Design is the new Rock n Roll

Alice Williams

There’s been a lot of debate about what legacy this generation will leave the world. Literature, film, music and fashion were locked down way before any of us were born – we hope to build on these foundations, mostly we just mess things up. That said we will always have one thing – one artistic medium we do better than any that came before us – Graphic Design. Who needs things like “The Rolling Stones” and “Vintage Halston” when you have InDesign? The average twentysomething these days has more irony in one hand crafted, primary coloured, laser cut, perspex badge than a box set of Woody Allen movies (yeah, bit of a stretch but I needed it for this segue, get ready for it…) And there are none more perfectly proportionally designed than those  by former Architecture students Lab Three O Five…

WHO ARE LAB THREE O FIVE?

It’s the brainchild of seven architecture students, Labthreeofive is a design initiative based in Melbourne that specialises in small scale product design. We have an eclectic mix of cultures we hope translates into a design sensibility that’s unique and refreshingly unpredictable. Since its inception, we’ve tried to be synonymous with funky and playful products that liberate the soul from the mundane and engender a passion for life and a culture of fun!

WHAT DO YOU DO?

We try to take really fun objects and turn them into a fashion statement. We look at things that make us go ‘Oh gosh imagine that as a badge or a lamp or a coaster’ and then we sit down and figure out how to make it happen.

The real first inspiration was to raise funds for us to travel around Europe together. Sounds silly, but it’s the honest truth…
After our first sale though, we realised there was something more to it. It’s one thing to see these designs in your head, another to see it produced; and a whole other fulfilling thing to watch your customers get excited about them!