One of my favorite design commandments has to be by the celebrated Dieter Rams, who famously stated "Good design is as little design as possible." For me, his words ring the absolute truth for not every design has to be out of grasp or unfathomable. Sometimes we need to take stock of superfluous design elements prune the surfeit. Minimal, indefatigable, linear and trendsetting – these are a few of the principles that comprise the core of Rams’ design philosophy.

No. 7 (Nube) Chair. Designed by Tomas Alonso.

The No. 7 (Nube) chair from Spanish designer Tomas Alonso presents an interesting juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity that still remains tied to the chair’s primordial, snake-like visual reference. Apart from the expressive minimalism of the Nube, what makes it a true winner is that it is viable for commercial manufacture. Alonso wanted this striking chair to offer stimulation to the surrounding environment but not at the expense of its function. Thus it comes as no surprise that the chair won the first prize in the 2008 Promosedia International Design Competition, held ever year in Italy.

Nube's resemblance to the legendary Thonet Model 14 chair is no coincidence and the designer admits that his creation was conceptualized in coherence with the now iconic chair. Conceived by the designer after attending a wood-bending workshop, the chair is divided into seven sections that inter-link with one another into three loops. Unlike Thonet’s chairs however, Alonso’s Nube chair maintains a wider footprint and a noticeably more fluid profile from the rear perspective. Says Alonso, "When designing this chair I was particularly interested in finding a balance by combining these traditional craftsmanship methods with a new, contemporary visual language, while maintaining usability and comfort as the main parameters in the chair's proportions."

The Nube may be a modern interpretation of the Thonet chair but it cannot be labeled an imitation as it reverberates with individuality and maintains its own striking style. The definite angles, the organic bends and the structural comfort not only capture a contemporary aesthetic in design but also pay reverence to traditional craftsmanship.