Next Generation: Fayaaz Mahomed

Industrial designer and recent graduate Fayaaz Mahomed of Unfayzd Design has created a system of space-efficient seating.

Part of the Project

“I firmly believe that everyone should have access to good design and beautiful things,” says Fayaaz Mahomed, founder of Cape Town-based design studio Unfayzd Design.

After attending a technical high school, Mahomed extended his studies by enrolling in a mechanical engineering programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. There he discovered his true passion for furniture and interior design and in 2008 graduated as a qualified industrial designer.

"After coming across the likes of Ray and Charles Eames and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, I knew I wanted a career in industrial design. The rest, as they say, is history," says Mahomed, who sells his furniture at KIN in Kloof Street, Cape Town.

For me the biggest benefit of design is how it has the ability to improve life. Be it through products or systems, it can uplift communities – that is just huge, says Mahomed.

"Ultimately, I hope that my work becomes recognised worldwide, while still remaining affordable for everyone," he adds.

Seeing the design potential in almost everything he comes across, Mahomed is inspired by necessity and daily life. Since his experience as an Emerging Creative at Design Indaba Expo 2014, he has begun producing a space-efficient seating range. The pieces can be assembed and taken apart quickly and easily and don't take up a lot of space when stored.

Mahomed likes to experiment with a variety of materials, such as wood, particle board and Valchromat, often mixing organic and non-organic materials.  At the moment he favours working with plywood. Furthermore, most of his furniture pieces can be flat-packed. “I try to apply this concept to everything I design so that it makes it easier for transport, assembling and storing,” he says.

He collects and reuses left-over materials from previous designs in order to limit his wastage. He is working on a range of clocks made from the offcuts of his latest seating collection. “Instead of throwing away the discarded materials I repurpose them into something useful and beautiful," he explains.