“Sharp and straightforward” is how Note Design Studio describes the Candid chair. The hard edges and pure geometry of the dining chair required excellent craftsmanship to make possible. Product designer Malin Engvall says: “Of all the companies, we knew Zilio A&C could produce something very minimalistic, and perfect in the detailing.”
Through hand sketches, the team realised a bold idea for a straight-legged chair with a strong expression and slim dimensions. They discovered that turning the rectilinear legs towards the seat would give Candid a different appearance depending on how it was viewed – changing from a series of thin planes to more solid elements. Engvall says: “This small change made such a big impact. It influenced everything in the design.” The designers chose a stained ash finish that makes a feature of the woodgrain and emphasises the chair’s plain and honest character.
Staying true to the concept while achieving a chair that was feasible for production was a process that took one and a half years. “It’s a classic problem. You design a chair that looks really simple, but is really hard to produce” says Kristoffer Fagerström, product designer and partner at Note. As a multi-disciplinary studio, Note’s product designers also had to convince its interior architects that this would be a functional and comfortable dining chair, as well as visually unique. Although the project emerged from a brief by Zilio A&C, the studio’s interior architects were also looking a light, robust and minimal chair that they believed was lacking in the marketplace.
Zilio A&C’s expertise in timber frame construction meant that the chair could be made producible without compromising the original idea. Unlike one with angled legs, a straight-legged chair requires more effort in its construction to remain sturdy and stable. The joints between legs, backrest and seat are neatly resolved, and reveal nothing of the hard work they are doing. “The part we spent the most time prototyping is actually hidden under the seat,” says Fagerström. “The frame is really cleverly constructed by Zilio. When you turn the chair upside down, it’s like looking at a piece of art.”
The end result is a chair that proves it can be minimal yet strong too. Candid has passed UNI EN 1728: a standard test for determining strength and durability in seating.
Although it may look austere, Candid surprises everyone with how comfortable it is. “If it was as hard to sit in as it looks that would be counterproductive,” says Fagerström. “There is an ‘a -ha!’ moment when you find that it is actually really comfortable.” Moving between paper and wood prototypes, Note Design Studio and Zilio A&C were able to find the sweet spot between comfort and looks, and deliver a chair that would be accommodating for long dinners in a restaurant or at home.
View more on Candid product page here.
Text by Riya Patel
Art direction by Tentsen