VERNOR PANTON
IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR AND FORM
After watching everyone’s Pichi Kichi presentations, one designer that stood out to me was Vernor Panton. I think that’s because of the bold and abstract colourful nature of his designs. It’s almost difficult for it not to stand out. I decided to look a bit further and give some opinions about his work.
Vernor Panton sitting on the Living Tower, 1969
This combination of colour and simplistic geometric shapes has helped Vernor to become one of the most influential designers of the second half of the 21st century, with his focus mainly being on furniture. He’s one of those designers who I’d seen a lot of their work but couldn’t have told you he was the one that had designed it. It has been interesting to look into this and research his different works over the years.
Panton Chair, 1967Development Sketches Chair Prototype with SupportsThe Panton Chair is arguably his most famous piece of work. First released in 1967 for Vitra this chair was the first of its kind, a cantilever chair manufactured from a single piece of plastic. I found these images interesting from Vitras promotional material showing some rough design sketches of the chair as well as an early prototype of the chair, featuring supports on the underside. This chair is not something I would really have though much about. I think it is an interesting design, but I would not have considered it an innovation in Plastics. I guess we are just so used to seeing mass produced plastic chairs now that it’s difficult to remember where it all started. It really was an innovation, with fifteen to twenty manufacturers all declining to make the chair for different reasons. When Vitra finally got involved and the chair was released it was an instant hit, the radical new curves and bright colours were praised within the design community. I always think how cool it must have been to be at the forefront of rapid change like this. From my perspective this chair doesn’t look that radical, but at the time it was a game changer.
Set of Panton ChairsI’m unsure what I really think of this chair. I am generally not a fan of many of the plastic chairs that exist nowadays often looking ugly and sort of cheap. I feel like you can tell that this is expensive but when you look at it you still see a cheap material. I struggle to look past this. In my eyes you can’t get much better than the classic wood, metal or fabric for a chair. When you see it in a setting, the unique nature of the shape and form almost transcends the material but when you really think about it, it’s a lump of plastic. It’s undeniably a great and innovative design that has lasted decades, still being sold to this day. I can see why this chair made him popular, but I think it is far from his best work.
Visiona II, 1970What really caught my eye was his attempts to not just modernise furniture but modernise the entire room or space as shown famously in his exhibition, Visiona II in 1970. It’s a whole new take on interior design, rather than filling the space with furniture the space becomes one with the furniture. To me this is so much more interesting than his most famous chair. It’s no surprise this never exactly took off with the public. Looking at pictures from this it’s difficult not be in awe of the visual experience he crafted. Almost reminiscent of a child’s playpark or something out of a sci-fi movie. The delicate blend of bright and energetic colours worked into extremely abstract wavey forms, the walls themselves creating natural crevices for places to sit. This is so effective, especially when considering the context of promoting innovative new synthetic materials. Compared to his counterparts at the time, focusing on woods and natural fabrics, Panton was thinking ahead fully embracing plastic materials, steel, foam and rubber.
He had commercial products that embraced this approach, most notably the living tower he was shown sitting on at the start of this blog. Released a year prior to his Visiona Exhibition, you can see the same influences clear as day in both. The 60s was a time with great domestic focus, and you can see that come into play in this design. There are plenty of spaces to sit, lots of choice or room for the whole family. It completely transforms the space it inhabits (you would hope so for the price). Instead of just sitting around a table or on a couch you are within the same three-dimensional structure and space. It’s such an intriguing concept to me, a complete departure from anything at the time or even today. I think design should create these feeling of intrigue.
The Living Tower, Released 1969It appeals to your childlike sense of wonder, something that is often lost in later life. Something about sitting at height, for no practical reason other than because you want to. Simply because it’s fun. And to me that makes it great design. It may not be to everyone’s tastes and you’d probably have to have a lovely expensive home to make this work, but it is cool none the less.
Now onto some of his more normal scaled furniture options, which I still feel capture this radical design approach in a more manageable form factor. The Amoebe chair was released around the same time as the Visiona II exhibition, with clear links to the flowing design language.
Amoebe Chair, 1970The feet and seat blending into one continuous flowing shape. There is a low back option and a high back option where this flow increases up around your head. The ultra-modern design is another statement piece, like many of his other works, designed to stand out in a space as opposed to blending in. I feel like the high back variant does a better job at this. I’m honestly not convinced by the lower back version.
When you see this chair in different contexts, I think the high back version gives a very different feel, standing out in its surroundings. I can’t help but feel the low back version looks very ‘modern corporate office’, especially in a lot of the photos circulating around. This might be harsh. I feel like these designs benefit from being more out there, and toning it back loses the sense of charm and intrigue which I immediately found so attractive.
Two Level Seat, 1973There is also a variant of this that is similar, with a second seat above. A sort of in between concept of this chair and the living tower. Again, this benefits from that sense of wonder. It’s different. You don’t see many chairs with a second floor. At the same time, you can also see why it was not a commercial success.
Panto Pop, 1969Heart Cone Chair, 1958Relaxer, 1974These are some more of his successful commercial chairs that are a sort of departure from your traditional chairs. The Panto Pop, designed to slot together and stack is a simple and thin plastic construction. It’s big and bulky and hardly practical but again there is something fun about it. The Heart Cone chair is another that is associated closely as one of Panton’s best designs. Again, it features that similar option of choice. You can lean against either side of the heart shapes backs and still be comfortable. The Relaxer looks like quite a departure from the other bits of furniture I have shown in this blog. With the exposed wood material that seems rare on many of his most popular designs. Again, I think this just looks fun. A rocking chair taken to the extreme. I want to sit in it. I want to try it out. Shouldn’t a good chair inspire those kinds of thoughts?
Pantonova, 1971Panton Wire Cube, 1971Pantonova Lounge ChairHis most appealing work to me, in a sense that I would like to own them, would be his furniture that includes exposed metal wire. It’s the perfect blend of this playful colourful nature combined with a sleek and clean metal backdrop. Still a statement piece, but slightly more subdued and able to blend into the surroundings. The Pantonova is modular with different concave and convex curves allowing the set to suit the user’s needs. It can be left bare to expose the metal or can be combined with a range of colourful cushions in line with his other designs. I feel like this gives a unique illusion that the cushions are almost floating. This can be seen again on the lounge chair variant of this design and the wire cube shelving. Discrete and classy, the wires allow the cushions or the items on the shelf to become the focal point.
In summary I feel like Panton’s designs, in their bright array of colours and wacky forms, appeal to that child within all of us. There’s something fun and playful about his work, and I think that’s important. So many things today take simplicity and modernism too far with a clear lack of passion. People shouldn’t be afraid of bright colours; they should embrace them.