What is good design? Tom Fereday’s 'external review'

What is the meaning of good design for all those involved in the process of creation? This was the underlying concept of Sydney designer Tom Fereday’s recent solo exhibition for Sydney Design Week.

In collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council, manufacturers Evostyle, upholstery specialists Swiss Design and the Australian Design Centre, External Review followed the entire design process from the sourcing of the raw material through to the manufacture and final presentation of Fereday’s latest work, the Cove lounge. At every step of the way, the environmental impact of the new piece was carefully recorded, calculated and documented.

By opening up his process to ‘external review’, Fereday sought to challenge our preconceptions of the meaning of good design. ‘We always start the project from the material up’, said Tom Fereday. ‘The idea was to offer shared learning on our design journey’, he said.

The Cove lounge is made from red oak, the most abundant species in the American hardwood forest resource and was Fereday’s first experience designing with that species. His aim was to create a lounge that exposed the material. ‘Often the investment in an upholstered lounge is placed in many hidden components and materials. We wanted to explore how exposing the structure of the lounge through an entirely solid timber frame might allow for higher quality materials to be utilised without unnecessary hidden lower quality, and often difficult to repair or maintain, materials and assemblies. I also wanted to test the strength of the material in this design to create something that looks light but in fact is incredibly strong.’

So what were the results of the life cycle assessment? The carbon footprint of the Cove lounge is 18.7kgCO2 equivalent, or ‘same as driving just 125km in the average Australian car’. Fereday commented that ‘We have developed a number of furniture collections over years, however we have never previously performed a formal life cycle assessment to understand the true environmental impact of our work. This was an interesting process to share externally in the hope of encouraging others to question what it means to design responsibly’.

External Review formed part of Sydney Design Week 2022, and showed at Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst, Sydney from September 14 – 24, 2022.

Hear Tom Fereday's thoughts in the film made by Venture Films below.

Cover image: Tim Robinson