Melissa and People of Resource have a brief but vivid history together. When we’ve needed extra hands and brains on deck, Melissa has enthusiastically pitched in. Her talent and intelligence have been a boon to us and we were honored that she would trust us with the fabrication of her lamp prototype, a project many months in the making.

The video above details some of the work that went into bringing this piece to life. For more on the concept, see Melissa’s description below:

“I started out trying to create a lamp that would also function as a calendar. Wanting to get something that dealt more with form than numbers, I thought for a long time about the ways that we’ve marked time throughout history, and how we experience time in seasons. I also didn’t want to limit the accuracy of the lamp by location, and in the end what sifted out was the concept of the solstice. It’s just so wonderfully ancient, and the length of the day marks our lives in an innate way that transgresses barriers of culture and location.

From a form standpoint, it breaks the year into two segments of continuous movement as we move closer and further from the sun. The diameter of the nested hemispheres reflects the eclipsis, (the arc of the sun through the sky) which becomes measurably longer and longer, as the length of the day increases.”

With a brand new apartment on Wall Street, she’s elected to explore the possibilities of a more modern space. Toward that end, Sharon commissioned People of Resource to create new custom furniture for her home, but also to modify some existing vintage pieces. We’re excited about this approach because it aligns very nicely with our own predilection toward mixing new and old.

Depicted above (photograph kindly made by Sharon herself) is the first piece of this project: a vintage marble coffee table for which we turned some new walnut legs. Forthcoming will be a solid walnut dining room table, six dining chairs, and another carefully modified vintage piece: a magazine rack from the home of Sharon’s grandmother.

People of Resource’s first collaboration with SEEDR revolved around a project initiated by SEEDR in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Georgia Tech’s Tennenbaum Institute: a cold-chain Polio Vaccine container. People of Resource contributed design consultation, a functional white model, and on-site rapid visualization for the project’s most recent collaborative workshop.

From a very early age, Alex King has been interested in machinery and tools. For Alex, this interest is more than just a predilection, it’s in his DNA: Alex got his start making machinery for his father’s company and grew up with a grandfather who worked for Lockheed, the Oakridge US Arsenal, and the CDC.

Fast-forward to 2010: Alex King has been in the manufacturing and fabrication business for over 20 years in the Atlanta area. During this time, the web has become a critical source of information and interaction for society. Despite having nothing in the way of a web presence, Alex has built Precision Fabrication into a successful business through hard work, talent, and satisfied clients. Alex realized that even a business like his, rooted in physical manufacturing, couldn’t continue to grow without approaching the internet as a channel for new business.

Solution

With our feet planted in both the digital and physical realms, People of Resource were uniquely suited to understand the realities of Alex’s business, as well as the challenges of translating his value proposition to the web.

Our first priority was in communicating the breadth and depth of his facilities and project experience. Doing this in a simple, powerful, and visual way was the grounding of this project. The outcome of this initiative is an interactive video piece that directly presents Precision Fabrication’s capabilities to each visitor. This device is supported by a flexible, easy-to-update framework that clearly supplies vital information and allows Precision Fabrication to keep a fresh, current web presence.

Results

Using the visual and captivating language of high-quality video, the website serves initially as an interest-grabbing platform. However, the site is much more than just a pretty face: Alex is continuously adding new work and experience to create a deep, living catalog of his firm’s track record as leaders in their field. This visceral demonstration of their prowess has resulted in the fruition of our goals for this project: increased sales and interest in the company. Alex has reported back to us with a pronounced uptick in business. What’s even more exciting is the fact that the majority of new leads are coming to Precision Fabrication through their new website.

For Yellawood’s Spring 2010 marketing campaign, Armchair developed a contest wherein Yellawood fans could win various prize packages. Our contributions were toward a Backyard Games Prize Package: thirty-two custom-painted croquet mallets and the eight Yellawood-clad crates that contains all the games.

Our good friend Jason Travis made the photograph you see above. You can find more images of the project in links to Flickr in the sidebar of this post.

Our work encompasses industrial design, interior architecture, photography, film, art direction, graphic design, and interactive design. This transdisciplinary approach creates a rich, energetic studio environment and helps us to see the gamut of possibilities in a new light.

Our purpose is to work alongside our clients to dissolve their creative problems. Our commitment to doing our best possible work builds trust and reputation, transcending disciplines and categories. We are change agents and our propulsive positive attitude brings out the best in the people we work with. We share a desire to collaborate with companies, individuals, and institutions who are interested in making things better.

Located in a renovated telephone factory on the Eastside of Atlanta, People of Resource is a lean office, able to offer stronger results and accelerated schedules at highly competitive rates.

We work side-by-side with our clients to envision, research, design, prototype, and deploy experiences, products, and services.

These solutions can take the form of:

-Strategy
-Workshops
-Art Direction
-Branding
-Graphic Design for Print and Web
-Interactive Design
-Photography
-Filmmaking
-Product Design
-Furniture Design
-Interior Architecture for Offices, Retailers, and Restaurants

Our Clients

We are humbled to work with an ambitious and diverse group of leaders. Our client list includes:

-Savannah College of Art and Design
-Georgia Institute of Technology
-Malcolm Fontier
-Deviant Ventures
-Jonathan Adler
-The Jones Group
-Modern Atlanta
-Info Retail
-Armchair
-SEEDR
-Coca-Cola
-Fossil

David’s work has garnered numerous design awards and recognition from blogs, publications, and design institutions. His firms have served a wide range of clients, from giants like Coca-Cola and Fossil Inc. to innovative start-ups like the Center for the Visually Impaired and No Brakes Atlanta.

The Jones Group, one of Atlanta’s leading advertising agencies, brought together a team of professionals to completely overhaul their offices. Led by interior designer Caryn Grossman, the team consisted of lighting designer Christopher Moulder, artist Michi, contractor Shane Benefield, and People of Resource. Our contribution was the design and fabrication of all the workstations, along with breakout and conference tables.

Solution

The primary material used is Kirei board, a compressed ply board material created from reclaimed sorghum straw. We utilized Kirei along with 3-Form Chroma, powder coated steel, and formaldehyde-free MDF.

Features of the designs include integrated power routing in the table tops, under-table computer mounts, and magnetic whiteboard partitions.

Results

Upon delivery and installation, the space immediately appeared more cohesive and efficient, with the interaction of Kirei board and antique brick taking on a romantic undertone. This project won People of Resource a 2009 Atlanta Downtown Design Excellence Award.

Malcolm Fontier’s eponymous modern travel accessory line was an instant darling upon its debut. Well-deserved nods from noteworthy publications like Wired, Dwell, and Lucky are a regular thing for MF’s clean, stylish, and vegan-friendly carryall line.

Nevertheless, the designer’s success begged a question: what next? How could his brand’s solid reputation translate into new products? How could the audience for MF products increase? What would those moves look like?

Solution

To answer these questions, Malcolm Fontier again turned to People of Resource. Our relationship began several years ago when Malcolm tapped People of Resource to fabricate his trade show displays. We count it as an honor that he continues to trust us as a collaborative partner.

To gain increased control over interaction with his customer base, we initiated a two-pronged video campaign that would demonstrate the products’ usefulness and also convey Malcolm’s modern explorer brand message.

To reward loyal retailers and, again, tighten control over direct communication with customers, we developed retail displays that use high-quality materials in creative ways to keep production costs low.

Through a series of creative workshops, we worked alongside Malcolm’s team to research, understand, and expand upon the opportunities that laid in front of the company.

Results

As a result of our video and retail display work, we were able to deliver more meaningful connections between the Malcolm Fontier brand and its fanbase.

As a result of our product design workshops, we were able to expand Malcolm’s audience by creating new bag designs that increase his product offering variety. Further, our design for a new, lower-priced bag, delivers a broader audience while maintaining his reputation for top notch quality.