T.O.T.E.M.
Entryway Furniture
Client
Creapole ESDI
Production
Egypt + France
Scope
Concept Creation
Ideation
Persona development
Design
Prototype Development
Finalizing Look
Stop Motion Animation
Question
How can the entrance of a home be reimagined?
What does this space symbolize?
Note: this project was completed in French, but has mostly been translated into English.
It was also developed for a European market, ideal for small spaces.
House vs Home.
Is there anything distinct about what turns a house in a home? What makes the difference? This question was central to creating this piece of furniture.
The Danish concept of hygge makes all the difference.
First Contact.
The entrance is a passage between the restlessness of the outer world and the tranquility of the inner world. It is your first encounter with your home.
Everyday Actions.
Everyday, we practice certain rituals as we leave our homes and upon our return, as we move from the social space into the intimate space of our homes.
Personas + Rituals
First I had to analyze what happens in these in-between moments of transition: what do we take, what do we hang up, what do we put on, what do we take off, etc.
I created 5 personas with vastly different lifestyles and identities. Then, I looked into the items, actions, and rituals they practiced upon returning and before leaving their home. These rituals were broken down into seasons (as our needs change the seasons), year round rituals, and actions specific to their lifestyles.
The Personas were as follows:
Clément — Mr. Adventurer
Selena — Miss Animal Lover
Robin & Claire — Mr. & Mrs. Bobo
David — Mr. Nocturnal
Leila — Miss Welcoming
(her rituals are outlined on the left side)
Note: persona research was conducted in French.
Design: With this insight, I aimed to design a structure that would assist us during our transitions between the two juxtaposing worlds and welcome our personal belongings that journey with us every day.
The result is TOTEM, a hybrid product which combines furniture and small objects to optimize the use of vertical space in smaller homes and allow us to customize and personalize its setup however it suits our homes and our needs.
From Ideation to Creation.
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1/ Maquette
Building paper maquettes to bring sketches to life, while making use of the vertical space in small European apartments.
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2/ Base
The block base that everything else is built on, with 28 slots for stems to plug into and create unique combinations moving up.
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3/ Building
Exploring different combinations, where bases can be combined for a larger space. You can achieve different heights with plugs.
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4/ Building Blocks
The stems will be the building blocks added to the base to climb to the appropriate height needed for the user.
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5/ All The Pieces
The concept of TOTEM lies on these eleven pieces that were designed to create endless combinations to house your belonging.
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6/ Material
Each of the pieces is crafted out of yellow pine (Mosky) wood. The grains add to the Scandinavian inspiration of TOTEM.
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7/ The Nest
Above the stems are 4 different types of plugs. This nest plug is optimized to hold smaller items & also have slots for your mail.
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8/ Copper
I worked with a craftsman to create a hammered copper insert inside the nest plug so when you drop your keys inside, it ‘clinks’ to awaken your auditory memory.
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9/ Combinations
Here are the 4 plugs represented and sitting at various heights to house your belongings moving in and out of your home.
Process: I traveled to Egypt to find craftsmen to prototype TOTEM. I worked with a local carpenter and I found one of the last hammered copper artisans in the streets of the Khan El Khalili bazar. Once complete, I transported all the pieces back to France.
Flat-lay setup for photoshoot in Paris photograph studio
Setting up scenario for Persona Mr. Adventurer -- Clément
Building out different TOTEM combinations
Stems arranged in especially made pouch for easy access and transportation
The Final Product:
T.O.T.E.M. To Observe, To Express Myself
Inspired by nature, and designed to evolve with you, TOTEM allows you to express your creativity by building it according to your needs... Now it’s up to you to shape your own landscape!
Features
multifunctional hybrid product
designed to optimize use of vertical space
no nails, just interlocking wood
personalize it’s set-up to suit your space
adaptable piece of furniture that can change according to your needs
hammered copper detailing inside ‘the nest’ piece, to illicit auditory memory to kick in with the ritual invovled
TOTEM
build/unbuild
A stop motion animation I put together of the process of building a TOTEM combination, and displaying numerous set-ups for TOTEM to suit your needs.
TOTEM
your stories
Inspired by the personas I created to study the actions, rituals and items needed for transitioning between in+out, here the personas come to life and actually use TOTEM in their day.
