+ 14.11.2013

MY DESIGN IDOL

I don't think I have yet found a certain person/company I could fully consider my design idol, but I look up to Scandinavian design a lot.

   Scandinavian design started around 1950 in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The design style can be characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality. The Scandinavian design understood very well the idea that beautiful and functional everyday objects should be affordable to everybody. It was realized thanks to particular form of social democracy in the 1950's and also the increased availability of new low-cost materials and methods for mass production. The products of this movement often use form-pressed wood, plastics, anodized or enameled aluminium or pressed steel. 

   The Lunning Prize was awarded to outstanding Scandinavian designers from 1951 to 1970, and it had an important role in both making Scandinavian design recognized and also defining the profile of the whole movement. The concept of Scandinavian design has been a subject for many debates for last 50 years, but the democratic design ideals have survived and appear continuously in the Scandinavian, and also worldwide design.  From 2006, tradition of pan-Nordic design award has been resumed with the Forum AID Award.

Some of the companies whose design I enjoy:

Arabia from Finland - Arabia is a ceramics company, founded in 1873. Their products range around kitchen- and tableware. Currently owned by Fiskars.

Esteri Tomula Krokus for Arabia

Raija Uosikkinen, Kaj Franck TV-set for Arabia

Friedl Holzer Kjellberg for Arabia

Iittala from Finland - Iittala started as a glass company in 1881. They're specializing in design objects, tableware and cookware. Over time, Iittala has expanded from glass to other materials like ceramics and metal, while keeping with their key philosophy of progressive elegant and timeless design.The company continuously aims for creating modern classics.

Oiva Toikka Kastehelmi for Iittala

Klaus Haapaniemi Taika for Iittala

Tapio Wirkkala Chanterelle for Iittala

Bang & Olufsen from Denmark - Bang & Olufsen is a company which started in 1925 with a radio that worked with alternating current. The company was started by 2 friends, Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, in the attic of Olufsen's parents' manor house. Bang concentrated on technology, Olufsen dealt with business interests. The company designs and manufactures audio products, television sets and telephones. To this day, psychoacoustics is an important factor in their design. B&O often hires designers, not employs them in the company. From 1980's and onwards, the main designer for B&O has been David Lewis. From 1990's, B&O started to open retail shops to sell straight to customers, and production of audio separates was stopped, to suit the need for mini audio systems. Currently, the company is focusing on high quality audio and video products, as well as sound systems for automotive industry.

Beolit 39 radio, Bang & Olufsen 1939

Beoplay A9 wireless speaker by Øivind Slaatto, Bang & Olufsen 2012

Beolab 14 HiFi audio kit by Torsten Valeur, Bang & Olufsen 2013

Design House Stockholm from Sweden - Design House Stockholm was founded in 1992 by Anders Färdig. He used his previous design management knowledge to create a network of independent designers, which is still currently the platform of DHS. The DHS product collection was launched in 1997 with Block lamp. Rather than selecting designers to design a specific product, the Design House Stockholm lets designers present their personal ideas, of which some are selected for production. Brand philosophy: Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful. 

Harri Koskinen Block lamp Design House Stockholm 1996

Lina Nordqvist Family Chairs Design House Stockholm 2009

Jonas Hakaniemi Box Light Design House Stockholm 2008

Variér Furniture AS from Norway - Variér Furniture AS is a furniture company concentrated on designing and producing seats and chairs which are modern and healthy to sit on. The company was formerly part of Stokke, another Norwegian company established in 1932 with focus on strollers, cribs and high chairs for kids. Since 2006, Variér is a separate company, and has been building a strong brand based on long tradition of furniture building. The company's philosophy is called "A Human Idea", which started with the design of "The Original Kneeling Chair" or the Variable balans by Peter Opsvik in 1979. Today, Variér offers a range of task, dining, relax and lounge chairs over the world.

Peter Opsvik Variable balans Variér Furniture 1979

Olav Eldøy Peel Variér Furniture

Per Øie MOVE Variér Furniture 1984

+ 07.11.2013

THE DESIGNER AS AUTHOR

Based on essay: "The designer as author" by Michael Rock

What does it mean for a designer to be an author?
Author - the person who originates or gives existence to anything

   The article focuses on the issue of if designer (specially graphic designers) should be considered authors. One statement I remembered was about literature, that the reader can't "know" the author by reading his/her writings. If that is true, then the same could apply to designers and their work. I think if a designer has done good work, there are many things unnoticeable for the eye. If it' works as expected and doesn't malfunction/irritate, it can be considered appropriate design. Maybe the works of designer are supposed to go by unnoticed? Another literature reference from the article, about post-structuralistic writings - it's not anymore so important what author intended, but how the story works internally. "What difference does it make who is speaking?" (Foucault) The idea in literature moved from having no author (the first, oldest texts found), to more and more importance given to author, to the point where authors themselves say it's not important who says what is said (or - what is needed to be said). If the same scheme would be projected to designers, it would appear that the designers are still to claim the importance of authorism, still growing the strength of their voice. Currently, as referred through Katherine McCoy, the designers are moving beyond problem-solving and towards ‘authoring additional content and a self-conscious critique of the message … adopting roles associated with art and literature’.

   On the other hand, most design is done in a collaborative setting either between client and designer, or a group of designers, and the origin of the final result is very hard to pinpoint. At the same time, the figure of the author implies overall control over creative activity, and has been an essential ingredient of high art. The essay makes a comparison between movie creation and design creation, as both are results of collaborative work. in that part, the writer accents that both film directors and designers work on many projects, of which each inquires them a different level of creative potential. So not each project the movie director/designer takes part should be considered "author's work". In cinematography, the three measures considered to name a director the author are: good technique, individual style, inner meaning. All of these can be discussed and questioned, specially the last - inner meaning.

   In design, the correct intention is very important, turning the final work insistently practical. In the article, it seems as the works which have something extra, something self-motivating next to the practical aim could be considered to have an author. Also work that is complicated to such a degree that the designer needs to be called to make sense and construct the narrative. Also, the designer may create works which aim is to express their own views and statements. These works don't have the influencing relationship with a client, as they're not created for someone.

   Being an author means to take all the responsibility, all the control in one's own hands; for a designer, it's certainly a decision. 

   Another statement from the essay is as follows: If we really want to go beyond  the designer-as-hero model, we may have to imagine a time when we can ask: "What difference does it make who designed it?" I see the world needs more and more designers, as it's getting more and more complex on it's own. People need someone to solve their everyday problems, to live a better life. When I read a book named "Understanding Design" from Kees Dorst I noticed, when he was talking about design education, that the design practitioners that were guiding the young designers (can be named "teachers") already saw during the process where the design was heading to. In  that way, it would seem that each problem has a certain solution (or a few) that the designers with research and creativity tools would come to. If that way of thinking and solving problems could be developed in each designer, then I believe author of the design won't be important. The primary concern won't be who made it, but what it does and how it does it.