Jaehyo Ko emulates patterns and hues found in nature in his ’Curly’ series

"My goal in designing the Curly series was to capture the unique beauty of Korean nature," says Jaehyo Ko, a product designer from Seoul, South Korea, whose latest series of objects emulate the twirls and curves found sporadically in nature.

The Korean designer intended to bring the essence of nature indoors through the benches, stools, room divider and lamp designs comprising the Curly series. Currently, the furniture collection comprises seven pieces that are referred to as Curly benches, Curly stools, Curly lamp and Curly screen. Ko, who heads the furniture design studio HYOSI, intends to expand upon this series with more pieces in the future such as new variants of stools, lighting designs and mirrors.

Seoul-based HYOSI is a practice that pursues minimalism. The design studio works to minimise any unnecessary elements within their creations. This desire to keep their designs clean is achieved through the thickness and volume of materials, symmetry and the repetition of simple shapes and forms in an object. These aspects also imbue the studio’s product designs with a uniform aesthetic and fewer details that await perception and deciphering.

The Curly series, too, integrates simple volumes with a motif that repeats itself throughout the design—inspired by the curly loop—➰. "The design of the Curly series starts from the shape of the curly loop. It resembles a spiral curve that continues infinitely in nature. These curves intertwine with each other to create a natural flow, giving a flexible and lively feeling like a reed swaying in the wind. These curves are reminiscent of Korea's mountain ridges and river flows and have become an important design language symbolising the harmony between humans and nature," the furniture designer shares.

In addition to emulating nature's arbitrary curves, the motif on the Curly series, drilled into the pieces and visible as holes in the furniture, represents communication with nature. By puncturing the pieces with teardrop shapes, the designer signifies passages through which the breeze can pass. These punctures also break the tedium of the monotone material and add a sense of lightness to the otherwise solid masses of wood chiselled to make the furniture pieces. In a way, the wooden furniture captures the breathing space that nature offers in all its aspects and elements.

Further, these patterns, along with the peripheral curves on the furniture pieces, lead to the creation of shadows in their vicinity, which changes as the day progresses or as different indoor lamps and lights are switched on. "These holes, which reflect the design elements of curly loop, are as natural and beautiful as sunlight filtering through leaves," the designer shares.

Although oakwood is a commonly used material for furniture, Ko refrained from using it due to its hard grain which makes it difficult to process, given the collection has several curved surfaces. Instead, each piece in the Curly collection is made using hardwood from North America, mainly from walnut, cherry and beech trees. The usage of hardwood renders the pieces suitable for indoor usage. However, Ko intends to experiment with the collection to conceive pieces that may be suitable for outdoor usage as well.

When asked about the process of crafting each piece, Ko shares, "The process for this collection involved sketching a free-form curly loop, determining the scale to fit the functional furniture and combining the shapes of the curly loop to create a design. Then, I printed the designed shape at a 1:1 scale to create a jig and used a band saw or router to fit the jig. After digging the hole with a drill press, the detailed parts connecting the outer curved surface and the hole are made using chisels and various types of files."

The differently coloured pieces in the collection depict the various seasons of South Korea. While white symbolises the snowy scenes in winter, the orangish hue is redolent of the golden fields in autumn. The various shades of brown, imbued upon differently textured benches and stool designs, symbolise the verdant freshness of summer and spring. One can imagine the black stool as an ode to dark nights, especially during winter. A combination of various earthy and stark hues in the Curly series encapsulates the cycles and changes of nature.

Via the furniture collection, Ko wanted "to create a space where nature and humans become one," he says. This is achieved by emulating shapes, patterns, hues and textures that both visually and tactilely induce a remembrance of natural gifts.