Recently our Surface Bloggers stumbled upon the industrial design studio of Mike and Maaike. Known for their experimental approach to design, they create ideas and unexpected solutions for products, furniture, wearables, environments and vehicles.
(From Left: Maaike Evers & Mike Simonian)
The San-Fransisco based design duo is made up of Maaike Evers, who is Dutch, and Mike Simonian, a native Californian. Their unique backgrounds yield unexpected and incredible results. This cutting edge design studio has been growing quickly, and Google chose Mike and Maaike to design the first mobile phone which will runs on the Google Android Operating System.
The G1 Google phone, available now from T-Mobile, is Googles’ foray into the wireless world. The design is simplistic and sleek and intended to target the design friendly customers which mostly gravitate to the Apple IPhone.
The team also designs incredible modern functional furniture. Mike and Maaike recently designed the Divis Table for Council Furniture which was an ICFF showstopper. They challenged themselves to see how natural processes could inspire the industrial manufacturing process. According to Simonian, their design draws upon the idea that the poplar wood is a naturally anisotropic material—so the table highlights the random splitting and cracking found in wood. It is available in the poplar shown below along with a slightly more expensive stained black ash version.
Along with the Divis, Mike & Maaike worked with Council to design the Mute Chair, Its modern and simplistic design makes it a perfect addition to your modern living area. The Mute Chair is available in two colors, the white pictured below, and a striking royal blue.
The Windowseat Lounge is a much needed refuge from the hustle and bustle of airports, lobbies or busy home environments. We absolutely love the room-within-a-room feeling with a framed perspective. Mike & Maaike took architectural elements such as walls and ceiling and applied them to the design of this unique chair exploring the idea of furniture as sub-architectural space. Featured on the cover of Surface Magazine design issue, the windowseat lounge is the epitome of great design!
In a collaboration with BlankBlank, Mike & Maaike designed this incredible floating bookshelf Juxtaposed: Religion. Its purpose is to put all influential religious texts together and present on the same level with their coexistence acknowledged and celebrated. The modern chunky bookshelf is made from reclaimed hardwood and is the first in the juxtaposition series of curated bookshelves.
We’ll leave you with a whimsical design Mike & Maaike created for the 100% Design Competition in London. Taking an original and putting their unique spin on it to create the plastic rocker sums up why we just love this design duo so much! Mike and Maaike truly rock design!
