The 56th China International Furniture Fair (Shanghai)
September 9-12, 2025
Shanghai Design Furniture Expo | Deniz Aktay's Unique Furniture Designs Combine Simplicity and Functionality
2025-04-21 13:45:04
German furniture designer Deniz Aktay has recently made a name for himself in the furniture world through his use of 3D modeling. Using simple lines and geometric shapes, he creates extraordinary furniture that connects people to their environment in a harmonious way. This year in particular he will be realizing some of his latest designs.
A trained architect, Deniz is an expert in CGI design and 3D modeling. As he embraces minimalism, while working for an architectural firm, he used his free time to design multifunctional furniture. Over the years, as his passion for design grew, this hobby turned into a full-time job.
Although his designs may look simple, he is able to skillfully combine multiple uses. For example, his iconic bookcase, Bookgrove, is designed to hold dozens of books, providing easy access and a dynamic appeal. Used as a side table, it provides easy access to books. This and other designs won him several awards and paved the way for him to put his designs into production.
Q: Your designs are a perfect combination of lines, geometry and functionality. First of all, please share with us your design background and training.
A: The aspects of creation, formation and design have always been important in my work during my studies of architecture and urban planning at the University of Stuttgart in Germany and as an architect with many years of experience. In my spare time I follow this passion and I have successfully participated in several furniture design competitions. In addition, I have always been fascinated by the visualization of building exteriors and interiors as well as 3D modeling. At first, it felt easy to just focus on creating pieces without worrying about how to realize them in the real world. This approach gave me a lot of freedom when designing, a process necessary to generate new ideas. Of course, now that I want to see my work realized, I need to understand the current state of possibilities and limitations in terms of technology and craftsmanship, but I still benefit from the fun and almost unlimited freedom every time I start designing in 3D.
Q: Please share with us your design philosophy.
A: When I started designing furniture, I wanted to do it right out of the box. But now I have a feeling that most manufacturers no longer have the heart to produce distinctive designs, which is understandable because the move can be very risky when there's no way to predict whether people will buy them or not. So for me, you'll see a lot of good designs that are clean, simple and minimalist, but only a few that are truly extraordinary. But I don't want to say that all designs are boring and mine are better, I just want to design some different furniture, and of course I can do it easily because I have the freedom to do whatever I want without the risk of visualization: if a manufacturer says that a design is impossible to do it doesn't mean that it's really impossible to do it, but it means that it takes a lot of work to do it.
Furniture design must be exciting. It can evolve from a beautiful and extraordinary detail, a shape itself, an important feature, but sometimes also from a surprising color, but only if they are stable.
Q: Please share with us some of your latest designs and the concepts behind their themes.
A: My most successful designs are the book collection furniture I have created, such as Bookscrew. this piece demonstrates my favorite idea of a twisted sideboard, where one can access favorite books in a different way by twisting the metal frame and highlighting them in a special way. This generates a bookshelf and a sideboard at the same time. Bookscrew is an ingenious bookshelf designed to bring one's collection to the forefront. The minimalist shelves have a dramatic swooping twisting action and change from vertical to horizontal.
Another successful design is the Bookgroove. here, long, deep curved grooves cut from a solid wood cylinder are the main feature of this side table bookshelf hybrid. With its compact shape, it doesn't take up much space and is multi-faceted. The recess is curved to accentuate and emphasize the curvature of the cylindrical body. This way it harmoniously fits into its overall shape and looks like it's constantly in motion.
Q: How do you utilize lines and geometric shapes in your designs to simultaneously express beauty and functionality?
A: I try to keep it simple. I certainly like the Bauhaus philosophy, which is characterized by simple yet elegant geometric shapes designed according to the intended function. Therefore, I not only try to integrate functionality into my designs, but I also try to make it a part of my design.
Q: What are some of the challenges you have encountered in your designs?
A: Challenges can sometimes come not from the design itself, but from my presence on social media and keeping my followers informed of my updates. Of course, I want to answer every comment, question and message, but sometimes I can't handle it properly. I apologize for that.
Q: What are your sources of inspiration?
A: I can find inspiration in many places, but most of it comes from other related arts such as music, painting, sculpture and fine art. But for the most part, I am inspired by other artists in the same field. Searching for good design work through Instagram or Pinterest is a major source of inspiration. Just look at other designs and you will be influenced by other designs and art, consciously or unconsciously.
Source: our narratives
If there is any infringement, please contact to delete.
A trained architect, Deniz is an expert in CGI design and 3D modeling. As he embraces minimalism, while working for an architectural firm, he used his free time to design multifunctional furniture. Over the years, as his passion for design grew, this hobby turned into a full-time job.
Although his designs may look simple, he is able to skillfully combine multiple uses. For example, his iconic bookcase, Bookgrove, is designed to hold dozens of books, providing easy access and a dynamic appeal. Used as a side table, it provides easy access to books. This and other designs won him several awards and paved the way for him to put his designs into production.
Q: Your designs are a perfect combination of lines, geometry and functionality. First of all, please share with us your design background and training.
A: The aspects of creation, formation and design have always been important in my work during my studies of architecture and urban planning at the University of Stuttgart in Germany and as an architect with many years of experience. In my spare time I follow this passion and I have successfully participated in several furniture design competitions. In addition, I have always been fascinated by the visualization of building exteriors and interiors as well as 3D modeling. At first, it felt easy to just focus on creating pieces without worrying about how to realize them in the real world. This approach gave me a lot of freedom when designing, a process necessary to generate new ideas. Of course, now that I want to see my work realized, I need to understand the current state of possibilities and limitations in terms of technology and craftsmanship, but I still benefit from the fun and almost unlimited freedom every time I start designing in 3D.
Q: Please share with us your design philosophy.
A: When I started designing furniture, I wanted to do it right out of the box. But now I have a feeling that most manufacturers no longer have the heart to produce distinctive designs, which is understandable because the move can be very risky when there's no way to predict whether people will buy them or not. So for me, you'll see a lot of good designs that are clean, simple and minimalist, but only a few that are truly extraordinary. But I don't want to say that all designs are boring and mine are better, I just want to design some different furniture, and of course I can do it easily because I have the freedom to do whatever I want without the risk of visualization: if a manufacturer says that a design is impossible to do it doesn't mean that it's really impossible to do it, but it means that it takes a lot of work to do it.
Furniture design must be exciting. It can evolve from a beautiful and extraordinary detail, a shape itself, an important feature, but sometimes also from a surprising color, but only if they are stable.
Q: Please share with us some of your latest designs and the concepts behind their themes.
A: My most successful designs are the book collection furniture I have created, such as Bookscrew. this piece demonstrates my favorite idea of a twisted sideboard, where one can access favorite books in a different way by twisting the metal frame and highlighting them in a special way. This generates a bookshelf and a sideboard at the same time. Bookscrew is an ingenious bookshelf designed to bring one's collection to the forefront. The minimalist shelves have a dramatic swooping twisting action and change from vertical to horizontal.
Another successful design is the Bookgroove. here, long, deep curved grooves cut from a solid wood cylinder are the main feature of this side table bookshelf hybrid. With its compact shape, it doesn't take up much space and is multi-faceted. The recess is curved to accentuate and emphasize the curvature of the cylindrical body. This way it harmoniously fits into its overall shape and looks like it's constantly in motion.
Q: How do you utilize lines and geometric shapes in your designs to simultaneously express beauty and functionality?
A: I try to keep it simple. I certainly like the Bauhaus philosophy, which is characterized by simple yet elegant geometric shapes designed according to the intended function. Therefore, I not only try to integrate functionality into my designs, but I also try to make it a part of my design.
Q: What are some of the challenges you have encountered in your designs?
A: Challenges can sometimes come not from the design itself, but from my presence on social media and keeping my followers informed of my updates. Of course, I want to answer every comment, question and message, but sometimes I can't handle it properly. I apologize for that.
Q: What are your sources of inspiration?
A: I can find inspiration in many places, but most of it comes from other related arts such as music, painting, sculpture and fine art. But for the most part, I am inspired by other artists in the same field. Searching for good design work through Instagram or Pinterest is a major source of inspiration. Just look at other designs and you will be influenced by other designs and art, consciously or unconsciously.
Source: our narratives
If there is any infringement, please contact to delete.
