Inhabitat Staging » IMBROGLIO GRAPHIC CALENDAR

May 16, 2005

IMBROGLIO GRAPHIC CALENDAR

My favorite section of ICFF this year was the British section. As always, this area of the floor featured a lot of independent boutique designers offering unique and witty items such as this beautiful graphic ‘Imbroglio Calendar’. Rather than design a calendar which could only be used for a year, designer Jean-Pierre Vitrac wanted to develop one that can be re-used year after year.? This ?Imbroglio? calendar cleverly disguises the numbers 1-31 in the negative space of a graphic print. The date becomes visible when the user moves the magnetic cursor around the date, defining and making legible the shape of the number. Interestingly, the designer, Jean-Pierre Vitrac, is French ? but as the calendar is produced by British design shop, TwentyTwentyone, it was on display in the UK section.

5 Responses to “IMBROGLIO GRAPHIC CALENDAR”

kai Says:

May 20th, 2005 at 10:52 pm

but what’s the point of a calendar that you can’t write events on? It’s cool looking, but useless.

bMilsom Says:

May 21st, 2005 at 11:00 am

I’m surprised they allowed this to be exhibited - the design is actually a really old one, and I think well known. I have a calendar exactly like this from the 1970’s. British also, but as far as I can tell british designed.

Tony Cunningham Says:

May 23rd, 2005 at 12:22 am

The Imbroglio Calendar was not shown at the ICFF as a new design. It was originally conceived in 1972 by Jean Pierre Vitrac and manufactured by the French company Piranha under the name Imbroglio, which in French, happens to mean muddled or hidden. The design is manufactured today because it is still relevant and has a timeless and universal appeal. Further I would like to add that it is made with the agreement of the designer. In fact Jean Pierre has just designed the Imbroglio clock, which is a new design launched at ICFF. Please email me if you would like more information or check out smlpond.com our partner in the US. PS. Kai, think about it, you can’t write on many different types of calendars - maybe you use a filofax, diary or outlook for that but it’s still good to know the date in the morning and enjoy marking a new day. It’s good to look at I agree but it’s far from useless.

Paul Valentine Says:

May 23rd, 2005 at 6:41 pm

The Imbroglio range was shown at the ICFF with the full promotion of it’s history and origin. It combines a well conceived graphic aesthetic with a daily function. smallpond was part of a contingent called the British European design group, which as it’s names applies promotes European design. Design is an international industry and it is often the relationships of designers and manufactures from a multitude of countries that produce the most interesting results.

Joëlle Says:

January 20th, 2006 at 9:33 am

I love the imbroglio calendar. I bought it in 1972 as a wedding present for friends. At the time, I was not rich enough to buy one for myself at the same time… ;-)
This calendar for some years is a the parents of the separated couple. Last time I went there, I took the reference at the back of the plate. Back home, I search in the Internet by “Piranha” and “Design Vitrac”. What a surprise to see that one can still buy this calendar ! I am now saving the necessary 80 ?…
Thanks to the editor for editing this calendar again (also for me a “timeless” product, because it is useful and because it is an art piece) and thanks to Jean-Pierre Vitrac for giving permission for a new edition.

Regards,
Jo?lle

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Please note that gratuitous links to your site are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments.