Book Review: Jaime Hayon Works
Max Fraser
Just five years ago, Jaime Hayon was known only to those who had come into contact with the vivacious character during his time working at Fabrica – Benetton’s research centre in Treviso, Italy. It is hard to believe that in such a short period of time since going it alone, the Spanish designer has evolved into one of the leading names in the design industry – so much so, that he has already released his first book, titled “Jaime Hayon Works,” published by Berlin-based Gestalten (April 2008).
Not known for doing things by halves, Hayon has compiled his projects from the past 5 years into a whopping 320-page, hardback, gilt-edged coffee table compendium. Many would argue that it is too early in his career for such a beast of a book and in many respects that opinion is founded – barely has he entered the mainstream of the design world’s psyche. That said, thumbing through this book and one is immediately struck by the quality, professionalism and variety of his projects up until now, ranging from the majestic Alice-In-Wonderland-esque storytelling of his first exhibition at David Gill Gallery in London and ‘plasticine baroque’ bathroom collections for ArtQuitect to funghi-inspired lamps for Metalarte and oversized mosaic-clad Pinocchio sculptures for Bisazza.
The page designs are spacious and generous to their imagery. A lot of attention has been credited to the design process, to include plenty of his flamboyant sketches as well as images of the production process. Notably, this diverts from the extravagance of many of his projects and grounds the book with a healthy dose of realism, illustrating that Hayon is both a dreamer and a pragmatist. As he would put it, “There are two Jaimes: one total fantasy and the other functional.”
Jamie Hayon Works pp. 074-075
Jamie Hayon Works - pp 098-099
