Iconic furniture since 1965.
Founded in 1965 by Rodney Kinsman RDI, OMK’s products are regarded as icons of 20th century British design.
OMK 1965 presents a new collection formed of these classic products combined with new designs, marking their return to the retail and contract markets in 2017.
What we did:
Established in 1965, there’s a lot of history behind OMK. For Studio Circulaire, we knew that we had to have a deep understanding of that history when we were commissioned to relaunch not just one, but four design classics: the T1 and Omkstak chairs, the Tokyo stool, and the Orbit mirror.
The images were to be used in a variety of settings - from the company’s website, brochures and publicity materials, to advertising and social media. As a result, the images had to be detailed enough to show the quality of the product, while being bold enough to stand out in smaller sizes on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.
We looked deep into the company’s past, referring to Rodney Kinsman’s book, ‘The Logical Art of Furniture’, taking our inspiration not only from nearly sixty years of product photography, but also the story of OMK and how the young Kinsman built the company he started just a year after graduating from Central School of Art (now Central Saint Martins).
Our goal was to show two sides to the range that highlighted just how adaptable it was: an homage to OMK’s history alongside more contemporary images, and we succeeded: after a successful relaunch at Clerkenwell Design Week, Design Junction and other international design fairs, as well as multiple magazine advertisements, Studio Circulaire was invited back to launch two more of OMK’s new designs.
Photography
Art Direction
Styling
How we did it:
By shooting in two different locations, we were able to show the adaptability of the OMK range. We were fortunate enough to shoot in Rodney Kinsman’s home, making full use of its open spaces and light and airy interior, alongside a more contemporary and modern home, highlighting how the products fit into a range of spaces.
In order for the products themselves to take centre stage, use of props was kept to a minimum, but with a different approach to styling in each location. For the more classic look of Rodney Kinsman’s home, we used Bauhaus-inspired wood blocks and simple, elegant props. For the modern house, we used more contemporary products.
We received generous support from Stelton for this project, who kindly loaned us a range of their products, returning the props to them at the end of the shoot so that they could be reused, thus reducing our impact.