Ripple effect: celebrating Karim Rashid’s Tide sideboard

When Karim Rashid was excluded from our inaugural Power 100 list last year, the ever-effervescent designer chose to express his disbelief at the situation on his Facebook page where he duly asked his fans and friends to boycott the magazine and for his clients to withdraw advertising.

On reflection, the omission was a little puzzling considering that, in his own words, ’Karim Rashid has influenced many designers, consumers, developers, industry, and helped shape our democratic landscape. He has designed products that have sold in the millions & has won more awards than one can imagine. He has 4 doctorate degrees and countless successes in his 30 years of experience.’

So in preparation of our second annual list of the world’s most influential designers (the ’Power 200’ was unveiled in our November issue), we launched a global public poll to ask our readers, ’who is the most influential of contemporary designers?’ to make amends. We also launched a special ’Vote Rashid’ campaign, asking readers to keep the prolific designer and his many design successes in mind when casting their votes.

Althought the results of our campaign have proved to be inconclusive, we thought it befitting to celebrate one of our favourite product offerings from the Prince of Pink – the undulating Tide sideboard designed by Rashid for Italian brand Horm. Conceived in 2006 as ’a virtual hug between two families’ – namely the Rashids and the Horms – Tide’s ripple-effect front is made from evenly-spaced, wavy strips of lacquered MDF that are carefully cut and assembled to striking effect by Horm’s master craftsmen in Italy. The design even takes centre stage in Rashid’s own living room – as evidenced by a Rashid family portrait shared by Horm last month, where the design is, perhaps unsurprisingly, showcased in the designer’s trademark fuchsia shade.