“Design that inspires better public spaces”
Founded in 1965 by Rodney Kinsman RDI, OMK Design has supplied furniture to over 370 transport projects worldwide.
As a design-led company, OMK Design strives to innovate, using new technology and fresh thinking to benefit passengers and operators alike.
What we did:
After successfully relaunching the OMK 1965 range, Studio Circulaire was the obvious choice to launch two new products for public spaces from the OMK Design range: the ‘Bridge’ table and the ‘Link’ modular seating system. The images were to be used for brochures, the OMK Design website and publicity materials for international trade fairs.
While the OMK 1965 range is targeted towards homes and hospitality, OMK Design is firmly focused on public spaces, such as airports, bus and rail stations, and co-working spaces.
With more of an emphasis on the contract market, it was essential that Studio Circulaire show these new products as they were intended to be used, so that they would appeal to buyers, while still taking cues from the company’s illustrious past, ensuring that the new images could fit alongside existing photography, keeping branding consistent.
Studio Circulaire knew how important it was to show the adaptability of these new products, using a neutral studio setting to keep the images clean and minimalistic, with a few special touches to add style and sophistication.
Photography
Art Direction
Styling
How we did it:
Shooting in a studio location allowed us to stay in control - the clean and minimalistic environment would give suppliers, specifiers and buyers a blank canvas that showed the products in their best possible light, allowing them to visualise how they could look in their chosen environment - while the bright, white studio setting allowed us to light the space exactly as we wanted.
Studio ‘flats’ allowed us to create interest in the set and depth to the lighting, helping us to avoid a generic ‘packshot’ look, while keeping the set stylish and free from clutter and distractions. These ‘flats’, which could be re-used after the shoot, evoked the look of OMK’s photoshoots from the 1970s and 1980s, showing a clear link to the past and respect for the company’s heritage.
The images are highly adaptable for use in a variety of applications and were shot both with and without props to highlight the strong design elements, as well as the potential uses of the products.
We had to allow the designs to speak for themselves - too many props would overwhelm the clean look of the images and make them look too busy - but at the same time provide subtle cues as to how the products could be used. With this in mind, we sourced props with the kind support of Apple, Sennheiser, Stelton and Kaweco, their premium products providing sophistication, while Carine Buchanan’s exquisite attention to detail ensured perfect colour matching in every single image. All props were returned at the end of the shoot or were re-used as appropriate in order to reduce waste or avoid it entirely and reduce the shoot’s environmental impact.