Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 28
Occupation: Designer.
Instagram: @alexbrokamp
Hometown: Cincinnati.
Studio location: Los Angeles.
Describe what you make: My practice is always striving to further develop and foster my technical and conceptual skills within furniture, lighting, and objects by blending technology, spatial awareness, and craft with an emphasis on design innovation within our ever-changing societal landscape. My products are the result of experimenting with simple shapes that highlight interesting material and color compositions.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Probably my Collate Tables. They were shown at ICFF Studio this past May and were given an NYCxDesign Award. The tables emphasize craft within modern fabrication techniques and celebrate how something is made is equally important as the outcome. Therefore, they are inspired by process art and the hard edge painting movement.
Describe the problem your work solves: I don’t know if my work directly solves any real problems, but when designing new pieces my goal is to instill a meaningful connection between object and consumer that searches for a balance between physical and emotional attraction to an object.
Describe the project you are working on now: I actually just finished an upholstered leather chair referencing the form language and material composition of a Band-Aid, however the chair also draws inspiration from the refined and streamlined aesthetic of automotive interiors. As a result, the piece juxtaposes a playful lighthearted notion with a technically refined look to create a welcome curved silhouette rooted in simple geometries.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m currently getting my master’s degree in environmental design at ArtCenter College of Design and working on a new collection called “Rational Objects for Irrational Thoughts.” The collection will revolve around the idea of superstition.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Coffee, snacks, music, and podcasts.
What you do when you’re not working: Skateboard.
Sources of creative envy: All my professors, Konstantin Grcic, Stefan Diez, Andrew Neyer, Jasper Morrison, Achille Castiglioni, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Ellsworth Kelly, John McCracken, Jonathan Muecke, George Brecht.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Worrying too much.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts.
Dark or light? Light.
