Interviews with Yu Hiraoka
Designer profileDesign Interview
5 May 2016 · Phantom II Magical Coat Rack
Phantom II is a humorous coat rack which does a little 'trick' to customers. I mean it makes you see a phantom in your house!
I'm planning to showcase the prototype at a few important exhibitions. One will be the Milan Design Week next year.
I came up with the basic concept roughly two years ago. And I have developed the idea and form.
Anyone who appreciates good minimal furniture, and someone who like a little humor in the house.
I think I have seen designs with same humorous concepts in table designs and stool designs, but I haven't seen one in coat rack design.
Because of its clear stick, it can create an illusion that your coats on hooks look like they are in the air in a dark room as though you see a phantom there.
A couple of different 3D software.
Aesthetic combination of wood and plexiglass.
I asked advice about production techniques from a big workshop. I had useful advice from them.
The CNC has a very big role to produce this furniture. I think that using CNC is still not a conventional thing to produce furniture in general.
I didn't do any proper research, but I did feel that composing furniture without screws or glues have gotten trendy.
In my first design of this coat rack, the structure was fragile to function as a coat rack and after I came over it, the next problem was high production cost. I came over that, too. But I would face more challenges as I keep going further with this project. It's just a normal thing.
When I did the first rendering of this project, I instantly felt that it can win. Well, that's how I decided!