Role: Concept, Product Design, 3D Visualisation, Production Artist: Matjaž Valentar - Webshocker Materials: Ceramic pieces, chrome bases, stone board Status: Designed, produced physically, and released

Circle to Square is a chess set built around a single geometric idea: the transformation from circle to square. Every piece in the set traces this shift, starting from a rounded, circular base and resolving into a clean, squared silhouette at the top. The result is a set that reads as sculptural on its own, while still following the clear visual hierarchy a chess set needs, each piece instantly readable by type, without relying on traditional ornamentation.

The starting point wasn't the chessboard, it was the shape language. Circle and square are two of the most fundamental forms in design, and the idea was to explore what happens when one gradually becomes the other across a family of related objects. Applied to chess, this gave every piece a shared visual DNA while still preserving the traditional hierarchy of the game: pawns stay compact and simple, while the king and queen carry the most pronounced transformation from circle to square.

Unlike most of my visualisation work, which stays digital, Circle to Square was designed to be manufactured. That constraint shaped the entire process:

Pieces are ceramic, chosen for its weight, tactility, and the way it holds a precise, matte geometric edge, important for a form language built on clean transitions between curved and straight surfaces.

Bases are chrome, giving each piece a grounded, reflective foot that contrasts with the matte ceramic body and adds a small moment of visual weight where the piece meets the board.

The board is stone, chosen to match the material honesty of the pieces — no printed or painted board, just cut and finished stone.

Every surface transition, weight distribution, and manufacturing tolerance had to be resolved in 3D before physical production could begin, this is where the visualisation work doubled as a functional production tool, not just a presentation render.

Circle to Square moved beyond a concept piece: it was produced, packaged, and released for sale, with its own dedicated packaging design and online store. On Behance, the project became one of the most-appreciated pieces in my portfolio, proof that a strong, simple idea, carried consistently across every piece, resonates further than technical complexity alone.