kukka — Rona Meyuchas Koblenz

kukka (2010-2018)

kukka is a word I invented when I was three. It symbolises everything that is important to us; a memory from the past, shaping our present.
kukka is a British design house leaning on the actual day to day living experiences.
About

Established in 2010 by designer Rona Meyuchas Koblenz, the young and emerging British design house has ever since received high praise for its work.
The brand, which has become famous for its sustainable and cultural ethos, creates products inspired by everyday life, using minimal materials, components and streamlined geometrical shapes.
My words

As the creative director and founding designer of a design brand, my ambition was to lead the brand identity and to build a strategic roadmap by creating a narrative and connecting the dots between the brand products and the customers.
Some facts

kukka was a fast growing young brand. Their products were sold B2BC internationally and exhibited in museums and design events. in 2010 it was chosen among 20 established British brands to exhibit at the Galleria d’arte moderna in Milan, “100 years of British design” among established British brands such as Dyson and Ercol.
CNN style selected Spectra in their “most desirable products in 2016 review”
People

Products are developed by people and meant to be used.
I’ve worked with people across different disciplines; marketing, PR, press, media, UX, industrial designers, engineers, production and fabrication.

“Rona Meyuchas-Koblenz lets serendipitous stimuli steer kukka’s product design.”

— Frame Magazine

Dream it.

It all begins with an idea. After many year working in the design industry, creating products for people to use, I wanted to create a design led brand, a symbiosis to the everyday life, past and future, a design led house for the day to day living experiences.
Observe. Listen. Question

kukka products are made from sustainable and cultural behaviors. kukka admires craftsmanship and functional aesthetics. those values are reflecting through the materials , the production and technology methods used. The democratic holistic design approach are part of the brand ethos.
The brand products are designed and made from actual experiences, day to day living perceptions
Narrative

My design approach is reflected through the brand identity. A design house that makes affordable, sustainable long lasting consumer products. The process, and the people behind it became the brand narrative.
Iconic product

The brand first product was DIY lamp I’ve designed in 2008.
Made from traditional materials, the 7 wood pieces are playful and were designed to be modulated together so that the lamp shape and function, changes. Its natural appearance reflects also its name ‘DIY’, it can be painted, sanded or let the wood darken and age with time. DIY lamp became kukka’s iconic product with over 2500 lamps were sold.
Community

Physical products are hand made, machine programmed shaped and developed, reimagined with a vision in mind, told.
kukka’s ethos is that it’s products are made by people, for people.
kukka’s community is vast and wide.
We used different channels to engage people with the brand narrative; awards and competitions, regular exhibitions, events, educational, talks programs, collaborations and mostly important, the face behind the brand.
Collaborations

kukka loves was the name I gave for kukka’s collaborations with other artists and designers. The first collaboration was with illustrator Will Haywood. He has created three exclusive illustrations for the brand: Tube, Stairs, Robots.
These illustrations were based on a brief and based on the brand vision.
The illustrations were then printed on products but also on digital and print materials.
Stockists

Being a design led brand, we worked with over 50 stockists in Europe, US and Far East.
It was important how the product is presented and displayed and so the product packaging was also part of the holistic design experience the brand promoted.
To mention few of the stockists: The Conran stores, Paul Smith, Selfridges, La Rinascente, Via Manzoni, De Padova, Sheffield Museum, Architecture museum Stockholm, Loods5, Rudolf Budja Gallery,
British Design Brand

kukka was a young British brand. When I started to draw the brand identity, from my East London studio, it was at the beginning of 2000 and when design makers became brands and there was a lot of support from the British government. kukka was recognized as a prominent, up and coming young British brand.
Online Shop

In 2016, During Paris design fair we’ve launched kukka online store.