Design Talks

Festival des Métiers: Hermès at Saatchi

2013-06-14T16:22:09Z

Context matters – even in the world of luxury scarves, bags and belts – and there is arguably nothing quite as powerful as a brand with a strong narrative. You cannot invent this – well you can, but the impact isn’t quite as evocative as having inherited an intriguing story. Hermès clearly knows this. Founded in Paris in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a house of master harness-making and later saddle-making, the company remains family-owned, has continued this blend of precision manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship, even as it gets swallowed up in the increasingly homogenised global market.

To prove this, last month the French atelier exhibited Festival des Métiers: a rendezvous with Hermès craftspeople (21-27 May 2013) at London’s Saatchi Gallery. This engaging public show explores the world of Hermès luxury goods by going behind the scene, literally, as the artisans reveal the mastery of their craft.

These are visceral experiences. We see how the famous Hermès silk scarf is hand-printed, listen to the rhythmic sounds of the artisans’ tools as the Birkin handbags and other objects of desire are brought to life. And all this in a fun and floral space created by designer Paola Navone.

The show appeared to be a huge success. On the sunny Saturday we visited, the halls of Festival des Métiers were packed with visitors from all walks of life (a very young group it seemed) as the somewhat ‘darker’ contemporary Russian art exhibition throughout the rest of the gallery resembled a ghost town.

This is a travelling exhibition finding its way to Europe via Beijing and Shenyang, and heading to Düsseldorf following the London showing. What it proves is that story, history, context, individuality… matter more and more – and are a great selling tool. In the words of advertising guru, John Hegarty, ‘a brand is the most valuable piece of real estate on the world, a corner of someone’s mind.’

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

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Serpentine Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto

2013-06-14T16:21:32Z

This is the latest Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Sou Fujimoto and unveiled yesterday. At 41, the Japanese architect is the youngest creative to participate in the design of this temporary structure that resides in London’s Kensington Garden for four months.

His creation is a delicate, three-dimensional latticed structure made of 20mm fine steel poles that forms a lightweight and semi-transparent sculpture almost blending in with the surrounding landscape. The flexible, multi-purpose social space has a café inside to encourage park visitors to enter and interact with the Pavilion.

Fujimoto is very much part of an exciting generation of avant-garde artists who are re-inventing our relationship with the built environment. Inspired by organic structures, such as the forest, the nest and the cave, his signature buildings inhabit a space between nature and artificiality.

He describes his design concept: ’The delicate quality of the structure, enhanced by its semi-transparency, creates a geometric, cloud-like form, as if it were mist rising from the undulations of the park. From certain vantage points, the Pavilion appears to merge with the classical structure of the Serpentine Gallery, with visitors suspended in space.’

Fujimoto is the third Japanese architect to design the Pavilion, following Toyo Ito in 2002 and Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA in 2009. He has completed the majority of his buildings in Japan, with commissions ranging from the domestic, such as Final Wooden House, T House and House N, to the institutional, such as the Musashino Art Museum and Library at Musashino Art University.

The Pavilion is an exciting project that is organised by the Serpentine Gallery. Past work have included designs by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei (2012), Frank Gehry (2008), the late Oscar Niemeyer (2003) and Zaha Hadid, who designed the inaugural structure in 2000.

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Read our previous reports on the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion projects here.

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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in picture

2013-06-05T12:06:15Z

You really can’t get much more glamorous than Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. The annual event that is held in May on the shores of Italy’s picturesque Lake Como serves as a beauty contest for the world’s most exotic, rare, desirable cars and motorcycles. Here the wealthy and enthusiasts in their thousands gather to celebrate automobile art, to bid for one at the auction that follows – and there are usually a few new concepts cars thrown in to keep the event relevant and contemporary.

This year’s event was no exception with 50 cars and 35 motorcycles from widely varying eras in automotive history and six new prototypes on show. Awards were handed out to the 1948 Soviet Union’s IMZ M-35K motorcycle, a 350 cc twin-cylinder boxer, the 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic, and the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring for the best concept car on show.

Lake Como also provided the backdrop for the world premiere of the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé and BMW Concept Ninety, a car and a motorcycle that hint at the company’s future thinking. The Gran Lusso is how the Italian design consultant envisages an ultra luxurious BMW coupé. For the German carmaker the appeal of working with an independent firm like Pininfarina is that it allows for a different take on its cars, the design – these are fresh eyes that bring in new visions.

Karim Habib, head of design, says the appeal is that you get ‘another very different and special angle on facets like luxury and exclusivity’. Fabio Filippini, who directs Pininfarina design, agrees: ‘When two such tradition-rich and experienced brands join forces to turn a vision into reality, something utterly new and exciting emerges. From start to finish, this project was defined by a mutual respect for the identity of the other company.’

With ‘90 years of BMW Motorrad’ anniversary as its focal point, the company also put on a rather special exhibition at the nearby Villa Erba featuring over 30 creations from its history including the BMW R 32 – the marque’s first motorcycle made in 1923. It proved an ideal platform for unveiling the BMW Concept Ninety, a bike, the company says, that ‘resurrects the spirit of the emotionally charged superbike’.

Ola Stenegard, head of vehicle design at BMW Motorrad, explains: ‘We want to show how reduced and pure an emotional BMW motorcycle can be.’ This is a sporty boxer – its basic proportions take their cue from the forebear that inspired this concept, the BMW R 90 S. The fairing, tank, seat and tail instantly signal its family connection. The rich, vibrant shade is also a nod to the legendary Daytona Orange paintwork of the machine.

At the end of the long weekend, the RM Auctions produced total sales of over £23m with five cars exceeding £1m and 11 surpassing their pre-sale estimates. The top sale though came from a 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione, a fine piece of automotive art, that went for some £8.4m – after all this is an automotive beauty contest.

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Students interpret Jaguar design

2013-05-31T07:16:51Z

This is an inspired take on Jaguar design by Royal College of Art students Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller created for Clerkenwell Design Week 2013, which opened this week. The initial brief, put forward by Jaguar’s advanced studio in the UK to vehicle and textile design students, was to create a joint exterior and interior form study that expresses their vision of the marque’s future design language in either a sports or luxury context.

Ewan and Claire explain their art installation: ‘We began the project by looking at light, specifically the way the light falls within the space at Clerkenwell. We thought about how our form could accentuate this light and convey volume through its use of materials and our knowledge of how these materials react with one another.’

The installation’s form relates to the Jaguar brand through its sculptural volumes, use of materials and visual lightness – this being pivotal to the marque’s ongoing design language.

‘These elements helped us to create a sculpture that aimed to display a seamless transition between interior and exterior space,’ say the team.

Read more on Jaguar design as we speak with design director Ian Callum on future ideas and Julian Thomson of advanced design discusses on the new F-Type.

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Book review: Logobook

2013-05-22T14:43:58Z

TASCHEN has a history of publishing fine, highly visual books for the design industry. Its latest, Logobook, which landed in DT’s office the other day, is no exception. In fact the TASCHEN application lends itself incredibly well to a book that promises to be the ‘ultimate logo reference guide’.

The story of Logobook began back in 2009, when the author Ludovic Houplain - founder of H5, a multidisciplinary design studio in Paris – co-directed the Academy Award-winning short Logorama. The animated film looks into the use of logos and brands, and examines how they came to be a point of reference for corporate culture. It tells the story of our times through the products and services that surround us on a daily basis. Logobook aims to make a similar documentation.

During his research, Houplain collected some 40,000 symbols and trademarks, forming the foundation for Logobook. Here he gathers around 7000 logo designs arranged alphabetically making this not just a fascinating read but a practical reference book.

This is a meaty book of 776 pages, each page showcasing 8-10 logos as well as information on the designers, when it first came to public view and what country it originated from. Also included is a critical essay on brand culture by French philosopher Gilles Lipovetsky. It all adds up to a very useful book for anyone interested in contemporary culture.

Purchase a copy of Logobook here.

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Designed in China interview: Superise

2013-05-31T07:18:12Z

A new generation of designers are creating quite a stir in China. These independent creators are openly challenging the ‘made in China’ tag by introducing work that challenges old traditions, represents a more contemporary China and is in many cases avant-garde. Together their creativity is helping form a new vernacular for modern Chinese design.

Thanks to Bundshop, a platform for presenting a new generation of Chinese designers, we are publishing a series of interviews with some of the key practitioners there. Here we meet Eva Zhou, co-founder of the young Taiwanese brand Superise.

Design Talks. What inspired you to become a designer?

Eva Zhou. Art has been a constant part of my life and the seed of design was first planted in me whilst growing up, but the ultimate path to what I am doing now wasn’t a linear one. I had to learn what I didn’t like before I learned what I was most passionate about.

I started out my career in interior design, but I found it hard to express myself thoroughly because the ultimate goal of the profession is to serve clients. My ability to design often got pushed onto the wrong direction due to their varying tastes. Consequently, this became a serious block for the development of my abilities and individual expression, and after only a year of exhausting interior design, I knew I couldn’t do it anymore.

DT. How did you then come to create your own company?

EZ. Serendipitously. I met the manager of a furniture company who inspired me to take the path of being a product designer. Soon with my partner Jerry we created Superise. We looked around and saw how fast China was growing in terms of economy and urbanisation. However, we felt the Chinese are ignoring other parts of their spiritual and personal growth. They live a routine life in the city: they rush from home to work, from appointment to appointment, and have such full schedules but empty lives. Too busy, they have forgotten the little joys of life.

DT. Why did you design small products that contain elements of nature?

EZ. Superise hopes to convey a slow and peaceful lifestyle – the natural elements in design are there to neutralise the urban life. We therefore focus on designing small, elegant gifts that decorate one’s life with surprise. Just like our slogan ‘discover surprises in life’ we seek to bring small moments of respite to our customers. We love to meticulously discover the details and beauty in life, and transforming those discoveries into designs. Ordinary and banal objects in life – such as vases, pencils, and clocks – are reinvented with an element of surprise.

DT. Can you talk us through the ethos behind your current collection Spring?

EZ. Spring has been the first full collection of products inspired by this rationale. We hoped to invite the plants that are supposed to be in vases and outside of our houses into our homes and into our lives.

Vases aren’t supposed to be the only way to exhibit and look after these plants; they should be ubiquitous in our homes and decorate our living spaces with their natural beauty. Through our unique clocks, pencil holders, sticky note, nature and plants can successfully combine into our lives. Greenery no longer has to be outside but stay in our lives and inspire us to appreciate nature.

We also hope to convey the idea that design must be understood by everyone through our small, everyday life designs. We believe that a good design should be used by the mass public and by designing products that are inexpensive and small, we can integrate design into the lives of normal people.

DT. How do you define Chinese Design?

EZ. Design in the east and west is drastically different, and therefore many Chinese designers are trying to combine elements of both cultures into their designs. They are trying to present products that can be accepted by the West but still maintain a Chinese aesthetic.

However, we are less concerned with that aspect of fusion, and more interested in a deeper understanding of how design interacts with the consumer. The things we design, and the purpose of our design is not to simply sell a product, but to improve the lives of those that interact with the design. We, for instance, can bring a smile into the banal day of an overworked professional in a big city, consider each bird necklace and leaf notepad, a success.

DT. What does Chinese design mean to you?

EZ. We may not be able to define ‘Chinese design’ at this stage, because it is so nascent and it is going in so many directions, but to us it means being able to incorporate two very different phenomena – city life and nature. As China moves forward, and industrialises even further, it will be the duty of good design to continuously bring people back to their roots, back to nature, and back to peace. In the next couple of years, Chinese design will rely very heavily on branding to survive the globalisation that happening, which is why we are designers with a story.

DT. Do you see a unique Chinese aesthetic forming?

EZ. Those stories will come in many forms, and many voices. It will take some time before there is a unique Chinese aesthetic, but this is the way the evolution of design must happen. We hope that more people will appreciate the wide spectrum of what Chinese design means. We’re excited to be part of this movement, rather than an individual company moving forward.

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Read our interview with Sozen here and of an exciting exhibition in London ‘Designed in China‘. For more Chinese designers visit Bundshop.

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Giles Taylor on the Rolls-Royce Wraith

2013-05-03T07:54:43Z

The Rolls-Royce Wraith references the glamour of old Hollywood with the elegant Deco inspired sweep of its long fastback body – think Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Hitchcock’s most stylish of movies To Catch a Thief. Displaying this Ghost-based coupé seems to be a self-conscious separation by the marque from the supercar power struggle that dominated the 2013 Geneva Motor Show in March, where this car was first revealed to us. This doesn’t mean this is a whimsical car, though – the Wraith is the most powerful and sporty car Rolls-Royce has ever built.

‘We have gone out of our way to make this a car in its own right. This is very much designed to be a gentleman’s GT,’ explains Giles Taylor. ‘This may sound exclusive to women, but I believe this is very unisex car,’ notes the design director as I catch up with him at the show. He leads me to the coach doors, which he notes ‘have all the glamour and expression that will appeal to lady drivers’. He says balancing duality is a very Rolls-Royce quality. ‘We don’t go overtly in one direction.’

From initial sketch to the Wraith we see before us took three and half years involving a team of five designers. Giles says his team don’t work in an ‘automotive cocoon’. He says: ‘We are designers who love design and will go to the Monaco yacht show and Milan design fair to be inspired. So many of our solutions are not automotive related.’

The proportions of the car express what’s beneath the metal, he explains. ‘There is a very powerful engine at the front so we need to express this. To reference heritage we felt it needed this wonderfully tensile silhouette. The teardrop look makes the car look like it can go fast.’

The car was designed to be in two-tone. Giles explains that this begins to break the car into modules and creates a stronger architectural sense. Rolls customers naturally opt for the bespoke colour combinations for which five are offered on the upper deck and 32 on the lower. ‘We allow our customers to pick-and-mix but there are things we wouldn’t recommend. We are keen for a personal statement to creep into your choice.’

Over at Goodwood, where the cars are assembled, over 500,000 colours are on offer and the team can mix and match almost any shade. It all dates back to the days of Valentino who famously ordered a purple Rolls and Marlene Dietrich’s emerald green Phantom II that was specified to match her favourite necklace. ‘There is the glamour side of our brand that we can’t deny,’ Giles smiles.

The styling is cinematic – step inside and you are transported to the set of To Catch a Thief, you can almost see yourself cruising along the snaky roads of 1950s Côte d’Azur. Giles is clearly delighted with this observation: ‘As a design team we look at Cary’s jacket and Grace’s dusty pink dress [in the film] and visualise how we would get that colour in the interior.’

The heavy coach doors can be ordered shut with a press of a button; the boot too has sensors that triggers it to close automatically. The cabin is cosy with its soft leather seats and brown sheepskin floor mats. It is also contemporary in its treatment of natural texture wood, a play on balancing the analogue and digital on the dashboard, and the racy graphics that light up the roof at night.

The Wraith, the designer feels, is perhaps for a Rolls customer with a more ‘spirited approach to life’. The saloon, he notes, has more formality and is a car that lends itself to being chauffeured. ‘We’re expanding beyond our traditional customer base and reaching out to a younger minded person in certain regions,’ says the designer candidly. ‘In China our customers are very young, and many are women. So for us it is a case of putting a contemporary edge to this product.’

Read my interview with the Rolls-Royce chief executive officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös in Wallpaper* and the making Rolls-Royce cars at Goodwood here.

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Cars at Salone del Mobile Milan

2013-04-25T07:39:18Z

The world of the automobile is rapidly evolving – no longer is it sufficient to build reliable, well-engineered machines. Now cars need to be thoughtfully designed to express current trends and they have to at least be seen to be relevant. And it helps to be spotted mingling with the creative world. Car designers are forever emphasising their involvement with other design disciplines, of how they keep on top of trends and are involved in a discourse within the wider creative community. Rarely an interview takes place without a designer mentioning the Salone del Mobile, the coveted annual design show held in April in Milan.

It is here where they gain inspiration for their work, and unsurprisingly they have long wished to get involved. Shows like Milan don’t bring immediate financial gains, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to get a bit of creative kudos behind you, even in the hard sell world of the automobile, and the car world has wised up to this.

This year the list of carmakers present at Milan included the likes of BMW, MINI, Lexus, Renault and Hyundai. What they exhibited – in other words how conceptual they’ve been willing to go – and the choice of designer partnership reveals a great deal about where they wish to position themselves. Some showed a more daring side, others stayed close to the world they know best.

Renault partnered with British designer Ross Lovegrove (who’s studio happens to be a stone-throw-away from Design Talks) for Twin’Z. This is a pretty straightforward interpretation of a car – the blue four-seater sculpture inspired in colour by the painter Yves Klein mirroring the virtues of the planet, says Lovegrove. Inside is a single unit; there is no dashboard with all information displayed on a smartphone.

Lexus stayed close to its Japanese heritage by collaborating with space designer Akihisa Hirata and renowned architect Toyo Ito for Creating Amazing. This is a much more conceptual affair – the space offers multi-sensory experiences to highlight the connection between roads, humans, wind, and water thus challenging the viewer to imagine the cities of the future.

A mix of performance art, music and dance, created by German choreographer Nikeata Thompson, accompanied Korean carmaker Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture in Motion. Another inspiring conceptual offering, here lights form virtual sculptures inspired by how nature continuously adapts to the changing environment.

An interesting partnership came from BMW who worked with celebrated French design siblings Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for its Milan exhibit. Quite Motion is a take on individual e-mobility. The slowly and silently rotating installation (reminiscent of a carousel) interprets BMW’s electric i sub-brand’s design – the lightweight construction, transparency and environmentally friendly materials. The installation’s pared-down form highlights the visionary aspect of electric mobility.

Over at sister company MINI, head of design Anders Warming revealed another intriguing installation. Based on the latest Paceman car, KAPOOOW takes observers on a bit of a journey revealing what’s hidden behind the sheet metal. We observe the car trapped between two worlds – one in chrome, the other woven out of paper parts – showing how two opposite parts create one complete unit.

Read more on our report in Milan’s new ‘motor show’ at the Salone del Mobile in Wallpaper*. Also take a look at our previous reports on Milan here.

For more on the exhibits visit Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

Book review: Gerhard Richter November

2013-04-13T12:57:26Z

Sometimes it is the simple incidents that can lead to some intriguing works of art. In the case of November, Gerhard Richter became fascinated with the dripping patterns his black Edding marker-pen ink made on paper whilst decanting it in 2008. Using benzene, acetone and black tushe, the German artist set about experimenting with the process – thinning the materials and manipulating the patterns and colours.

The result is the November series – 54 works of art, comprising 27 individual sheets with mirror images on both sides. Heni Publishing has gathered the entire series in November - showcasing the enchanting shapes and quite colours of Richer’s work.

Read more on the book here.

Designer talk: Ian Callum on Jaguar design

2013-03-24T10:15:44Z

On the eve of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show Dr Ralf Speth told a small group of media representatives of his company’s triumphant year. The Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer revealed plans to invest £2.75 billion in product development to support the launch of eight new and refreshed products this year, including the Jaguar F-Type and the introduction of the world’s first nine-speed gearbox in the Land Rover product line-up. He also hinted at ambitious global expansion plans, especially in the emerging markets.

‘It is nice to be reminded of the bigger picture,’ director of Jaguar design Ian Callum tells me the following day at the Motor Show. ‘We all work very intensely internally and so it is good to hear the CEO’s message. We are hugely ambitious at the moment in case you hadn’t noticed,’ he adds with a knowing smile.

‘There is huge confidence in the two brands,’ Callum continues referring to the Jaguar and Land Rover marques. ‘However, there is one thing climbing the hill, another staying on top. I am very aware of this, especially with Jaguar. We reinvented the brand and now we have to grow. It is a challenge but I don’t think we have to reinvent for a while. We are where we’d like to be.’ He pauses, choosing his words carefully: ‘sustaining the brand is a big job; it takes a lot of soul searching. The conclusion I’ve come to is that we’re in a good place and need to evolve now and most importantly stay consistent.’

Jaguar is understood in the UK – historically the marque has a strong presence. The challenge is to familiarise the brand around the world, where this isn’t the case. Even in markets like the US, its biggest single market, there isn’t instinctive brand recognition. Callum says when he drives around Los Angeles or New York people respond positively to the cars, but they don’t make that immediate Jaguar connection, which is something that could be pushed through design.

Staying relevant, of course, also helps. Jaguar’s latest product, the F-Type, is a small two-seater sports car and a modern take on the E-Type that for many of us defines the marque. The previous day I was lucky enough to experience the car – it certainly looks, feels, sounds and drives beautifully. Yet today’s world and the next generation of drivers demand a new form of mobility that isn’t just about shiny metal and horsepower.

Callum agrees, but also points out that cars like the F-Type are crucial for the brand. ‘They don’t have to sell in high numbers because it is about a statement, it is about what we stand for and even younger people will get this message.’ The company is observing trends in mobility. He says: ‘We are very aware that people are downsizing and buying smaller vehicles, and we need to take heed of that and become relevant to a whole new generation of people who didn’t just grow up on saloon and sports cars,’ he says adding candidly: ‘we have to create a portfolio to match.’

Callum believes there is always this dichotomy of style versus practicality. The car is much more of a commodity now where functionality and connectivity is as important as looks. He agrees it is more of a product than it used to be 30 to 40 years ago. ‘From the design point-of-view I have to gauge the limits of pushing design versus practicality. And it is a dilemma as we are about style, and style takes space.’

I suggest that you get beauty in length especially with Jaguar design, so in this context how would he go about designing a small city car. ‘Make it substantial; give it elegant presence,’ Callum fires off. ‘We’re not doing one though’ he retorts adding that he would love to design one though. ‘You’d have to go for a proportion that has a sense of confidence about it – and assertiveness, not aggressive, but assertive charisma.’ I say I cannot imagine a small Jaguar, to which the designer smiles and replies: ‘Oh I can. I think it would be an interesting thing to do.’

Callum notes that inside it would have the same wood, metal and real material application that is representative of the Britishness of the brand, but also have fun with it. ‘A lot of women drive small cars, so how to use it is very important, in a glamorous and practical way,’ he notes, not too dissimilar as to how women approach handbags where it is a mix of style and function. This hypothetical Jaguar city car will also appeal to a certain mind-set, an active city dweller for whom connectivity is high on the list. I mention the Volkswagen Up, a brilliant piece of automotive design that stays close to product design. ‘That car was in my head before it came out,’ says Callum. ‘It is a very mature piece of design. It is clearly done by an automotive designer as there is no naivety in it.’

He confirms once again that a city car isn’t in the company’s cycle plan before asking me if I feel it would devalue the brand. I reply, not if executed in the right way. ‘Thank you! I will quote you on that. If you keep it special enough it won’t.’

He says they are looking in all directions and observing world trends. Markets like China are incredibly important to Jaguar and its future growth, and the designer is well aware of this. ‘The XJ is very popular in China for instance,’ he says adding that nowadays you can do a big car with a small engine so ecologically it isn’t quite the issue it used to be, adding: ‘big cars won’t disappear.’

Callum’s team typically work on products that won’t be visible until five to ten years from now, so what are his observations: ‘We are travelling more than we used to – that human need won’t change. The big future is about efficiency, the excitement won’t go, but we will be more aware of consumption, recycling, and the satisfactory knowledge that the product comes from somewhere and goes somewhere.’

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Julian Thomson of Jaguar advanced design discusses the F-Type here. Also read our previous interviews with Ian Callum here.