When reading through my classmate’s blog posts about conceptual design there were similar critiques about what was wrong with conceptual design. Namely that conceptual design is overpriced, unattainable to the masses, and pointlessly strays from the function of an object. I would agree with these points because there is a lot of terrible conceptual design that has risen to momentary fame because of great product photography, marketing, and being associated with a star designer. But it is the great examples of conceptual design that impact me on a deeper level that make me such a strong advocate of conceptual design.
I am often disappointed with the work of the big name designers of our time because they have ascended to such fame that simply attaching their name to a product almost guarantees the product’s success on the high-design market. But there is a reason why most of these star designers are as big as they are and that’s because at one point in their careers they actually did design something amazing. This is usually at the beginning of their careers, a time when they had to rely on their talent and vision to carry them, not their name. A good example of this phenomenon is the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. His early work with Droog design for the Dry Tech exhibition in 1996, namely the knotted chair, launched him onto the international design scene. He quickly followed up with other fantastic designs like the vase cast from a condom stuffed with eggs to assert that he was there to stay. But now that he has become the next Phillipe Stark he has begun to rely on his name to promote some pretty stupid shit. An example is his New Antique series that takes a classic spindle furniture vernacular and paints it black, adds a paragraph explaining the concept (that doesn’t actually explain the concept) and calls it a revolution. It is the designer like who Marcel Wanders has become that perpetuates this idea that the conceptual designer produces excessive one off crap with a paragraph justifying its existence. A designer that goes against this trend and has stayed true to her design process is Hella Jongerius.
She too was catapulted to fame by Droog design around the same time as Wanders was but instead of relying on the power of her name she relies on her talent to keep her a major player in design. Jongerius designs for all scales of production from one off pieces for galleries to industrially produced products for Vitra. In almost all of her designs she takes a very hands on approach and gets very involved with material and process exploration. Her designs are not so much characterized by technical material innovation but rather conceptual material and process innovation that produce unexpected and beautiful products. Her Long Neck and Groove Bottles demonstrate this process by recognizing the similarities that glass and porcelain have (they both need heat to be transformed, they both come from the earth) and combined them in a range of vases that are all related yet each one is different. She has continued with the idea of each piece being a little unique in her current production work with the introduction of the polder sofa. Jongerius does not try to make bold ridiculous statements that are accompanied by a paragraph of bullshit instead she draws on the meanings and possibilities in materials and processes to make really interesting and beautiful designs that work too, when having it work is a goal for the project.
Unfortunately most conceptual design is fairly expensive and only high end stores in major cities showcase this type of work. Sometimes this price is justified by the material choice or the craftsmanship but other times it’s artificially inflated. However I feel that some products that could actually be mass produced and for a decent price remain at these inflated high prices because the market for them is small so the batch being produced is small. If more businesses were willing to take a risk in a well designed product with a thought behind it then conceptual design might be more affordable. However, business people have a hard time seeing how the ideas in conceptual design matter at all when they’re looking primarily at the aesthetics, the function and the bottom line, cost. That is why the best of conceptual design looks good, works decently well and has a great idea behind it.
Honestly I think this whole divide between art and design and people trying so hard to classify it is a bit ridiculous. Conceptual design gets a lot of criticism because it has the word design attached to it. Who the hell cares if it’s art of design if it’s bad ass then it’s BAD ASS!!
I am often disappointed with the work of the big name designers of our time because they have ascended to such fame that simply attaching their name to a product almost guarantees the product’s success on the high-design market. But there is a reason why most of these star designers are as big as they are and that’s because at one point in their careers they actually did design something amazing. This is usually at the beginning of their careers, a time when they had to rely on their talent and vision to carry them, not their name. A good example of this phenomenon is the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. His early work with Droog design for the Dry Tech exhibition in 1996, namely the knotted chair, launched him onto the international design scene. He quickly followed up with other fantastic designs like the vase cast from a condom stuffed with eggs to assert that he was there to stay. But now that he has become the next Phillipe Stark he has begun to rely on his name to promote some pretty stupid shit. An example is his New Antique series that takes a classic spindle furniture vernacular and paints it black, adds a paragraph explaining the concept (that doesn’t actually explain the concept) and calls it a revolution. It is the designer like who Marcel Wanders has become that perpetuates this idea that the conceptual designer produces excessive one off crap with a paragraph justifying its existence. A designer that goes against this trend and has stayed true to her design process is Hella Jongerius.
She too was catapulted to fame by Droog design around the same time as Wanders was but instead of relying on the power of her name she relies on her talent to keep her a major player in design. Jongerius designs for all scales of production from one off pieces for galleries to industrially produced products for Vitra. In almost all of her designs she takes a very hands on approach and gets very involved with material and process exploration. Her designs are not so much characterized by technical material innovation but rather conceptual material and process innovation that produce unexpected and beautiful products. Her Long Neck and Groove Bottles demonstrate this process by recognizing the similarities that glass and porcelain have (they both need heat to be transformed, they both come from the earth) and combined them in a range of vases that are all related yet each one is different. She has continued with the idea of each piece being a little unique in her current production work with the introduction of the polder sofa. Jongerius does not try to make bold ridiculous statements that are accompanied by a paragraph of bullshit instead she draws on the meanings and possibilities in materials and processes to make really interesting and beautiful designs that work too, when having it work is a goal for the project.
Unfortunately most conceptual design is fairly expensive and only high end stores in major cities showcase this type of work. Sometimes this price is justified by the material choice or the craftsmanship but other times it’s artificially inflated. However I feel that some products that could actually be mass produced and for a decent price remain at these inflated high prices because the market for them is small so the batch being produced is small. If more businesses were willing to take a risk in a well designed product with a thought behind it then conceptual design might be more affordable. However, business people have a hard time seeing how the ideas in conceptual design matter at all when they’re looking primarily at the aesthetics, the function and the bottom line, cost. That is why the best of conceptual design looks good, works decently well and has a great idea behind it.
Honestly I think this whole divide between art and design and people trying so hard to classify it is a bit ridiculous. Conceptual design gets a lot of criticism because it has the word design attached to it. Who the hell cares if it’s art of design if it’s bad ass then it’s BAD ASS!!
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