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EXPLORE JONATHAN LOUIS PRODUCTS
By Collection
By Product
Jonathan Louis x Otis College of Art & Design Class
Read our last installation? Go ahead and skip the intro.
Developing the next generation of talent is a big part of our ethos (see here, and here for our talent development series). We’ve extended our efforts outside of our four walls to Otis College of Art & Design. From installations to trends, Otis students have been active participants in our market-focused endeavors.
This spring, we continued our collaboration with Otis College to sponsoring a Product Development Studio I class. Open to third-year students, the class is a hands-on, “project-based course bringing consumer products from concept to market.” The goal of class is to better understand how to incorporate practicalities like manufacturing into the design, and “to gain a greater understanding of how to translate a concept into a product for sale in the market.”
The Chair Project x JL Makers Fund
We are in our 4th year partnering with Otis College and our collaboration is ever- evolving. Javier Sanchez (CEO) and Heidi Gonzalez (VP of Product Development) are advisors for a Product Development class, where they teach students about the sofa and furniture industry. JL continued the tradition of donating toward course materials and to the Jonathan Louis Making Fund, which is available for students to apply. Material cost is a huge burden on Otis design students and we are excited about being able to provide some support to future designers.
Chairs by: Kaitlyn Pak, Emily Rodriguez, Allison Kim
The Project
For the 2024 chair project, students were asked to create a chair that would fit their own body and was made with a hard and soft component. To kick off the project, we met to review their concepts, and during finals week we provided a review of their creations. During the review, the students presented their inspiration, challenges and learnings. It was inspiring to see their designs come to life-- some students had never built a product before, and a few were not even product development students. Javier was impressed by the students' creativity when unconstrained by real-world limitations. While some designs were unconventional, many showed great potential.
Chairs by: Sofia Leff, Taly Ferrante, Choi Hyeongjun
The Yellow Chair
Sofia Leff's creation was the yellow chair with rope detailing. The inspiration behind the chair was to create an heirloom for her family in memory of her grandfather. To utilize meaningful materials, she had her grandmother find her grandfather’s old fishing equipment and she created a chair that could be passed down through the family.
Chairs by: Joemar Pigao, Etienne Venet, Lily Nguyen-Wilson
Flat-Pack Chair
Inspired by flatpack furniture and seashells, Lily Nguyen-Wilson created a sculpture-like chair. Utilizing CNC cutting technology, she carefully cut each piece of the chair. Although she had planned for a veneer finish., unforeseen challenges led her to paint the pieces seafoam green. To complete the look, she added a round, white pillow resembling a pearl.
