insight into the making process of art and design. New Window – that centres on Van Haaften's collaboration with various designers – explains where things come from, who made them, why and how. This makes it a very contemporary project: it documents a process. The focus is on neither the end product nor the designer.

For New Window, Pott drew inspiration from Dutch pine. While experimenting with this softwood, he discovered that the annual growth rings are separated from one another by a softer material. By sandblasting the timber and removing this material, he exposed the unique patterns that lie hidden in every tree. Only then did Pott begin to consider functionality. What can you make out of pieces of wood featuring whimsical, lattice-like patterns? Pott created eight products, among others a room divider, a set of combs and a cabinet. The series of products were given the name Diptych.

The entire process of the collaboration between New Window and Lex Pott, from the first moment of inspiration until the final outcome, is now beautifully captured in the book Diptych. This book will encourage designers who struggle with materials and satisfy the curiosity of every consumer who wants to know how products are made.

Features

• Covering the whole process of how designer Lex Pott came to his designs of the series Diptych.
• An inspirational 88-page book filled with process photos which are accompanied by explanatory texts from Lex Pott and Woes van Haaften.
• Stunning product photography by Raw Color.
• An interview by Jeroen Junte with initiator Woes van Haaften and designer Lex Pott, capturing the collaboration of the New Window project. 

Publication Details

• Released April 2014
• Frame Publishers
• Written by Woes van Haaften and Lex Pott
• Graphic design by Mainstudio
• English
• 88 pages / full colour / soft cover
• 230 x 308 mm
• ISBN 978-94-91727-90-0
• €15.00 (excluding shipping costs)