Dine. Travel. Design.

Do You Matter? won’t exactly be an eye-opener for most industrial designers. Indeed the author podcast makes it clear that business leaders are the target audience. Fortunately for Core’s readership, from a personal perspective, the answer to the title question is a resounding yes. Brunner and Emery have literally written a book saying that industrial designers are the answer to corporate irrelevance! So while designers may not learn much from Do You Matter?, it would be in all of our best interests to get a copy in the hands of senior managers everywhere.

read more at BusinessWeek

via Core77

An interesting and insightful interview with Jia Wei, director of LKK Design. Read the complete interview at visionunion.

Q: How do you view the current state of Chinese design?
A: We’re not short of good designers in China, nor good design agencies and good clients. What we do lack is a systematic approach to design, a design process with a particular cultural basis. I’ve always believed that it’s the underlying economic foundation that determines what can be built. The current boom in the Chinese art market is a result of the expansion of the economy.
I am convinced we will soon be seeing a similar boom in Chinese design. The important thing for a designer is to be able to use economic, artistic, cultural and scientific methods to make design something three-dimensional. Design that only considers artistic or scientific aspects is not good design. So many designers now fail to use this three-dimensional approach when they design a product. They only consider aesthetic aspects and try to copy that clean European look. That is someone else’s creation and they’ve been developing the style for decades now. Even if we do design like that really well, that’s not being creative, it’s just continuing what’s gone before. We ought to be creating an age of three-dimensional design
that is our own thing.

Q: What kind of designer would you like to become?
A: I don’t think China is short of good designers, what it does lack is professional ones. There are no professional standards by which you can measure this industry. I think a professional designer needs to have passion for design, a sense of responsibility and sincerity in their job, and the will to learn. Design is like digging a well. If you haven’t found water it’s because you haven’t dug deep enough. All you have to do is keep on digging deeper and eventually you’ll find fresh water.

Q: Do you have any advice for young designers?
A: Study. Keep at it. Love life. A designer should be a person who really knows how to live.

via visionunion

Left: Chairs seen at an Antique store in Hingham, MA
Right: Cherner Armchair from DesignWithinReach

I got to see an old high school friend this weekend and we were taking a nice stroll to Starbucks. On our way there we passed this cute little antique store (chairs on left). They are quite interesting and the fabric is so vibrant! It so happened in one of my recent magazine subscriptions that there was an advertisement for the DWR Cherner Chair (chair right). Now, this got me to do a little simple research and found: aha! Custom Cherner Chairs. Now, who will be the one fooled to buy very contemporary furniture from an antique store? I wonder if the store owner knows the whole story…

Good to know basic information, especially as I’m starting to think of my own career path at 1 year out of school and on the job. Go me!

Hierarchy and lifecycle of design titles in Part 1.

Responsibilities and expectations along with some portfolio guidelines in Part 2.

Last week I attended the Design*Sponge Biz Ladies event in Boston hosted at West Elm (D*S Boston Event). Great info from local women in the design business about marketing yourself and being an independent designer. Also, some tips about making an online presence (Secrets of self-promotion at Wired.com) Thanks Design*Sponge!

Unfortunately schedule is over for the summer. Can’t wait until next time!

But until then, check out online resources from Design*Sponge Biz Ladies

These are my 3 favorites:

See all 70 here
via designverb

Chopsticks for those who need a little assistance!

Chork by lrstudiofurniture

Tukaani by Lincoln Kayiwa
via MocoLoco

WalMart got a new logo…

Remember the old one?

Wal-Mart’s new sunburst, in contrast, “is designed so simply that there’s no ownership to it,” Neumeier says. In other words, it could be used by almost any corporation.

But Robyn Waters, a design consultant and Target’s former vice-president for trend, design, and product development, sees Wal-Mart’s new logo as a sign that the retailer might actually be becoming more original. “I never thought the star said or meant anything. It was just generic,” she says, pointing out that Macy’s also has a star as its symbol.

Wal-Mart’s shift can be seen as an attempt to recast itself as a kinder, gentler company. How is the image friendlier? Lowercase letters tend to be interpreted as more casual and approachable, says Frere-Jones. But Wal-Mart hasn’t gone too far, keeping the brand name a proper noun and beginning with a capital letter—think Google’s all-text logo with a big “G,” vs. Facebook’s with a small “f.” “Otherwise, it might look like they’re trying too hard to play with the cool kids,” says Frere-Jones.

It’s quite interesting this new trend of big businesses trying to connect with the home-town consumer. Not really ‘big brother’ so much as ‘big friend’. I recently heard a gas company radio advertisement saying that all of it’s locations are run by local buisiness owners… which apparently makes that gas better because we support local people, or so they say.

For the detailed report on Walmart’s logo visit BusinessWeek.

Not to mention, icons are everywhere (due to the iPhone?)…

I came across this article from Metropolis Magazine and although it’s mainly speaking of graphics, I do believe it applies to other aspects of design from furniture and tableware to uniform of the servers and staff, which food/restaurant critics often do not comment on, but in passing.

“Perhaps there would be more reason to stress graphic design if critics paid attention to it. But they never mention graphics and, truth be told, barely assess the architecture (even when designed by Pritzker Prize winners). And while I savor the tasty prose of gifted food writers, if I were a critic, my readers would be treated to a regular menu of cuisine and design in an attempt to right the imbalance.”

It’s not only decor and graphics that dictate the identity of a restaurant, but the rest of the experience that probes at the senses make an impression on identity. How comfortable was that chair? How well was the knife designed to easily cut into the delicious steak? These things could be added to the last paragraph of the article…

“To convey the total dining experience it’s essential to include details that add to a restaurant’s overall personality. Granted, graphic design can never be the paramount reason for a diner investing time, money, and calories, but when viewed as a whole it should be worthy enough to be noted and occasionally celebrated.”

Read it here.
(I’m not disagreeing with Metropolis, simply wishing to include more..)

It’s been a few weeks since NY design week and my attendance of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Apologies as I’ve been pre-occupied with daily life.

This was my first visit to the ICFF and it was certainly worth it.
Some thoughts: 1) Wish I had many more hours and more than 1 day to absorb it all and take the time to explore and appreciate all that was there. 2) I should have taken more photos! But here are a few of my favorites that make me go “huh! how cleaver”

Nicolo Taliani

David D’Imperio

Rachel Oneill with more from MocoLoco

3) Most important, irrelevant takeaway: I should have worn more comfortable shoes! Then, I would not have been tired and cranky and be able to view the products and not constantly thinking about my sore feet. Lesson learned.

Editor’s awards at ICFF

Check out more coverage on NY Design week at Core 77, Design*Sponge (part1, part2, part3, part4, part 5), and Treehugger (here, here, and here with much more).

I found this article from Wired.com quite a coincidence as I’ll be taking a motorcycle class/lesson at the end of the month. Motorcycles as it is are better on fuel consumption than your typical car, but to make them electric is an even larger improvement, though I’m sure it would be more difficult to get that ‘thrill’ of riding fast on a bike when it’s electric. Anyways, some interesting concepts here.

Vroom vroom…

Designed by an 18-year-old! Works on the same idea as the Segway.

via Core77 and Treehugger