Rafael Morgan - Product Design portfolio

Welcome! This is my on line portfolio.
In this blog, you´ll find only a few samples of my work and some information about myself as well.
I have lots of other nice designs on their way to the stores but I decided to publish them only when they reach the market, for obvious copyright reasons.
Don´t get me wrong, I love when people get inspired by my work but it isn´t very cool when people get too much "inspired"...You know what I mean.
Please, feel free to contact me!

I was raised in Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon), a place that provides me with much of my inspiration. Even as a child I was spending considerable time drawing and illustrating (sometimes several hours each day) for fun, as well as for school projects.

I am the kind of guy who never gives up. I am always doing my best to make things the best way as possible and I think that is what motivates me. Inspiration for me is everywhere, mostly in ordinary objects. If you stop for a minute and try to watch your surroundings by a different angle or point of view, you would be surprised on how beautiful and poetic our world is.

Since I started my career as an Industrial Designer, I have been trying to create an identity for myself and set myself apart from the rest, creating a mix of visual poetry, Industrial Design and philosophy.

I think that every good design must tell a story about itself and that is why I always try to spread good messages trough my designs.

I´m now a member of the fabulous Studio Mango and I´m on my way to open the coolest Brazilian design label ever, which is called VIRA Design!

VIRA Design´s Stand.

Hi Everyone! Here are some pictures of the stands of my furniture label, Vira Design, at a really nice furniture fair here in Belo Horizonte.

We´re now launching a collection of very cool flat-packed furniture, with no screws, nails or glue, called Puzzle Collection.

We are using CNC machinery to produce it, with a meticulously planned layout, with the goal to generate almost zero industrial waste...That´s why it´s called Puzzle, I guess. ;)

Check out our work at VIRA´s website. It´s not quite finished but you´ll be able to take a look at most of our stuff.

Ps: Sorry for the low picture quality. I shot them from my cel phone.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Darth Vader + Space Invaders = Darth Invader

Well, sometimes we need to work on different stuff, you know, just to take a brake. So I started to design some t-shirt graphics for a really cool Brazilian geek brand called Geek World.

I´m trying to design some cool and original concepts,you know, it´s the way I work.

This one is very simple but very clever and it´s a mix of two of the major geek universe idols. Star Wars and Space Invaders.

This is the first of a series of geek themed t-shirts I´m designing. I´ll post the others sometime soon.

I hope you guys enjoy it! This t-shirt is available at Geek World, so if you like it, buy it!

Milan, Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2009.

Hi everyone! Here you can see some of my designs at Studio Mango´s stand in the Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2009, Milan.

You can see the UnsTable, Hope Table and Light Drop, among other great designs from the studio.

Fecth, magazine rack.

Here is another cool design, designed by me and Paul Hendrikx, from Studio Mango.

This is a trained dog, so you wont need to yell on your best friend this time, when he pick up your magazines and newspapers!

This guys on the first picture are Frank Hanssen and Paul Hendrikx, from Studio Mango, sitting on their Moby Dick chair and reading some stuff with the help of our little green friend here.

Pyscho Plunger - Collective Memories in ID n°1.

I´m trying to aggregate behaviorist properties of famous objects, cognitive motions and collective memories to everyday, ordinary products. This is the first of a series of concepts called Collective Memories in ID.

This plunger is obviously inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho, from 1960.

Do me a favor, would you? If this product ever reaches the market, please, don´t go plunge your girlfriend´s mouth when she starts to talk about relationship stuff in the middle of your tv soccer game and this kind of crazy stuff, right? ;)

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Deadly, multipurpose closet.

Well, another crazy furniture concept here.

This one is inspired by that old-school magician sword trick, in which the magician enters inside a deadly box and asks his assistant to stick some swords trough his agonizing body. Hehe.

You can use this closet to store whatever you want, books, cds, folded clothes, shoes, etc... You can even take off some swords and use it as a wardrobe, to hang some dresses or shirts.

Just use it the way you want.

It´s also supposed to come with some 3mm acrylic additional shelves, so you can store small items safely, without dropping them in the spaces between the swords.

It´s still a concept, so if you feel like producing it, shoot me an e-mail, right?

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Top Secret furniture

This furniture collection is called Top Secret, and it literally translates this expression indeed.

The top drawer of the furniture is equipped with a numeric locking system, just like a regular safe, so you can keep your most secret and precious belongings like books, documents, rare bootlegs cds, stamps collection or whatever the heck you want , there, safe from curious hands!

This one is still looking for a producer, so if you own a cool design company and feel like bringing this idea to life, go on and drop me a note.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Pick-Ur-Pine toothpick holder

A playful toothpick holder design, designed by me and managed by my friends and partners from Studio Mango.

A couple of months ago, I received a brief, asking if I could design a few animal inspired tableware designs...So I did it.

Just pick your pine, porcupine!

You can actually buy this one! It´s currently being produced and sold by SUCK UK.

Click HERE if you wish to buy one of this incredibly cute little table creatures!

This design is made from food grade silicone rubber.

Ps: No porcupine was harmed during the production of this design.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

UnsTable

A fresh and playful concept, which will be produced here in Brazil by my company VIRA Design and it´s being prototyped in Europe, by my friends from Studio Mango!

You know, I have lots of ideas that come out from names, proverbs and word puzzles.

I had this word "unstable" in my mind for quite some time and it took me a few neurones to bring this idea to reality.

This table works pretty well, in fact, it´s very stable! It has one fixed metal bar inside each leg, covered by this movable cubes.

You can make it look completely unstable, a little bit drunk or totally stable. It´s up to you!

In the first picture, you can see the UnsTable and the Origami chair, from Studio Mango.

Ps: We are producing this product in South America, but the license for producing and selling it anywhere else is still available! Drop me a note if you´re interest in producing it.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Don´t Panic condom dispenser

You guys must have heard about panic buttons, right?

You´re supposed to hit them when you just don´t know what to do!

In this particular case, I designed a Don´t Panic button, for those moments you need someone to tell you to relax and do the right thing.

This condom dispenser is ideal to put beside the bed, in the bathroom or even inside the car.

Just remember to do the right thing! Don´t panic! Go get yourself a condom and be happy!

Ps: We are producing this product in South America, but the license for producing and selling it anywhere else is still available! Drop me a note if you´re interest in producing it.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Light Drop

The Light Drop is supposed to make people think about how we are

dealing with our natural resources, in this particular case, the water,
which is the main source of energy for every living organism in this
fantastic world. Water is energy indeed.

This wall-mounted lighting element illuminates the custom-molded polycarbonate bulb with an embedded, dimmable LED in the faucet, which is intuitively controlled by the tap -- the more you twist, the more light you get -- which also is a good way to contextualize energy use (though at a greatly reduced rate, compared to an incandescent version of the same design.

This design won the Third Prize in the Bright LED international design competition, by design boom.

It´s currently being sold and produced by Wever & Ducre, with the help from my great partners and friends from the fabulous Studio Mango!

Hope Table

The hope table is not only about hope, it is about beauty and visual poetry. It is about telling other young designers like me to never give up creating original designs.

There are great ideas everywhere…You just have to look into the right way. Maybe ideas are just like a message in a bottle, floating in the deep ocean, just waiting for the right people to find it.

In this particular case I am the man of the other side of the story. I am the one who threw that bottle into the ocean and I was waiting for someone to find it until now…By the way…I actually love throwing message bottles into the ocean (kidding).

It´s all about hope! Never give up!

The Hope Table is currently being sold and produced by Sixinch, with the help from my great partners and friends from the fabulous Studio Mango!

You can buy it here.

Fletcha side table

I don´t know why home furniture is designed to be used always in the same position, you know, life changes all the time, the world is changing, our furniture should change too!

We have learned to live with ups and downs but most of the time we have no control over the direction of our life...

That´s why the Fletcha side table is so cool and funny! It allows you to point it up or down and you can use it in three different positions, so you will never get used to it.

Now you can buy it! The Fletcha side table is currently in production by Pulpo, in 2008.

Cartola trash can

The top hat was once a symbol of status but for me it looks much better as a trash can!

We also know the top hat as part of those old school magician shows.

Unfortunately this top hat is not a magical item and you probably won´t take a white rabbit from it...

Although, it will make your trash disappear!

By the way, "Cartola" means top hat in Portuguese...You probably guessed it already, I suppose.

We´re going to produce it here in South America, but the production license is still avalailable for the rest of the world.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Once Was comb

We are so used to some everyday objects that sometimes we don´t realize what´s behind them, where do they came from.

Great part of the exotic wood that is consumed in USA and Europe are illegally imported from developing countries like Brazil.

This comb reminds us of what it once was in the past.

It once was a tree, it once was alive.

The emptiness of its negative form remind us of its original silhouette, which no longer exists.

I truly believe that we can enjoy life in a sustainable way and fortunately, if this comb ever goes to production, it will be made with sustainable certificated wood, so when you ask yourself from where does this wood came, you will know that you are not damaging our planet.

The next time you see a jacket, a shoe, a piece of meat or a car, try to reflect about what it once was in the past and the consequences of consuming it.

Everything has a story....

Ps: We are producing this product in South America, but the license for producing and selling it anywhere else is still available! Drop me a note if you´re interest in producing it.

Indigestive plate

This plate looks like an ordinary plate, in fact it is just a regular plate...Until you put some hot food in it.

The inside of the plate is printed with undeniable, provocative, bitter and indigestible sentences about hunger statistics in the world.

The sentences are printed using heat sensitive ink, so they will only be revealed when someone put some hot or warm food in it.

Can you imagine what would happen if we disguise some of this plates in an expensive snob restaurant...or maybe in some important political meeting?

It would be very interesting to see people´s reaction while the truth is slowly revealed underneath the food.

Hopefully this plate will cause an indigestion, or at least make people think twice before asking for the dessert.

Lulu floor lamp

This floor lamp design is inspired by the devil´s (Lulu) trident.
I have designed this lamp specially for George W. Bush´s office.
It´s supposed to be available also in pure red and black.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Puzzle Revisited chair

A remake of a chair I designed in the first year of ID school.

Simple, beautiful, light, economic, no screws or nails needed.

We are producing and selling this chair here in Brazil, for my label VIRA Design.

The Fishcage

Everyday we live the illusion of freedom and in fact, we are just like fishes in a bowl.

We are trapped by invisible borders like, ignorance, lies, rules, hypocrisies and old paradigms and concepts.

The fish in the bowl thinks he is free, because he has passed all his life in that condition...So do we.

The Fishcage comes to remember us that the first step to be free is finding the real obstacles that keep us away from the real freedom.

The Fishcage is going to be produced by Sixinch, in 2008.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Playmobil office chair

"Those are very delightful. I think your idea is an excellent one.
The idea is clever, and clearly illustrates the Reflective notion very well."
Donald Norman, author of the book Emotional Design.

"Your work has some of the sense of playful creativity that I associate with Brazilian culture. And your chair has a quality we call " beauty with a smile". It certainly made me smile."
Tom Kelley, General Manager of IDEO.

This chair design was inspired by the book Emotional Design, by Donald Norman.

It was my final Product Design graduation work.

It´s formal aspects come from the Playmobil, a very cool plastic toy that is one of the big icons of my generation and the Brazilian 80´s.

The sitting piece is a fusion of the Playmobil´s face, iconic smile and hair piece.

The legs piece of the chair is the Playmobil King´s crown, turned upside down.

Sometimes life can look much better if we change our point of view, if we observe everyday objects by different angles.

Saci Chair

This chair is a tribute to one of the most popular folk character in Brazil.

Saci is a one-legged black elf with holes in the palms of his hands. An incorrigible prankster.

Thanks to a custom "U" molded, skirt like 6mm acrylic sheet, the Saci chair really is a "sittable" chair.

Ps: We are producing this product in South America, but the license for producing and selling it anywhere else is still available! Drop me a note if you´re interest in producing it.

Copyright © Rafael Morgan. All rights reserved.

Change Vase

This four-sided vase is perfect for those who get bored easily with their home decoration.

Each side of the Change vase represents a different decor style, to make sure it fits in different ambients.

The Change vase encourages people to try seeing ordinary things by different angles. It evokes the possibility of constant change.

Maybe it is time to change your mind, change the way you live, change the way you see ordinary things.

It is time to change. Get on it.