Urquiola Design Lessons #1:
Patricia Urquiola sees a future where designers are working on a mental comfort, focusing on the smaller details to enhance daily living. To do that, she believes that ergonomics and functionality come secondary to sociability and emotionality.
To think about what kind of emotion an object will invoke in a person is very unique, especially when most designers primarily think and design around how an object is used. To make something functional or aesthetically pleasing is one thing, but to make people react a certain way from it, whether it is to be in love with the design, create nostalgia, or even inspire, is something that is so unconventional in many designers' goals. I believe that if more designers think this way, designs could make a bigger impact on the world. Similarly, I feel that, if I change my perspective to aspire by Urquiola, my designs would be so different, in such a meaningful way.
Urquiola Design Lessons #2:
Our identities are personalized and therefore, we need a habitat that suits our personalities that evolves with us. Patricia Urquiola believes that spaces should be moulded to our personalities and not the contrary.
While designing a space, we naturally try and match the personality of the space to that of our clients'. To take away from the first lesson above, when you design a space that focuses on creating positive emotion from someone, that person will automatically relate to it and it makes your job that much more complete.
Urquiola Design Lessons #3:
Architecture will be more flexible, adapting to our multi-taking for multipurpose usage, and that use of the space is maximized and used almost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What I love about Patricia Urquiola is that she rises awareness on many things that we don't ordinarily think of when it comes to improving our world. I actually never really had much thought in the issue of gorgeously designed buildings not being maximized to use as often as it should be. Its true though, when you think about it. Most spaces, gorgeous or not, are often not used over 50% of a day's worth. Retail spaces, for example, are used perhaps on a 9am-9pm basis, but what I understand from Patricia's words is that, why can't we maximize the space at night, let's say, after closing hours? Interesting food for thought.
Urquiola Design Lessons #4:Urquiola sees a world where objects are not thrown away, but recycled to live a different life; that we will also recycle time and reduce the waste of time; that we will care more about materials and how they interact with our bodies; and that matters will grow spontaneously, mixing man-made with natural or inorganic with organic.
""To work in sustainability is to work in complexity. You don't get all the solutions. It gives you a sense of humility. But we have to take care. We have to give the example. We need to see the right side of the moon."
Also that she treasures sustainable design and we've looked at an example with the Axor Hansgrohe project, where she designs to emphasize water's preciousness. She took a different approach to sustainability, which inspires me greatly. Instead of using sustainable materials to enforce her concept, she created tubs that were specifically designed to fit one person and to reduce the waste of water. Its a simple concept, yet it has never been done before and it was executed so effectively and beautifully. It comes to prove that sometimes simple does it. It encourages me to think back to basics, but try to stay outside of the box at the same time. She gives me hope to know that design can still be as innovative as she has created it to be. She's not just a designer, she invents new furniture, new architecture. Often as designers, many don't bother to make their own products and although I've always believed that anyone is capable of making furniture, learning through Patricia's words and works has led me to believe that anyone can change the world through their design if they have a strong belief in what they are designing.
My new goal:
Finding the truth through invention..
and finally....
Urquiola Design Lessons #4:
Oh how Marcel and Patricia are so much alike! Reading about her philosophies, I almost thought I was reading about Marcel haha.
ReplyDelete"ergonomics and functionality come secondary to sociability and emotionality" - that's probably one of the biggest lessons I've learned from the two designers. Functionality is important but it can lead to, at times, very boring, already been done designs. And who can get inspired by something that we've already seen a billion other times by other designers. I sure can't. So by focusing on sociability and emotionality, that's the key to striking the match to our creativity. If we focus on emotions, how we want our design to make people feel, it just makes the design that much stronger. And I think that's what our Design Theory class is trying to teach us. By focusing on emotions, our concepts are supported by elements and principles that evoke that feeling, and from there, we have such a strong design concept that everything after that just flows. And the end result is something unique, thoughtful, full of meaning and emotion.
- Tiffany May
I also find it interesting how both designers, Marcel and Patricia, don't stick to just interior design. They also focus on furniture design and architecture. I'm studying solely interior design but I've also always been interested in lighting designs, DIY products, hand crafted decor items, and even landscaping and architecture. But without the knowledge and education for these other design fields, I wonder if it's possible to do other works besides interior design. Would I as an interior designer be able to branch off and work on an architectural design project without any education whatsoever. It makes me wonder if Marcel and Patricia studied architecture as well or if it's just because they're so famous that people ask them to contribute in those architectural works and furniture designs.
ReplyDelete- Tiffany May
Patricia actually studied architecture! She only branched off into furniture and interior design because of her mentor, whom of which was the legendary Achille Castiglioni. He taught her to venture into industrial design and not constrain herself in one field of design. I would say he was the main reason Patricia became so famous and succeeded the way that she did. Achille was already such a successful designer, how could he produce designers of any level lower than amazing?!
ReplyDelete-Leanne Tran