David Nicholson

Play Bench

Context: Located in the main entrance to a public space with a population of children such as a school, community center, or hospital.

Problem: Attending school and following the daily structure of their parents, a child’s playtime and their creative thinking are greatly limited to the environment they are in.

Solution: This chair combines multiple instruments into a central gathering area that promotes unstructured play and creativity among children. On one of the two resonating chambers there is stretched red laminate acting as the drumhead to three individual sounding drums. On the second chamber there is a steel tongue drum played with mallets. Inside of the storage compartment there is a rain stick and maracas that can be removed and played by more children.

Brand Strategy: The Wilsonart sample chip icon cannot be seen from the outside of the chair, users must interact with the chair to experience the connection the chip has with the chair. Inside of the storage compartment or what I’d like to call the “heart” of the chair lies the chip mounted to a rain stick. As one holistic chair these instruments play an important role in the way the chair is used and the chip captures this idea.