Hasta La Ideas

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to talk with ten of the most important names in industrial design—not designers themselves, but the people who make design careers by manufacturing, exhibiting and selling original work. I asked them each a handful of questions about how they discover new design and how emerging designers can turn heads and gain recognition. These influential curators, retailers and creative directors were quick to share their insights (and in some cases their personal e-mail addresses), telling us how to get a chair into production, a piece into MoMA’s collection (or its stores) and your name on the tip of Gwyneth Paltrow’s tongue.

As a coda to the series, I’ve sifted and sorted the choicest bits of wisdom into seven simple pieces of advice. While our interviews focused on how to make it as an independent product designer, many of the gatekeepers I spoke to have experience across disciplines. Their pointers should help any designer looking to pitch ideas, make industry connections and win big commissions. Take one, or take them all—and good luck!

1. Be an interesting human being
For the curators, retailers and creative directors I spoke to, the most sought-after product may be a compelling, well-rounded designer. Yes, they’re looking for good design. But just as importantly, they’re looking for someone with an interesting story, who will be doing good work over a long career. “Design is for people—and it’s from people,” says curator Odile Hainaut. “I think the designer has to be interesting as a person,” echoes Ambra Medda of L’ArcoBaleno. “I’m interested in them, not their thing,” says Herman Miller’s Gary Smith. So be that interesting, memorable person. Be curious, be adventurous, show you’re multi-dimensional, and have more to offer than just your portfolio.

2. Concentrate on relationships
Some of the people I interviewed love e-mail; others hate it. Some don’t mind being approached in person; others find that deeply annoying. Unfortunately, there’s no formula for reaching out to industry leaders. But you can’t go too far wrong as long as you focus on making personal connections first, before talking about a specific project or collaboration. It’s a small industry, and word-of-mouth often acts as a preliminary introduction to potential partners. Council’s Derek Chen summed this up best: “Everybody knows somebody who knows everyone, and there really aren’t that many degrees of separation.” Jerry Helling of Bernhardt Design adds that manufacturing a new product “is a very personal thing; you spend a lot of time with these people”—so getting to know each other first is crucial. And Matter’s Jamie Gray offers a good rule of thumb for all your cold calls and other self-introductions: “Just don’t be mean.”

Some of the work discussed in this series, with designs by (from left) Angell, Wyller & Aarseth; Francois Chambard; BIKE ID; and Claudia & Harry Washington

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Photo by Michelle Qureshi

This is the ninth post in our interview series with ten influential I.D. curators, retailers and creative directors. Yesterday, we talked to The Future Perfect’s owner, David Alhadeff.

An accomplished writer, critic, educator and graphic designer, Ellen Lupton has been a curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, since 1992. With an interest in design across media, and a diverse, public-minded approach to her work, Lupton is busy curating an upcoming exhibition of product design slated to open in fall 2014, after the museum completes its three-year renovation and expansion. She also directs the graphic design M.F.A. program at Maryland Institute College of Art.

How do you find out about new designers?

From magazines. I’m a big fan of Metropolis. The New York Times, of course. Eye for graphic design is very good. Print. Wired. And then websites like Designboom, Core77, Design Observer, manystuff, and Fast Company. I look at [Adobe’s] Behance—I like that you can see lots of people in an almost democratic way, and it’s very nice for looking at work by younger people. Pinterest is very important to me; I look at that a lot and post a lot to it. Also, press releases from designers—those are actually very useful.

From going to museums and shops. From word of mouth and talking to colleagues and students. I’m a teacher so I’m around young people and I hear what they’re talking about; that’s really important. From conferences. That’s a place where you hear somebody talk that you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. That’s really valuable. People should get out there and present and participate. It’s another way to show your work and share your work.

Another source for me is competitions. I really encourage people to participate in competitions; they’re an important source for curators.

And, finally, books. They still provide a depth of analysis and visual richness that you don’t find on the web. A few that I purchased in the last year to learn about new developments in design are Lidewji Edelkoort’s The Pop-Up Generation: Design Between Dimensions; the graduation book of the Design Academy Eindhoven; Michael Haverkamp’s Synesthetic Design; and a fascinating book about poster design called Poster No. 524: The Deconstruction of the Contemporary Poster.

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Gary Smith (left) and the Alcove Chair, one of six prototypes that came out of a Herman Miller-sponsored studio at Cranbrook Academy of Art last year.

This is the seventh post in our interview series with ten influential I.D. curators, retailers and creative directors. Yesterday, we talked to MoMA curator Paola Antonelli.

In the annals of American furniture design, few brands are as storied as Herman Miller, which was responsible for producing numerous iconic pieces by midcentury giants like George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi and Charles and Ray Eames—and which continues to break new ground in furniture, lighting and sustainable manufacturing practices. For more than two decades, Gary Smith has been one of the key personnel responsible for keeping the Zeeland, Michigan-based company at the forefront of the industry. As Vice President of Product Design and Exploration, he frequently interacts with new and established industrial designers and is constantly seeking design that aligns with the ethos of Herman Miller. Smith previously worked for toy giant Hasbro, designing products (including Mr. Potato Head) for infants and preschoolers.

How do you find out about new designers?

It’s a rich mix—there’s not a linear process. We pay attention to what’s going on, we look at awards, we invite designers to send us links to their web presence. We try to be out there in the world, at conferences and shows, and meet people in person. We’re at ICFF, NeoCon, Orgatec; we go to the Salone in Milan. Everything from design conferences to the consumer electronics show in Vegas—we’re going to all of these. Invariably, because you’re Herman Miller, if you’re walking around and you’ve got that little red dot on, design finds you.

There’s also word of mouth, social networking, digital media. We sponsor university projects, so I get to know young designers that way. A lot of times we get recommendations from clients. We also have a lot of designers in the company. Folks like Ben Watson and Chris Hacker, for example, who are more involved in brand and facilities design. They have their entire careers-worth of relationships.

We also find out about new designers when they send us unsolicited submissions: “Hey Herman Miller, you should make my coffee table.” We’re actually not interested in those. What I am interested in is a conversation about how their work illustrates their thinking. In other words, I’m interested in them, not their thing. We work exclusively from an outbound design brief. That means Herman Miller thinks deeply about where it’s relevant in the world and the problems that exist, and we take our point of view and we write it in a brief. Then I give that brief to the designer who possesses the gifts I think most match the problem I’m trying to address.

What kinds of design are you looking for at the moment?

To answer this requires understanding what you mean by design. What I mean by design is human-centered problem solving. I’m not looking for styles. What I am looking for is a designer who has shown discipline to devote themselves to an idea, which demonstrates conviction, perseverance and a thought process.

So, first, I’m looking for design that is thoughtful, that embraces an intellectual thought process, and is foundationally premised in human-centered problem solving. Second, design that illustrates that the designer understands and has a sense of restraint; that style is subservient to the problem. I’m not saying everything needs to be austere, and I’m not making a comment about style. I’m simply saying that when style becomes the point, I don’t find that to be very legitimate design.

Finally, I’m looking for designs that show a command of material choices and an understanding of operational processes. What is it made of? “I don’t know but it’s sure beautiful”—that’s not a good answer. If that chair is made of plastic, I’d like the designer to understand the material and the process. If it’s injection molded: flow, sink, gating, ejection, and draft. If that same chair is made of concrete then I want to know that that chair is not intended to be mobile. That’s the kind of design I’m looking for.

The Cranbrook students were challenged to design furniture that embodied a “new vision of physical rest in a professional setting.”

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This is the fifth post in our interview series with ten influential I.D. curators, retailers and creative directors. Yesterday, we talked to Council’s Derek Chen.

To Ambra Medda, design is a wild and wonderful subject matter. After co-founding Design Miami in 2005 and directing that hugely influential international fair for for six years, Medda stepped down and shifted her focus to a different kind of programming. Originally imagined as a physical location with events, gallery space and a concept store, L’ArcoBaleno (“The Rainbow” in Italian) evolved instead into an online marketplace where editorial stories comingle with collectible design objects for sale. Unfazed by putting NASA, Zaha Hadid and Botswanan weavers in the same sentence, Medda curates a refreshingly inclusive view of design.

How do you find out about new designers?

A lot of it comes from word of mouth. I have a healthy network of designers, gallerists and other people that I’ve worked with. Designers are very hard-working and competitive, but they’re also very generous and supportive. The community is quite giving. If I do a studio visit with a designer who’s relatively established, they’ll very openly say, “Please meet these young designers that are working for me.” It’s a whole circuit.

Also end-of-year shows. A lot of talent I pick up directly from design schools like the Royal College of Art, ECAL in Switzerland and the Design Academy Eindhoven. And then just walking around and poking your nose in places—it could be a corner store here in New York, or it could be some guy making traditional ceramics in Southern Italy. It doesn’t have to be that far away. There’s some pretty exotic stuff around the corner if you’re prepared to open your eyes.

My main intent now is really to open up the discourse. Because I feel like we keep talking about the same designers. The magazines, the fairs, the system tends to highlight the safer choice. I don’t know one designer from New Zealand, but I’m sure there’s incredible craftsmanship happening there. Same thing with the Philippines. I’m excited to go and find out. Not just focus on Paris, Milan, and London—all cities that are compelling and that I will continue to visit—but go and discover new territories and completely unknown talent.

What kinds of design are you looking for at the moment?

I’m always looking for quality. Quality meaning care and dedication to the way this thing is made. It could be super high-tech, or it could be very low-fi and very crafty. Fresh. It has to come with that feeling of, “Wow, I’ve never seen this before.” Not because it’s out of this world or something that’s completely unrecognizable—but you have to feel a sense of novelty, for sure.

Then I think the designer has to be interesting as a person. I’m interested in the whole story, from the city to the studio to the way that person lives or works, or the process behind the pieces that they make. The things that inspire them, the ideas that they represent. All of that stuff produces the reason why I’m there. I’m very motivated by people and the things that they make. If they’re made well and I feel like they’re promising, that’s compelling.

Medda on a studio visit with the Dutch designer Maarten Baas

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This is the third post in our interview series with ten influential I.D. curators, retailers and creative directors. Yesterday, we talked to Bernhardt Design’s Jerry Helling.

Odile Hainaut is always looking for design that tells a story—and, as manager of New York’s Gallery R’Pure and co-founder with Claire Pijoulat of WantedDesign, she is continually crafting unique opportunities for product designers to showcase their work. Founded in 2011, WantedDesign grew out of the desire for a more interactive and intimate forum during New York Design Week, bringing together manufacturers, designers, students and the public for workshops and dialogue about design. Gallery R’Pure, an offshoot of the consultancy Raison Pure (where Hainaut is Director of Communications), provides the French-born Hainaut with an experimental lab through which to introduce the work of young French and American designers to a wider audience.

How do you find out about new designers?

Number one, seeing them at the fairs during design weeks. The Salone del Mobile in Milan, Maison et Objet in Paris, the London Design Festival and Design Miami—that’s one I never miss. You go to meet people, to really concentrate on discovering designers and looking at things. When I’m traveling, I’m always excited. If I come back and I’ve met or discovered three people, I’m happy. Fairs are key for discovering new talent. You have to be curious.

When I’m traveling, I always take the time to look at galleries, museums and design shows. And I love blogs and magazines. I always buy all the design magazines: Wallpaper, Surface, Ideat, Elle Decor, Metropolis, Intramuros, Frame. I also look at travel magazines in France to see what’s happening in the world. As for blogs, I read Core77, Design Milk, Designboom, Sight Unseen, Nowness, Monocle.

Schools are important too. For WantedDesign workshops, we’ve had a chance to meet students from schools like Art Center College of Design, Parsons, the School of Visual Arts, ENSCI Les Ateliers, ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres, CENTRO Mexico. You learn a lot and you understand a lot about the way young designers are working, what are their interests and how they are looking at the future.

Then, of course, people who come to the gallery or send me work. I take the time to read the e-mails or look at the portfolio when someone sends something.

The Props series by Frederick McSwain—part of the exhibition Off the Grid at Gallery R’Pure last spring

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