I have a decent eye for design, and can usually figure out how to build what I can imagine, but crafting names for my designs is not my forte’. So, I am enlisting the endless power of the interweb to see if I can shake something loose. To make it exciting without drawing blood, I will offer the winner the very bench that they craftily name. At $2,000, it’s a worth a bunch more than what you find in a cereal box and you have a better chance at winning than you do with scratch offs.
The “X” Bench family’s stunning profile creates a stir in any public setting. Thanks to its symmetrical silhouette any number of configurations and arm options can be achieved, offering the utmost flexibility for modular indoor or outdoor seating. Perfect as a stand-alone bench or ganged in a row, the crisp combination of hand-selected hardwoods and satin aluminum bands creates a durable and distinctive piece. Packs flat for efficient shipping.
Enter your name suggestions in the comment section below. At the end of January Feburary 14th!,I will weigh all of the entries and have a voting session with colleagues and friends. I will notify the winner third week of February. The bench will most likely be made from reclaimed mahogany, but I will hear out wishes. The Bench will be shipped with the first production run and shipping costs are the responsibility
of the winner (not too bad since it packs flat).
{ 107 comments… read them below or add one }
Great design, great product. The “bands” of metal drew my imagination. Here are a couple of suggestions on that theme;
1) Bandy Bench
2) Bandit Bench
Might stop by to see your shop next time we go through KC. Thanks for the fun and seeing some quality work.
Fabulous bench…it’s lightness / airness reminded me of an name, as did the forms of the end panels.
Linastack – for linear ends that have an added arm and back (stacking) feature
or
Aero Bench – for it’s aerodynamic form
or
Mayan Bench – the forms at the end reminded me of some mayan structures seen int ravel
Half of the banded end looked like R2D2 from Star Wars so I’m suggesting “R2″ Bench. Beautiful bench!
It’s a beautiful line of furniture. I’m seeing an abstracted butterfly, so how about a butterfly name – “Celastrina”? Celastrina Ladon (aka Spring Azure) is on the list of butterflies in Kansas:
http://www.gpnc.org/butterflies.htm
And some images:
http://www.google.com/images?q=Celastrina+ladon&hl=en&safe=active
The bench for me evokes airplane imagery…
• In side elevation we see an airliner ascending towards the sky
• Aluminum, of course, is the universal material used in much of the construction of airplanes
• The taper of either of the seat elements is reminiscent of an airfoil
The name of the bench should be ‘Bernoulli’
Homage to Bernoulli’s Principle which can be used to calculate the lift force on an airfoil. Without which, airplanes would not be.
Congratulations, I think you did a awesome job on the naming of this bench! It is perfect!
How about the “Back2Back”…it’s easy to imagine two people sitting back to back in this photo. Until I saw the backed version, I thought it was made of two modules placed against one another….looks like a great product for a location where users would want to look in either direction.
From first glance this brought forth an image of how much fun it is to fly down a slide. It was fun as a kid and it is still fun now. My suggestion would be the “Slide Bench.”
On first glance I thought it was a single sided bench sat infront of a mirror… I think you should call it “ditto” after the old photocopier machines.
very nice design!
Trapeze Bench, derived from the trapezoids repeated throughout and the sense of weightlessness of the bench itself. Plus, trapeze originally comes from the Greek word meaning small table, check it out: http://www.word-origins.com/definition/trapeze.html
“Gemini” synonym for the concept of duality.
I like the duality component, might morph it slightly.
Mantis Bench. I thought the bench with its long and skinny legs and ability to transform itself into being part of the enviroment or not (camouflage), plus the elegance and graciousness of the lines of the design are all elements you find on a Preying Mantis!
Beautiful whatever the name will be.
how about xyz bench? WDmtL bench?
or speechless bench?
Jamie, don’t expect favoritism, this is to the death@!
how about…
shiftalavice = shift + lavice ( Czech for bench )
transpanca = tansform + panca ( italian for bench )
benchkit = bench + kit
As your description suggests, this bench can be used as stand alone and as well as with others,
it reminds me of my personal and lonely times and as well as the times which i spent with my friend.
Hence I would name it as, “Me ‘n’ My Amigos”
which simply means me and my friends.
Sounds like a meal deal at a taco place.
I would call it “Meredith’s Bench”, especially since it has my initials clearly spelled out in the design.
Love it. Beautiful design.
Hmm, I think my wife or dog would have honors first. Thanks fot the visit though.
How about the “Re-former” bench? Reclaimed materials, transposing form…
Very nice work…
Or, in Italian…”riformatore”
Adamo bench. Adamo – the Latin word for to fall in love with, find pleasure in. Love and a bench works well in my life, sharing a pleasurable moment in life together with someone else on a bench.
I like the way it sounds, but in written it just screams Adam. Thanks,
hide-a-bench
Hey,
i´m stumbling, an live in germany.
i like your bench, and the idea of using the power of the cloud, as we would say here in germany. as i looked at the bench to find the metaphoric aspects, i came back all the time to the cross, just like on a graveyard. otherwise the wood reminds me on the beautiful riva yacht.
but my proopsal defitnely is “kreuzverhör”, which is translated as cross-examination, a bad transformation for our subtile and ironic expression. so i hope in your language the “third degree” may perform the task.
That has potential, but would need a nickname for pronunciations sake. Where in DE? I grew up in Mainz and Bad Kreuznach for awhile.
Looking at all the other comments, It makes me wonder why no-one has chosen the name i will yet:
Harmony.
I have chosen this name as the bench to me represents perfect symmetry, endless uses and would blend into any and all settings and environments. As you said ‘ offering the utmost flexibility for modular indoor or outdoor seating. Perfect as a stand-alone bench or ganged in a row’ This to me means one thing, Harmony in all its aspects of use and movement.
Nick
Harmony is good, but maybe a synonym or translation. The name needs to be fairly unique, not so much in common usage and look good printed. Thanks!
DOZONIRAMASHO
“please stare” in command form (bad japanese)
After all, a little vanity is good. The bench knows it looks good.
For a short name “the DOZO bench”
Serenity could be another alternative.
Alluminic Executive Gazer
Alluminic – the metal
Executive – it looks dignified and pretty elegant
Gazer – like someone before me said, it has an aeronautical quality, perhaps future-like. Future = stars + I can imagine sitting on it in a night time garden watching stars. Stars = Gazer.
I propose the name “Spasso” for your sleek bench. It’s an Italian word, (which plays well with your design piece); and it has a double meaning. In Italian, “andare a spasso” is to stroll – which is a perfect time for a bench. Something that is “un spasso” is a thing that brings you great joy and makes you smile. Both interpretations fit nicely with the X bench! Compliments on your work…. It’s striking.
Reminds me of an old church bench with a modern touch. How about “Church Bench: Reinvented”. Okay, so I’m not great at coming up with names either. Love it though! It’s beautiful.
It reminds me of a four step square box, so in honor of our classes, I think “The Waltz Bench” is appropriate. Defiantly another great piece to your collection.
How about Mutare latin for “to change”
or Omkeer means transformation, alteration
Reclasa – rearrange
Just a few I thought sounded kind of cool.
How about ‘POMMEL’ or something like that. The handles kind of remind me of the Pommel horse used in gymnastics…
I like the mirror concept. I think Reflection would be a cool name because it can encompass the physical look of the bench and also the idea of a bench as a place to sit and ponder
I also like “Accordo”…Italian for agreement, settlement…also reminds me of the folding of an accordion…
Those four came into my mind:
“Quatron Bench” – because its devided into four (Quad), and modern (i just saw TRON…)
“Bimero Bench” – bio + geometry, looks a bit cellular
“Cybench” – because its a metal-wood-hybrid, ergo a Cyborg XD
and last but not least:
“The Kurzweil” – German word (something like “disport” in english), also a famous researcher (Ray Kurzweil)
P.S.: Great Design!!!
How about the Versa bench for it’s versatility. Thinking about the lines, a more mathematical name might be cool like the Geome bench(geometry) or the Vector bench.
I have some names, I hope you like it!
Skamya Bench
Sate Bench
Oruga Bench
Modula bench (modular) MOD bench (modern modular), Crecere bench (from the verb crecer, to grow).
Andrew:
Here are my ideas:
aero-taper bench ( for the airplane-like metal loops and subtle tapered wood seat)
Shim-it up bench (the seat looks like a wood shim)
Good luck and I hope you are successful with the design. Very beautiful!
From the first eyeglance one thing come to my mind..
The “London Bridge”
So there you go!!
Hi Andrew,
Awesome design–love the bench!
–My idea is “merge”, “mingle” or “mix” –because in whatever environment the bench is placed, the result will be a merging, mingling or mixing of people by its design—either standing alone or ganged together. It is sleek, can be made out of environmentally safe products, and can be specified in a ton of different applications–great job!
Very nice design.
In the side view the bench represents two very bold ” i ‘s “, for that reason I suggest the name
” i – sit “.
Catchy …
Besides the i – shape, iy has a very aerodynamic look to it. How about “Icarus” the first fligher (greek mythology). Or “brother’s” after the “Wright’s” – bench.
good luck
i call it “el filibusterer bench”.. because it really obstruct the mind of the viewer where the beauty remains the secret on how it would expand to the fulliest.
Le Bench
(less is more)
Symbiosis – living together, people + furniture, wood + metal , furnishing + environment
Wedge Ledge!
Nice design – good on ya!
Bendch
strude
X-Strude
gimme a couple o’ them strudes for the hallway–make it easy for the client to remember
Name for the bench: “Double Four”, and “Double Four Compact”.
P.S. Nice Design – Easy and Practical.
Siamese Bench
I love it!…… and in the aluminium (aluminum – sorry!) supports I see delicate figures at each end with arms outstretched in the form of the letter “R” in semaphore signalling…….therefore I think the bench should be called “Repose”……inviting people to sit and rest!
Aluminating
The Baxter Bench
or simply “Baxter”
‘Bernoulli’ for sure (see Jason Bailly’s comments January 6, 2011 at 3:10 pm)
If Jason wins the bench, perhaps I would be allowed to sit on it for my vote of support for him!
Good luck Jason
Absolutely! I’ll host a benchwarming party for all of those who entered the contest. You will have to come to Portland, OR but while you are here you can put a bird on something and call it art
Hey Jason!
I wish I could claim to have had something to do with your most excellent victory but I can’t. Well done. It’s perfect – like I said ages ago.
Reza
fascia del raso
‘satin band’ in Italian.
nice work.
“Sedere” – (see-dair-ay) Italian infinitive “to sit”
My 2 cents :
Hiragana
Just fits.
Simple and beautiful, with added class.
Very nice design by the way. I love it.
My wife says “the point of view” or “the Metro” (our cats name)
My daughter Emma says “statix” or Mac & Cheese
I think “simplexity” and kudos for using this plan for a name. Keep up the great work, I can relate to using reclaimed materials but I limit my use of wood to heating my house.
loop-d-loop
Beautiful design. As I studied it, the name “Whisper” came to mind.
Very nice work Andrew- “easy on the eyes”. Simple, elegant enticing draw. Clean
well angulated horizontals. Clear, harmonious structural elements. As one stated
above – slightly Mayan
When posed with desire to read deeper into your design its subtle and openness
render further analysis unnecessary hence a pleasant acceptance……… comfort,
harmoniousness, “form vs. function”, all being forgone conclusions I would be
tempted to elevate the name to possibly the verb……… Forgo
I think a good name is
Origami
It is a recognizable name that describes the function
This bench reminds me a roof.
I would call it TETTO (italian language sounds nice for furniture)
SimplySit – e
R.E.S.T. (Real Experience of Sitting Timelessly)
The Pause
Saldo – because of its balance design. Nice work keep it up.
Motif – a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration.
Nice design – see my webpage for examples of the renders i do..
I think a good name could be
“Ksee Tiao Bench”
from the chinese xietiao which means harmony or being in line with someting, I also think it has a nice sound to it.
Alternattive: “l’aile” – the wing (french is such a nice language!)
Nice designs!
hows is the name 88-Bench…?
foresight bench, foursight bench
four-eyes bench, four-i bench
forethought bench, fourthought bench
forecast bench, fourcast bench
Best of Luck!
-ANT
Excellent Design…
call it “ED”
Kudos to you !
Hi,
So pure, so evident, so simple .. and apparently one can sit back to back ?
I would call it BackTOBench which can be shortened in BackTOB, or enven bTOb
But I am just an “amateur” !
Good luck
Beautiful bench, it makes me think lots about the lightness of airlines, the quaint but professional service, willingness to accomodate and the cleanliness of all their facilities…
Hence:
Wright Bench
Air-Line Bench
Consideration Bench
Bench Air
Great design… “Totem Bench” or Totem….I get a strong feel of Pacific North West Indian forms and quartered mirrored forms. Not as the obvious totem pole but more of the asymmetrical metal ends design and angled top of the seat that tie into the design of the open spaces on the ends are familiar to PNW Indian tribal art work of totem pole and art expressed in face/animal designs.I tried to attach some pics that I researched in backing up my theory of a name, but unable to attach to this, so feel free to do some image surfing.
Other thoughts would be kindred or Stele, which came up when doing a thesaurus.com search.
I like this idea of helping with a name. I love the process of design and while doing so try to think of what the name of the collection or piece will be called, I often forget to as I get so involved in the design and then get to dedicate some time to create a name….which as you know is sometimes harder than designing the piece.
Thanks for this opp.
From Dictionary.com
to•tem
Show Spelled[toh-tuh m]
–noun
1. a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.
2. an object or natural phenomenon with which a family or sib considers itself closely related.
3. a representation of such an object serving as the distinctive mark of the clan or group.
4. anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol.
totem
animal or natural object considered as the emblem of a family or clan
“Autobaun”
Simplistic, sleek, fast… that is what comes to my mind…
I tend to associate modern design with the city of Milan, Italy.
One place that I would expect to see a bench of this size put to use is in a bus or train station.
How about “Metro Milan” ?
Hi
its a nice bench, Zeitraeuber (Timebandit) and T-robb
take a outtime and relax its my imagination.
good luck
erik ludwig
Andrew,
The 2 names I like the best, are Ditto, and Reflection, they discribe your bench. My first thought was “Not your Father’s bench”. Great design, it’s hard to come up with a new design of such an old, and simple product. Hats off to you!!
“The Specchio Bench”
It’s a mirror image of itself. Very nice indeed!
the “Woods Bench”
and here’s why…
-The name brings a clean focus to a key design element (the reclaimed mahoganny, which is wood and comes from the woods), with a built-in marketing opportunity (market how the “woods bench” saves our woods by using reclaimed wood). In our digital age, people want to feel closer to nature, hence the trend for adventure vacations, organic clothing, demand for headphones made out of wood (http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/rs1.htm), etc.
-This name is sticky. It is short, unique, and easy to remember, which is important if you care about word-of-mouth advertising, which you should. As an added bonus, it creates a little mystery since it sounds like it could be referring to the designer’s name.
As many others have recognized, there is an obvious symmetry to the form of the ‘X’ bench. The bench is constructed of two separate pieces of wood with matching metal frames. But through it’s construction there exists a certain confluence. I liken the relationship to that of the tectonic plates of the San Andreas Fault. I believe the San Andreas Fault is a fitting metaphor because the two sides of the bench are indeed separate but sloped and pressing up tightly against one another. Open the following link to see an image for reference.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img_0327.jpg/800px-Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img_0327.jpg
So I propose this bench be called the The San Andreas Bench.
In a similar vein, I would like to also propose that it be named:
“Ditto”
“The Bench-Bench”
“B2″
” The Double Bench”
for the two B like forms present in the metal frames.
Since I do some Graphic Design I’ve created some matching logos, for your consideration, inspired by the ‘X’ Bench. Please visit link to download document.
http://db.tt/NmOt2GL
Thanks for reading. I look forward to the results of this contest and the success of this well designed bench!
’2B’ (to be)
Simply being by just sitting there quietly on this bench.
Andrew
The bench reminds me of the interaction of the cyber (manmade world and the natural world), nice work. good luck with the name
“terra-cyber bench”
I also like “robot love bench”
“Mirror Image”
When I first looked at this picture, I thought for sure this bench was up against a mirror. But to my surprise, it fooled me. So Mirror Image is the name I would give it.
Good luck! I can bet this one will be seen in a lot of commercial waiting areas very soon.
Jaime.
I like the comment about it looking like an abstract butterfly. I would also bring in the green, sustainability aspect of your work. name ideas: ecofly, ecoflutter
I also like the reflection aspect of the bench: including the above thoughts I might call it: echo
Great work!
The X bench lacks creativity and vision in its simple form and I would call it “Escape” since it escapes me what else to call it?
Andrew
Great design…..I’d go with “Newman”. No reason….just thought it fit.
24/7
Stunning work!
The bench is airy in design, with a lightness to it.
“Airelight”
Moralia pronounced “Moreelya”
I think It should be named: SilhoueX
The bench does have a strong silhouette and the presence of an X in it’s form, even if the backrest is added.
I would have named this bench Silta – Finnish for “bridge,” since any way you Silta on it you could “connect or reduce the distance between” people =) On first glance, the handles suggested a (widely inclusive of as many people a might alight its short arch in their busy day) Japanese bridge, and simultaneously a Japanese doorway.
Just wanted to say, even though I found the post a bit late. =)
I don’t know if a name has been chosen yet but for now the bench has been labled as the “X”Bench. After reading the description, looking at the design, and it’s current “X”Bench name…I think the bench should be named SilhoueX. There is a visable X silhouette on the sides of the bench.
Has a name been selected for this bench yet?
Hi,
Most likely I’m late! But however I’ll send you my little surgestion to a name to your great design.
Something simple, like the measurements of the bench; 69-23.
Good luck.
You decide on a name yet….lots of good names here.
Sorry for the delay on announcing the name, been traveling.
A name has been selected!
Bernoulli, submitted by Jason Bailly, in Portland, OR. The name has a masculine, yet refined feel and the source of the name fits the form well. He offered the following…
The bench for me evokes airplane imagery…
• In side elevation we see an airliner ascending towards the sky
• Aluminum, of course, is the universal material used in much of the construction of airplanes
• The taper of either of the seat elements is reminiscent of an airfoil
The name of the bench should be ‘Bernoulli’
Homage to Bernoulli’s Principle which can be used to calculate the lift force on an airfoil. Without which, airplanes would not be.
I really appreciate all of the entries and interest and would like to thank everyone that participated. Keep posted, we may try this exercise again.
Andrew
Very elegant for a bench
“the loop ” comes to mind
am i too late?
good luck on sales.
I like it……………
Name : SitOnMe
The name which came to my mind was:
PANKA
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