ABOUT
Playful, Sculptural Home Décor that Behave in Unexpected Ways
Based in South Kensington in West London, the studio creates objects that express their personalities by coming to life when they are used.
They can take on the mood of the drinker (13° 60° 104° decanter), or the behaviour of the contained item (Gauge flower vase). They can be shy or extrovert while performing their job (22° 36° 48° bowl), or give overstaying dinner guests a polite clue when it is time for them to go home (≲ 231 MIN candleholder).
Dyslexic designer Jim Rokos explores the physical properties of materials to generate aesthetic, intriguing concepts. Rokos creates products of exceptional quality, made without compromise at any stage of the process, from design to manufacture. Rokos won the prestigious 2012 Reddot Design award for the 13° 60° 104° wine decanter and the Enterprise Europe Network Award 2014 for the Gauge vase. The Gauge also won the German Design Award 2017, for Excellent Product Design. The ≲ 231 MIN has won a special mention in the German Design Awards 2021.
Film by Jason Giberti, 2012
Jim Rokos
Jim Rokos FRSA is a multi award-winning designer. His patented cat-food bowl won BBC’s Tomorrow’s World's Best Inventions pilot in 2001. Whilst studying, D&AD included his work 'in-book' (2006). His Blindspot series is Design Parade selected (2007). In 2008, he won an RSA Design Directions award and in 2012 the Faces of Design award.
Originally he trained as a model-maker in the film and television industry (working on The Muppet Treasure Island, Band of Brothers, Tomb Raider, Victoria and Albert). Jim then went on to teach at a special needs school in London before completing a Master’s degree (2006) in Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design (part of London’s University of the Arts).
Working from the studio in London, Jim is passionate to explore the physicality of materials to create original and visually beautiful refined concepts. Visit Jim's website here:
jimrokos.com
Dyslexic Design
In 2016, Jim curated the exhibition Dyslexic Design, which was designed by Ab Rogers and hosted by designjunction. The show challenged perceptions of dyslexia by accentuating its positive effects and its close association with design. Dyslexic Design is a Silver Winner in the London Design Awards; category: Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design. It was also nominated for the iF Social Impact Prize 2017 for Health & Demographic Change. Jim says, 'I believe that my ability to design the way I do is a result of my dyslexia'. Many now consider Jim's work to be a symbol of the gifts that dyslexia can bring.
Photograph by Kate Power and Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth.
