11 - The Beautiful Game

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2008

Company:

GRO design

The Gro design partners

Table football is a game that is close to the hearts of many people, holding cherished memories of childhood and youth. Its popularity also reflects the passion that millions of people around the world share for “the beautiful game” of football. 11 – The Beautiful Game rethinks and reshapes table football.

Many football stadiums built in recent years have a strong architectural and sculptural beauty, becoming city landmarks in their own right and enhancing the visual landscape of the local environment. The designers of this football table wanted its form to be equally spectacular and memorable, enriching the interior space where it will be placed.

Table football is great fun to play – it’s social, active and offers a welcome alternative to the solitary activity of computer gaming. As an object, the football table has become less desirable as its cost-driven appearance often doesn’t fit in with the designed landscape of the modern interior – be it a cafe, bar or airport lounge. The designers felt that the traditional football table, having lacked serious design attention in recent years, could be enhanced through reconsideration of its design.

The 11 football table is sculptural in form, and the shiny chrome finish of the figures was intended to mirror the status of footballers in both their sport and in wider society.