Experience the 'phygital' world at Decorex Cape Town

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Emojis are so deeply embedded in our daily communications that they have found their way into visual culture, from art to movies to marketing to stuffed toys.

‘While the inspiration is playful, the execution will be sophisticated and refined. The designs will not be overtly themed but will subtly incorporate emoji elements, showcasing the designers’ creativity and expertise,’ explains Bielle Bellingham, executive creative director of Decorex Africa.

The emoji display aims to highlight how ‘phygital’ worlds are increasingly intertwined. The goal is to demonstrate inspiration can be taken from digital culture to enrich today’s interior design and make it more relevant to consumers, especially to Gen Z and Gen Alpha who have been born fully immersed in digital technology in a way previous generations have not experienced.

Taking up the interesting challenge of translating emojis into inspiring physical spaces, are two teams - one from Popstrukt and another comprising wooden flooring specialist Lalegno, working in collaboration with Rumour Has It interior brand architecture and RHi Curate.

Popstrukt will reference the sweet/candy emoji. Known for colourful furniture with names like the Bon Bon Chest of Drawers and the Sugar Cube Cabinet, it is easy to see the alignment between this brand and its chosen emoji.

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The sweet/candy emoji resembles a small piece of candy wrapped in plastic or wax paper with twists on its ends. Its shape and colour vary widely by platform. ‘Candy’ was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Popstrukt will be creating a themed interior space dubbed the Sweet Suite.

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The Lalegno x Rumour Has It x RHi Curate team has chosen the feather and hut emojis as points of departure. According to Emojipedia, ‘Feather’ was approved as part of Unicode 13.0 in 2020 and added to Emoji 13.0. It is a ‘single feather slanted to one side.

On most platforms it's light brown with a dark brown barred or striped pattern. Can be used to talk about feathers or birds, or to represent something that is lightweight, fluffy, or soft.’

‘Hut’ was also approved as part of Unicode 13.0 in 2020, and added to Emoji 13.0. Generally, it is depicted as a round hut with a thatched roof and is used to talk about huts, cottages, yurts, or homes in general.

The feather and hut emojis will be used as inspiration for bespoke safari and modern glamping decor schemes that encompass colour, texture, shapes, patterns and rhythm.

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The design team from Rumour Has It chose the feather emoji because a feather is ‘a reminder of the beauty and wonder of nature and symbolises trust, honour, strength, wisdom, power, freedom, respect and admiration.

The emoji-inspired room sets will serve as an exemplary model of what is achievable in interior design

For more, go to www.decorex.co.za