In 2010 konstantin was awarded the "Designer of the year" award by Design Miami. For this he designed and provided an installation in Miami. The installation involved a series of suspended netting chairs. Here is a couple of links to tell you more about it:
http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/18/konstantin-grcic-to-receive-designer-of-the-year-award-at-design-miami/
http://www.dezeen.com/2010/12/09/netscape-by-konstantin-grcic-at-design-miami/
Also, check out this youtube clip of Konstantin discussing the award, his development of the chair and some other aspects of his designing methods. Very interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UshQicFbKME
Konstantin currently has an exhibition on at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany. Looks rather intersting and is on until September. If you get the chance go and check it out. Here is a link to the website for more info:
http://www.design-museum.de/en/exhibitions/detailseiten/grcic.html
As part of our Design and Technology course we were each given a designer who were were to explore. The designer I was given is the German designer, Konstantin Gricic.
Konstantin… the designer who is always thinking sideways. He describes himself as "very german". in that he means he sees himself as a rational, very logical, very industrial type person. But, he still works in a very practical manner. This is something we, on my course, are encouraged to do as practical experiments give tactile and multidimensional information and insights.
A unique aspect of Konstantin compared to other designers working on similar products is that he is not scared of the commercialisation. Many designers see a piece of work going into a more mass for of manufacture as the point where the avant garde-ness of a piece is lost. Konstantin does not see it as this, he more see this process as a natural progression of design and he supports this process fully. I like that about him. it shows his lack of pretentiousness. He does not see good designs as something that should be held within the arms of the designers and a select elite.
Much of his work focusses around furniture and particularly chairs. Many well known designers and industrial seem to either start here or focus their work in this area. I am not very sure why this is the case. Maybe its just fashion. Maybe its easy. I dunno. Regardless of that Konstantins work stands out to me because each piece seems to strike a perfect balance between design that pushes whats already been done and feasibility. His work may be unique and design-y but it is usually also feasible. By feasable I mean it is feasable to manufacture it in a sensible quantity and feasable in that it can actually work well as a chair say. I really dislike chairs and such that are useless as a functional piece, especially if its in a situation that requires it to function well. Konstantin generally avoids this but he does seem to fall into this trap sometimes.
I will post a couple of posts on some of his work, explore it in a wee bit more detail.
in the mean time… check out this short video I found on youtube. It explains alot about him…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctxNFlBmztc
A recent lecture I attended as part of my Design and Technology course was by Tom Inns. He is the new Director of Glasgow School of Art. He has spent many of his years working in a similar area of industry as I am studying so is of extra interest to me I suppose. His lecture was titled: "Why I see things the way I do".
An interesting topic which we were discussing was; what sort of company do you work for? The answer is not "well, I work for an oil company" or " I work for a company making phones" , more we were looking at how, as a designer you have to adapt and alter your designs and working methods to suit the kind of company you work for.
Lets use Apple as an example as we discussed apple in detail. Some of the main aspects a designer would have to understand when working at apple would be:
Brand identity: Apple is one of the most obvious examples here. Instantly when you see a product (both software and hardware) you know its made by apple. All of their products and services are done in a very "apple-y" way. Just look at the image of an apple shop below. As a designer, you would have to constrain your designs to fit within that model. Although I like apple products, inreakon I would struggle to manage these constraints.
Product cycle: Apple push out new versions of their products at rates that the avrage consumer cannot keep up with. I personally think the rate at which they do this is just too fast, unnecessarily fast. I suppose this is a valid tactic in that its one of the methods that keeps them far ahead of their rivals. By constantly advancing their products in small increments they end up with a faster rate of overall advancement and thus stay the market leader. Although, we discussed the risk involved here. Could this cause them to miss out on the next technological jump. If they afe focussing too much on small changes, may they miss out on the big jumps. We can see this with the iWatch. The market now has a few successful phone/watch gadgets on the market but we are yet to see apples attempts. So, again, as a designer working for apple, how would you handle this rate of product development? It probably makes the process exciting, but the pressure to deliver may restrict and restrain your ideas/design.
Who designs the product really: Another thing we discussed in detail is who designs the product, and who makes it successful? Apple is a difficult company to give an answer for? The proucts are good, but the marketing is superb. As a designer, do you truly design the product, or do other factors and people decide how it should be designed? I had already touched on this but will be going back to it in further posts...
Currently I am in my 4th year of studying for a degree in Product Design Engineering at Glasgow University and Glasgow School of Art. Now this course is truly fantastic. Well, mostly, the standard of teaching can vary and I often think I learn more when working for a local haulage firm during my spare time. This brings me back to my post about skilled manufacture. What way, what path is most likely to provide a successful outcome? I chose the university route for a number of reasons but the main reason was that it was understood that the only way to truly succeed professionally is to get a degree. That is what we are all taught at school it seems. Now, in my 4th year I am questioning that fact. Here is a list of pros and cons in my opinion:
University study path
Pros:
- If looking for a job with engineering for example, many employers specify the requirement for a degree in engineering .
- Access to a range of facilities and equipment.
- Time to gain a better understanding of what exactly you want to do. I am proof of that fact actually. I selected this degree as I wanted to be an engineer with and edge towards designing totally new products and systems. Now though I am more keen on designing products, businesses and services which much less of a focus on engineering. Although, the engineering understanding will be invaluable to me in future years i suspect.
Cons:
- Takes up 4 or 5 or more years. This time could probably be used more productively. Hense why I try to fill my spare time doing other productive stuff .
- Quality of your skill can largely depend on the teaching you receive and your willingness to learn. How can this be summed up on a piece of paper. This gives me cause for concern.
- I found that you learn loads of stuff that quickly becomes useless as too much emphasis is put on learning the the content rather than getting to put it to actual use and thus I do not feel xonfident with my engineering skills.
Straight into work
Pros:
- Learn how to actually do stuff in a practical and useful sense.
- learn from the best: the people currently practicing in that business/area.
- Get paid… always nice.
Cons:
- Once you are in that job/industry it may be difficult to get out. I may have found this a bit more of a problem.
- Your learning is much less broad.
- In general it can be more restricting and blinkered.
However, one of my earlier posts may just reveal the ideal solution: An Apprenticeship! As discussed the apprenticeship seems to provide the perfect balance between learning and experience. I know this works well as I see many of my friends who have been through apprenticeships doing very well and they all talk well of their decision to go down that route. I think we need to be encouraging apprenticeships. In many, if not most cases the benefits of an apprenticeship out way by far the benefits of just getting a job or commiting to uni. Maybe I will explore how better to do this.
