Winner Announced

The Top 6x6 blog entries have now been judged and the outright winner is Chris Herman.

The judges were Chris Connell, Sue Carr, Soren Luckins, Maurice Terzini and Oliver Kratzer, who were all presenters at the Top 6x6 event, held at Space Furniture on 20 July 2010.

Congratulations to Chris Herman, whose top 6 design icons can be seen below.  Chris wins the Zanotta Sciangai Coat Stand valued at $1,380, kindly supplied by Space Furniture.

Congratulations also to the runners up; Giovanni Mendini, Suzy Tuxen, David Williamson, Amy Johnstone and Egle Findlay.

Chris Herman's Top 6 Design Icons

Citroen DS designed by Bertoni, 1955-1975, hydro pneumatic self-levelling suspension, first production car with electronic disc brakes.

 

Volkswagen posters by Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1959 onwards, redefined product advertising, Futura Font.

 

 

Fiskars scissors, 1967, Finland, Fiskars Orange registered as trademark in 2003, colour choice was made by ‘accident’ when machinist used remaining orange coloured plastic upon prototyping the original product.
  

Original iPod by Apple, 2001, portable media player, at least 260,000,000 units sold so far.

 

Fender Stratocaster Olympic White by Leo Fender, 1954, ash/alder body with maple neck construction, three identical single coil pickups switched 3 way, Synch Tremolo. 

 

Boyd Walsh Street House by Robin Boyd, 1959, introverted yet social design, arguably Boyd’s best example of his structural-functionalist architectural style.

Amy Johnstone's Top 6 Design Icons

Lomo LC-A, 1984, fixed lens, 35mm film, leaf shutter, zone focus, compact camera. 

Moleskin, 19th and 20th century, originally handmade by small French bookbinders.

Christiania Bike, 1976, Christiania, Copenhagen, Christiania Smedie.

Riso Print Gocco, 1977, self-contained compact color printing system invented by Noboru Hayama.

Phillips UFO portable record player, 1969, Patrice Du Pont.

 

Swedish Kroanan Bicycle, 1970s, Swedish Military Bicycles, Swedish Army









 

Megha Balakrishnan's Top 6 Design Icons

These images are by photographer Hari Menon.  They were taken for his portfolio when touring India.  These images talk to me about India and its strong religiously interwoven society.  They provoke in the mind of someone unaccustomed to India's traditions, the essence of the country better than anything else.

Evening Blues by Hari Menon, March 2009

 
Silhouette by Hari Menon, March 2009

 

Prayer by Hari Menon, March 2009

 

 



Routes of Belief by Hari Menon, March 2009

Immortal: Hampi Hanuman Kingdom by Hari Menon, April 2009

Filling the Faith by Hari Menon, May 2009

Egle Findlay's Top 6 Design Icons

"Unikko" textile design by Maija Isola, head designer at Marimekko 1964
Scandanavian brilliance.
 















Chanel No 5 perfume bottle, 1921
Beauty, elegance and style perfectly captured in one little bottle.
 

Bialetti Moka Express coffee maker, 1933
A perfect balance of fabulous form and functionality.
 

Tomato can labels.
Graphic design in its most joyfull form
 

Levi Straus& Co began 1853
Still fashionable and sexy after 150 years.
 

Banana Lounge
No "designer" name and no "designer" price tag- but one great design.

Giovanni Mendini's Top 6 Design Icons

Catalogue d'Objet Impossible

Fender Stratocaster Leo Fender 1954

Ducati 916 Massimo Tamburini 1994

 

sony-walkman

Muji CD Player Naoto Fukasawa 1999

Zippo George Blaisdell 1933

Suzy Tuxen's Top 6 Design Icons

An iconic era of mid-century Modernist furniture Photograph, Playboy Magazine 1961 featuring (l to r) George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom
Some of the best mid-century modernist furniture designers captured in this incredible 'Mad Men' style photograph for Playboy in 1961.

Flash Pattern wallpaper by Eley Kishimoto

This exclusive wallpaper was produced for interior collaborations and for the Eley Kishimoto flagship store [which closed in 2005].

Tottenham Court Road tube station tiles by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
The 1980s design includes panels of tessellated mural mosaic by Eduardo Paolozzi, and is a distinct and noticeable feature of the station. The mosaic's frenetic design is intended to reflect the station's position adjacent to Tottenham Court Road's large concentration of hi-fi and electronics shops.

Upside-down store, Milan by Viktor & Rolf, 2005
The Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf opened this vertigo-inducing shop in 2005.

 Herb Lubalin logos

Marriage (top) 1965, Mother & Child (middle) 1966, Families (bottom) 1980.

Letraset product catalogue, 1990
A wonderful typographic reference book.

Jess Caffin's Top 6 Design Icons

Frank Gehry for Tiffany's

Archigram - Walking City

Itunes Genius

Ikea chair

Missoni Textiles






 













Human eyes

Shane Loorham Top 6 Design Icons

Montreal Biosphère at Expo 67 (and more generally the Geodesic Dome) Richard Buckminster Fuller 1950's

I love Fullers domes, awe inspiring structures that make Sci-fi seem real. During this work he developed the principals behind and coined the term "tensegrity". A more recent example of a similar structure which I absolutely love is the Eden Project.

Postscript 
John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982.

Its how we graphic designers do what we do. A great leap that put design on the desktops of millions.
Obviously this has lead to a great range of undesirable results, (my mum laying out flyers) but you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

MEXICO 68  
Lance Wyman

Lance Wyman is a classic and a pillar of design for anyone involved in branded environments or wayfinding systems. The 68 Olympic brand and the role out of communications are among the best in history for me. They define an era and carry so many strong graphic characteristics. I love this for its op-art references, and could easily have put Bridget Riley in this place but felt this is more relevant as the application of her principals as a design outcome.

Jumping Castles (and inflatable structures)
John Scurlock, 1959

The first inflatable structure was designed and invented in 1959 by John Scurlock in Shreveport, Louisiana who was experimenting with inflatable covers for tennis courts when he noticed his employees enjoyed jumping on the covers.

Baby Fat Milton Glaser 1971(ish)

The most outrageous typeface ever, by a favourite graphic designer of mine who's work in the 70's was I likely a major influence behind most of the toys I grew up with and was as such pivotal in my developing years and early interest in design. He is obviously more famous for I heart NY among other classics.

Casio F-91W Designer sadly unknown to me
 
It was the first watch I received as a kid in school, perhaps for my 12th birthday or something? I really felt like a grown up when I received it, but it wasn't too long before I upgraded to something 'cooler' (I hate teen me in hindsight). I needed a watch with an alarm when travelling recently and bought the cheapest watch I could find, it happened to be the same watch. I just rate it for being so prolific and doing everything it needs to do. It wasn't the first and didn't revolutionise anything in particular, but it is truly accessible, prices vary, normally in the $7.50 - $15 USD range.

David Williamson Top 6 Design Icons

The Gift- 1921

Early readymade 

by Man Ray 

Max Bill - Junghans Watch - 1962

A Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.

Saul Bass

 

Anatomy of a Murder - 1959

Film titles 

Directed by Otto Preminger

 

Tony DiSpigna

Graphic designer and typographer. He helped execute the popular Avant Garde typeface and Serif Gothic, among many others. He is a designer for and co-founder of Thin Stroke, Inc.

Fedra Serif B

Peter Biľak - Typotheque

Piet Mondrian 

Victory Boogie Woogie

1942-44

One of the most important emblems of abstract or non-figurative art in the twentieth century.