Limited Edition Design Dolls is a series of three figurines of famous designers, featuring Zaha Hadid, Jaime Hayon and Karim Rashid.
They are created by Olivia Lee, who graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London in June 2008.
The series comes from the observation that “today, designer personalities are quite literally become synonymous with the objects they design.”
Here’s some text from Lee:
‘Limited Edition Design Dolls’ is the graduating project of Olivia Lee a recent graduate from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. It came from the observation that increasingly today, designer personalities are quite literally become synonymous with the objects they design.
In studying the visual characteristics and distinct personalities of the designers as well as their products, I wondered what would happen if I merge these two entities together.
What would happen if the designer became a product? How would that differ from the designer being closely associated with the product? Would the designers appreciate such a project? And what implications would their varied reactions have in relation to the culture of design?
The project started of as quite an introspective one and was born when I realised that I had a very well-organised collection of brochures and material from design festivals, I had massive collection of photographs of pure furniture and I faithfully attended design lectures as well as I could. I started to wonder if maybe I was a little weird, obsessive and if other people like me existed.
The process involved carefully studying the aesthetics of the designer’s work as well as their public persona. What is interesting is that without having to consult them, I only needed a search engine and the College library to do my research which goes to show how accessible their personalities and work are.
The most challenging aspect of executing these figures was finding the right balance between the figurative caricature of the designers and the references to their objects. But it was also very fun finding the links, for example between Zaha Hadid’s FLOW vases and her love for weary Issey Miyake coats and black dresses.
The project welcomes all discussion, opinions and feedback which was its ultimate aim and hopes that the designers will take it in good sport.’
