Has Bates Y&R Designed the World's Ultimate Couch?

Traditionally, TV providers have only dealt with that which occurs on the screen. But this is now over with a new design collaboration where a furniture designer and a TV service provider have joined forces in designing the perfect couch and give people a better TV experience. You can view the Kickstarter video here.

The Danish furniture designer, Isabel Ahm, is responsible for the design of the new couch called Habits. In collaboration with Boxer TV, she has developed the ideal TV couch, which is based on a qualitative study utilizing photographs of Danes in their sofa environments. In addition, Boxer TV has supported the studies with a comprehensive population survey. The study shows that Danish TV viewers use their couches in a variety of ways. For example, 30 percent of Danes are not against taking food to the couch, while 25 percent like to nap on the couch, and more than half of us prefer to watch TV with others. This is the new reality.

”My starting point as a designer is to create solutions to a problem. As I began to look more closely at the way we behave when we watch TV, the problem became obvious. The evolution of the couch hasn’t really kept up with the technological evolution and the way we socialize in the 21st century. We still gather around the TV. But ever since laptops, tablets and smartphones have joined the family we haven’t really made them feel at home in the couch,” says Isabel Ahm about  the reasoning for developing a new sofa.

As a result Habits consists of a number of modules, which can be put together so you can design your own couch according to your needs and habits. There are 8 different modules and the possibilities are endless.

”When the idea for the project arose, we were quick to see the opportunities, especially with this quirky idea. For us, this is about being able to offer consumers something beyond the usual and to meet their need for freedom of choice.” says Philip Philipson from Boxer TV.

Boxer TV has also helped Isabel Ahm to get this project accomplished by making a Habits prototype. Like many other designers, entrepreneurs and artists, she is now asking people to back the project. Either by funding it or help spread the word.