The Designs

About > The Designs

Theodore H Waddell believed design philosophy contains the risk of falling into an aesthetic pattern. Rather than fitting designs to a philosophy, curiosity drove Theodore to look for what has not yet been done. Seeking new connections between ordinary things.

Theodore was suspicious of fashion. Fashion is by nature trendy. When used to package a product, the product’s life becomes the fashion’s life. The form a product takes should allow it to live as long as the underlying idea is valid. The closer and simpler the form and idea are together, the better and longer the product will last. These products become classics and continue to thrive over time and beyond trends.

Industrial design differs from an artist’s or artisan’s design. All the pieces are identical, without individual personality. The challenge shifts from creating a single piece of great art or of similar pieces done by a single hand to multiple pieces that create a single design. Industrial design also allows an object whose personality and truthfulness of design for a purpose seem totally natural when seen thousands of times.

Theodore's designs span fifty-one years, from 1955 to 2006, and encompass various stages of development. Participation Designs features the lights, furniture and other designs by Theodore H. Waddell, Architect. His designs are clean, functional, and works of art.

Participation Designs has started with the light stick lights. The design was one that had great innovation, but the product was ahead of the technology available in the 1970's. By staying true to the design, but updating the technology used, this family of lights become the perfect solution for today. All three light stick bases – the Cylinder Light, the Bowl Light and the Bar Light – will be the first of the Participation Designs products. Follow us as we bring these innovative designs to the public.

Participation Designs is a reinvention of great ideas handicapped by technology. Patent and Copyright Protected.