James Tooze takes the consequences of material choices in his designs into consideration when designing 'open source' furniture. In his project 'How to make a chair open source' he has made a general plan for the creation of a simple chair, allowing for people to adopt or copy his design, using readily available scrap materials and equipment.

Max Frommeld designed a boat made from a single sheet of plastic and a family of furniture objects. The collaborative 'Fold a Boat' project was for a flat-pack leisure boat designed for flat water, the idea came from a paper folding workshop where students were encouraged to develop 3D forms out of 2D drawings. The furniture designs include the idea for 'Hose Clip Shelving' a flat-pack shelving unit which utilises the standard clips used in Hose pipes. The practical functionality of these designs, incorporating simple manufacturing techniques, leads to a set of beautifully bold products.

Tom Jarvis' designs for his 'Tools to Service an Orchestra' are for a very specific and niche purpose, yet the elegance that follows from their functionality is worth noting. His design for the 'Inflatable Double Bass Case' is an alternative to the hard, heavy and expensive cases usually required for large instruments. The case he has designed marries the desirable attributes of a soft case with the protection of a hard case.

With a background in both cabinet making and architecture, Jack Smith's approach to design is respond to people's situations and find solutions to meet their needs. His designs are modest, with traditional craft influences but are finished in the finest materials with an air of sophistication. His 'Full Circle Lamp' is the perfect example, using the mechanism found in drawing mannequins he has created a lamp which can be tilted to an array of angles and in any direction. This intuitive and innovative design reflects Smith's knowledge of materials and technology from his craft based background.

See these designers and more in Royal College of Art Design Products