Karyn Limond, a Product Design graduate from Edinburgh Napier University, presented her Retreat cupboard, which offers a mobile study and storage solution, at this year’s New Designers exhibition. Made from plywood, the desk and stool are finished with a white formica veneer.
Karyn attended Mayflower High School in Billericay, Essex, where she studied Product Design for both GCSE and A-Level. Her passion for design saw her pursue Product Design BDes (Hons) at Edinburgh Napier University, which allowed her to express her abilities in different forms.
“The most enjoyable part throughout the four years was the studying of my major project,” she says, “which allowed me to bring focus to what I believe is a big issue in today’s society – small space living."
Her Retreat cupboard received a commendation at this year’s Edinburgh Napier degree show, and was named a show highlight by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) at New Designers 2016.
“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication. My overall aim is to design products effectively in a way that fully meet consumers’ functional and emotional needs,” says Karyn.
“The desk is designed in order to allow the user to close it away into the cavity on the right side, without the need to move objects. The stool slides in between both parts when closed in order to hold it shut and create a more compact living space for the user. The cupboard is designed so that it can be accessed from both the outside and the inside. I was inspired by the use of room dividers and hidden bookcases within homes, which led me to create a hidden space that no-one necessarily knows about apart from the user.”
