Hasta La Ideas

Nine products designed to look like other things

While the MoMA store’s product preview always has us excited for the shopping year ahead, a few designs stood out for their “faux” ingenuity. Below are nine objects cleverly designed to resemble other objects, making for a new way to enjoy an old favorite. Check the
MoMA store site this spring to buy them and peruse consumer expert Rob Walker’s blog Things That Look Like Other Things for more illusory inspiration.

Loose Leaf Door Stop

Thai designer Teerachai Suppameteekulwat’s green leaf-shaped doorstop ($14) adds a bit of brightness to the home while propping open a door to let in springtime air. Tapered to fit beneath most doors, it’s made of polypropylene.

Toast It Coaster

This set of six cork coasters ($10) might make you pine for butter and jam while enjoying your morning brew. The toast-shaped surface protectors, designed by Patricia Naves, even come packed like a loaf of bread.

Watermelon Knife

Forged from Japanese carbon steel, this serrated watermelon knife ($25) has a playfully eerie resemblance to the fruit it’s meant to slice. The knife features an ergonomic design to make cutting through the thick shell of Citrullus Lanatus (or any other melon) easier so that you can enjoy a juicy treat without too much effort.

Tea Bag Infuser

Drawing inspiration from traditional teabags, Claus Jensen and Henrick Holbaek‘s infuser ($30) updates paper versions for a more eco-friendly and (some would say) better-tasting version. The stainless steel and wire infuser can make pots or cups of tea and its rubber base helps it stay put.

Prato Umbrella Stand

Naoki Terada’s umbrella holder ($35), a MoMA exclusive, brings a mini lawn to even the most compact apartments. Cute and functional, the grass patch can hold up to twenty umbrellas and is made of steel and synthetic resin.

Couture Flower Vase

On first glance Sayaka Nishinami’s beautifully-crafted vase ($24) appears to have a delicate lace sleeve around the base. But it’s the effect of matte porcelain that creates the effect on what is actually a seamless design.

Leaf Tray

Argentine design collective VacaValiente ($18) is known for recycling leather into happiness. Their Leaf Tray, which functions as a catch-all for the house, embodies the firm’s optimistic approach.

Faux Bois Placemat

The digitally-printed vinyl placemats ($12) by NYC-based designer Sandy Chilewich bring the outdoors inside. The result is a little rustic harmony for the kitchen table with a woodgrain pattern that, unlike its real-life counterpart, wipes clean easily.

In addition to his exhibit at the MoMA, Arad will now also be honored at the Moroso headquarters in New York. He’s produced some iconic furniture over the years, as well as a number of incredibly fluid architectural pieces (I particularly like his Design Museum in Holon Israel). Check out more work on the Ron Arad Associates website.

via Azure

Paula Scher and Co. over at Pentagram, along with Julia Hoffmann, MoMA’s Creative Director for Graphics and Advertising, have developed a new identity system for The Museum of Modern Art in NYC. To see the system in all its glory click here.