If design exists principally at the intersection where form meets function, it’s intriguing then to examine instances in which the form of a particular design seeks to inhabit and/or play with that of something wholly different. While biomimicry is now often cited as the driving inspiration behind many a building material and chair design, what does it mean when table lamp fully imitates the shape and proportion of an insect’s body in place of creating something just suggestive of it? A few designs to inspire even more questions….

Motherboard. Designed by Romolo Stanco for Nonesiste.

1. Part wall-mounted book and display case, part sculpture and part political statement (depending on your perspective, of course), Ron Arad’s Oh, the Farmer & the Cowman Should Be Friends is a striking piece of “design-art” now showing at Timothy Taylor Gallery in London.

Oh, the Farmer & the Cowman Should Be Friends. Designed by Ron Arad at Timothy Taylor Gallery.

2. Ok, perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch but my first instinct upon getting acquainted with Thermador’s Sensor Dome technology was, “Hey, from a bird’s eye view this thing looks exactly like a turntable!” I’m no dj but I’m inclined to think that one of our resident music junkies and late-night master of sound might happen to agree.

Cooktop with Sensor Dome technology. Manufactured by Thermador.

3. I can’t put my finger on it but there is something extremely poetic, organic and authentic about Qnuru’s cable-suspended Cumuli Light. A sustainable outdoor lighting fixture, we don’t mind at all that Cumuli parades as its nebulous, more natural counterpart.

Cumuli Light. Manufactured by Qnuru.

4. Loosely quoting my new friend Karen Auster, organizer of the local design show BKLYN DESIGNS 2009, “We’re in a recession here. Can’t everybody just lighten up a little?!” UK Designer Carl Pickard does just that with his playful Ant LED Table Light LIT 2008, an inquisitive little table lamp putting a unique spin on the design concept of biomimicry and our typical eagerness to immediately whip out an aerosol can of insect killer once the ants start marching inside.

Ant LED Table Light LIT 2008. Designed by Carl Pickard.

5. Once I got wind of Romolo Stanco’s Motherboard for Nonesiste, naturally the lyrics to Carly Simon’s song “You’re So Vain” popped into my head. Vanity side, Motherboard takes an interesting approach with this piece in my opinion, mirroring the mental circuitry of our brains aptly with the inner workings of a computer. Brilliant.

Motherboard. Designed by Romolo Stanco fo Nonesiste.

That’s our wrap for this week. Stay tuned for not one but TWO exclusive video previews of BKLYN DESIGNS exhibitors and much more fresh design inspiration. Have a great weekend!