INNER KID, Manuel Diegruber

My thesis Inner Kid is about the tension between play and furniture. In play, the interaction between human and object shows itself in a special way, which is characterized by surprises, challenges and fun.Play can be divided into four categories. Joy of building, joy of playing, joy of moving and power of imagination. Strikingly, the first three are often firmly linked to a physical product interaction, while power of imagination is influenced by emotional, imaginary communication with products. The best toys engage a child‘s senses, stimulate their imagination, and encourage them to interact with others.

To what extent can this idea of toys be applied to more mundane objects, such as furniture? Can the simplicity of a toy be reflected in everyday, functional products? Since there is still more or less a child in many of us, I want to create products that encourage playful, emotional and imaginative interaction. The resulting products should integrate with the living space so that it fuses with the play space. The human-product relationship is a fundamental theme in design for me and has informed many of my previous projects and my way of working. The product bond is strengthened by direct interaction, but also by mental communication. When products accompany the (inner) child, they can awaken familiarity, a sense of well-being and fun.

coming soon