Roger Arquer at Designed in Hackney Day

Designer Roger Arquer explains why emotion is the guiding force behind his practice, which includes lampshades that work with condensation and experimental fish tanks, in this movie filmed at our Designed in Hackney Day.
In the movie, Roger Arquer introduces his studio, which he set up after completing his Design Products MA at the Royal College of Art.
The three pillars of his practice are function, beauty and emotion, he explains. "Emotion is probably the most important; something that moves you inside and tickles your soul. I would like to think that in the future, design thinking is going to be called emotionalism."
He introduces his trilogy of work about animals, which included a collection of bird houses based around one simple shape and a series of non-lethal mousetraps, which catch the animal inside everyday objects like pint glasses.
Arquer also made a collection of fish tanks that ask questions about the relationships between animals. "This one talks about two different fish living in the same space but still separately," he explains with reference to one of the tanks (pictured in this post). "The small one can go into the big place, but the big fish can’t go into the small place."
He also mentions a painting done by a friend of his depicting variations on a circle, which he describes as a "trigger" for his own projects.
One example of emotion in Arquer's work is the Dramprom glass lamp, where a light bulb rests in an indentation in a glass jar, inside which is a small amount of water. "The heat of the light bulb creates condensation inside, so it makes its own lampshade, and it makes this emotional factor that I always look for in every project," the designer explains.
He then introduces a stool that uses just one metal rod to clamp its legs together and a family of funnels for use in the kitchen, which won him a Red Dot Award.
Next is a ceramic lamp that doubles as a flower vase and switches on and off when the flowers are touched.
Finally he introduces a stool and chair made for his daughter's first birthday, which he describes as "half readymade". "I used cooking spoons for the spindles and rolling pins for the legs, and a pastry brush for the little stool. I wanted to bring this emotional bit into the furniture," he says.
Dezeen launched its Designed in Hackney initiative to highlight the best architecture and design made in the borough, which was one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices.