Monica Albornoz, a product designer based in New York, recently drew from her background in fine arts to design a new product, the De Stijl Tumbling Tower, in homage to Mondrian and the legacy of the De Stijl movement. The product was recently licensed for exclusive production and distribution by the MoMA Design Store.
At first glance, the De Stijl Tumbling Tower is a stylistic reinterpretation of the classic Jenga game: Imagine a tower of wooden blocks, stacked in groups of three, except that instead of looking at the plain grain of the wood, you’re looking at an assemblage of Mondrian-painted blocks.
But the design is not so simple: “It’s not like I slapped a .jpeg of a Mondrian piece onto the surface of the tower, like a painted projection,” the designer explains. “I carefully designed each block so that the whole product feels like something the De Stijl would have made in their time”. And she’s right. Anyone who’s ever strolled through a modern art exhibition or had a high-school-level art history class will think of Mondrian when looking at the product. But beyond stylistic cachet, Albornoz sees greater meaning behind the product. “These aren’t just some blocks with primary paint and black edges to ‘get’ the Mondrian look for its own sake,” she asserts. “This is an item that brings the core principles of balance, asymmetry, and visual rhythm that the De Stijl movement championed and explored into a dynamic, physical experience,” she explains. “To me, it’s the perfect marriage of form and function, and that is why the design has been especially successful.”
From a market perspective, Albornoz’s creation elevates the often flat (literally and figuratively) Mondrian-inspired products into an interactive art piece that folks will want to keep out of the box. “Even as a static object, the tower looks stunning. I keep it displayed in my living room,” she says. For the designer, the De Stijl Tumbling Tower merited production because its visual novelty and meaningful context could be brought to life ethically. “Since the tower is wooden, it was easier for me to assess whether or not making this product available to consumers was worth the environmental cost,” Albornoz reflects. Currently, the product is manufactured with sustainably harvested rubberwood. The MoMA De Stijl Tumbling Tower, beyond being a dynamic, visually stimulating game, or even a captivating objet d’art, serves as an immersive gateway to Mondrian’s artistic legacy and the enduring influence of the De Stijl movement.
As an active member of the IDSA community, Monica Albornoz offers reflects on the significant role IDSA has played in her design career: “IDSA has been a key companion in my design career. At IDSA conferences and workshops, I’ve been able to connect with friendly faces, absorb relevant knowledge, and make connections that I hope will be lifelong. Knowing that there is a supportive and talented community of designers globally and locally in NYC, lets me feel more comfortable taking career risks.”
"IDSA has been a key companion in my design career. At IDSA conferences and workshops, I've been able to connect with friendly faces, absorb relevant knowledge, and make connections that I hope will be lifelong."
About Monica
Monica Albornoz is a multi-disciplinary designer who tackles the complex social issues of our times through research and hands-on prototyping. Monica earned her MFA in Product Design from the School of Visual Arts in 2023, and her BFA in Studio Art at New York University in 2018.
As a designer, Monica has worked closely with cultural institutions, technology startups, and management consultancies. Most recently, she has developed new products for the MoMA Design Store of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She has also conducted branding and UX design for Xanadu, a quantum technology startup, produced visual communications for Incandescent, a boutique management consultancy, and produced dinnerware for Michelin Star restaurants at Noble Plateware. In 2023, Monica incorporated Moaz Design, a small business specializing in bespoke ceramic products and design commissions.
Her work has won NYCxDESIGN’s 2023 Annual Graduate Student Showcase recognition, and the Best of Students and Schools Award at the ICFF+Wanted Design Festival in 2022. Her products have been shortlisted for D&AD’s Future Impact Award and featured in online publications like Haackster.io and Adafruit. Most recently, her graduate master’s thesis was shortlisted by Arts Thread for its 2023 Global Design Graduate Show in collaboration with Gucci.