paul cocksedge: the gift QR code for designs on chocolate

‘gift’ by paul cocksedge and hotel chocolat image © mark cocksedge

to celebrate the 2012 london design festival‘s tenth anniversary, four leading designers and chocolatiers have come together to create original sculptures. the bespoke models are made entirely of chocolate and reference the city of london in some manner. the pieces have been developed by the following teams: paul cocksedge and hotel chocolat; tom dixon and rococo; faye toogood and cocomaya; lee broom and william curely.

image © mark cocksedge

london designer paul cocksedge collaborated with hotel chocolat to create ‘gift’, a large circular mosaic of a thousand round chocolate pieces that forms a QR code. the graphic model aims to blend the traditional craft with digital technology. once scanned the cipher leads the visitor to the establishment’s website were they receive a voucher. the reward sends the individual through the streets of london to the company’s flagship store in covent garden. the ticket is then exchanged for a complimentary, limited edition chocolate box, specially made for the design festival.

detail of arranged pieces image © mark cocksedge

pattern resemble the arrange of hotel chocolat’s boxed gifts image © mark cocksedge

image © mark cocksedge

installation view of the enormous QR code made from chocolate image © susan smart

designer paul cocksedge with ‘the gift’ image © susan smart

by scanning the QR code one receives a voucher for hotel chocolat image © susan smart

(left) ‘chocolate metropolis’ by tom dixon and rococo chocolate (top right) stretching scaffolding (bottom right) abandon buildings of brixton images © susan smart

‘chocolate metropolis’ by tom dixon and UK-based rococo chocolate represents the run down towers of brixton and the ever present scaffolding and cranes that make up the urban landscape. the fragmented models are positioned opposite the glimmering new towers which push and shove their way for dominance in the new rising financial skyline.

‘force of nature’ by faye toogood and cocomaya (top left) marble cavity (bottom left) interior crystallized form (right) split sphere resting on a chocolate base images © susan smart

london-based designer faye toogood has collaborated with the chocolatier cocomaya to create ‘force of nature’, a reinterpretation of the ancient london stone. the model draws on the myth of the 900-year-old relic which is said to have formed part of an altar built by brutus the trojan, the mythological founder of the city. the sphere is split in half which disrupts the exterior geometry to unveil the inner properties of the semi-precious chocolate rock. the interior is marbled and forms an organic crater covered in crystallized geodes which rests on an irregular untempered base.

(left) ’tile lamp’ by lee broom and william curley (top right) lee broom with lighting piece (bottom right) detail of tile base images © susan smart

london designer lee broom and chocolatier william curley have teamed up to create a replica of broom’s ’tile lamp’. the thin slabs are made by the factory which produced the coverings for all the underground stations for the last hundred years. the piece is finished with a lampshade and working light bulb which pays tribute to all of broom’s products being produced in the UK.