Wednesday, December 11, 2013

All passions are made from wonder ...

These words written by Rene Descartes over 300 years ago never cease to inspire me and I use them like a mantra to keep me sane when too much reality takes over ... 


Backflip in paradise Cove
by 
Herb Ritts

Out of all the artistic influences that have shaped my life, I've been lucky to have had my mother's creative talent as one of the most important. A designer by passion and by training, she never missed an opportunity to teach her children that beauty and inspiration can be found in almost everything. And having spent the formative years of my professional life learning the trade from her, I observed as close as one can get the true power of original creation when it is focused on the effort of resolving a design problem: it is usually spontaneous, often simple and when successful it is generally ... elegant.


My mother, Graça Viterbo
on a site visit (1999)

These thoughts came to mind when I came across the work of Massimo Vignelli, a multi-disciplinary Italian designer who, amongst an astounding body of work, is most often remembered for his iconic signage of the New York subway. A mentor to a generation of designers through his influential work for large companies like Knoll, IBM, American Airlines, Bloomingdale’s, ... he was a true  believer in intellectual elegance as the quintessential approach to every design problem.

He had the self-confidence of visionaries who disrupt conventional frameworks through innovative thinking. He despised the concept of focus groups and the notion that design can be the outcome of the average response of a representative group.


"Vignelli Forever" series by Anthony Neil Dart

Essentially, he believed that true creators develop the answer before other people even formulate the question. As he said in a seminal conversation with Debbie Millman:
"People do not know what they want. They barely know what they need, but they definitely do not know what they want. They’re conditioned by the limited imagination of what is possible."
Connecting the dots with my own experience, I realize that I grew-up exposed to a similar kind of thinking at home. It was perhaps not crystallized intellectually, but what I always appreciated about my mother's design approach was the innate elegance in her intuitive exploration of what was already there ...

Most of my professional life has been spent interacting with designers and I am truly fascinated by all those who simplify the act of creation and eliminate the redundant layers that can often cloud our perception of beauty. In the words of another elegant thinker, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

In my creative process I always strive to be guided by this principle, and I'll paraphrase Maestro Vignelli to call it "elegant creativity". Whenever the creative process gets muddled by an over-reliance on trends and fashion or even on over-intellectualized concepts, I tell myself not to try so hard. The answer is often in the question and for interior designers and architects, it starts with the basic exploration of the sense of place and then asking what that place wants to be.

But Vignelli was also guided by the notion that practicality is the key to transform ideas into solutions that actually address our clients' needs. It was in its flawless execution that he was able to disseminate so broadly his elegant thinking:
By listening as much as I can. I am convinced the solution is always in the problem. You could do a design that you like, but it doesn't solve the problem. Design must solve a problem. Then, the design is exciting. But I find it extremely difficult. This is why I respect artists. Without a problem, I don’t exist. Artists are lucky; they can work by themselves. They don’t need a problem.
                                   Massimo Vignelli in Design Matters with Debbie Millman
Vignelli was not unique but his work has certainly been an inspiration, and looking around we see these same principles guiding the work of other contemporary designers and artists that are defining their time: Jony Ive, Paul Smith, Norman Foster, Karim Rashid, Patrick Jouin, Andre Fu and others ... These are but some of the creators that constantly remind me that the act of creation is never successful if we hide behind aesthetics. Instead we succeed by celebrating the unique ability that human beings have to re-interpret and re-invent the world around them.

Desk designed by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson
for the (RED) charity auction


Public restroom at The Upper House
by Andre Fu (AFSO)

The elegance of Paul Smith's stripes 

Van Cleef & Arpels (Paris) by Patrick Jouin 





Sunday, September 29, 2013

Pierre Frey: a Parisian escapade

This week I felt compelled to write about a home furnishings brand whose products I have a soft spot for. For two generations now, my family has had a relationship with the creative and refined Paris-based textile editor La Maison Pierre Frey. A commercial relationship that began 30 years ago and that evolved over time into a valued friendship.


A selection of Pierre Frey fabrics

Pierre Frey tapped the pulse of the design world long ago and through the years have sustained the creative production of original fabrics that never cease to fascinate. The collections range from archive-inspired patterns to artist-driven designs. With a unique consistency in the stories told by each collection, all their fabrics are bound by tenets of quality, elegance and always an element of "surprise" (to be read as a french word!).

And now they have added another layer, or rather another "surprise". On the occasion of the renovation of the famous Hotel Costes, now fully upholstered with fabrics by Pierre Frey, La Maison released "Escapade: A Parisian Love Affair". Under the direction of Martial Schmeltz, this is a short movie where the oscar goes to ...the fabrics in the decor! With very subtle but powerful performances and providing the perfect backdrop to a quintessentially french postcard, the fabric patterns subliminally populate the dream-like imagery that envelops the story.




It is no more than a fleeting moment in the transient lives of a Parisian couple, but behind every moment in the movie we feel the passion and the legacy of a brand that has been built around sophisticated living.

It's wonderful to see a brand firmly grounded in its philosophy looking for ways to disrupt a market that has for too long been too tied-up to the old ways of doing business. There are opportunities to connect with customers in a world where brands built on legacy often struggle to be a part of the zeitgeist, and finding the right channel is not always easy This initiative gets it right.

Bravo Pierre Frey! I enjoyed the movie and look forward to the sequel(s).


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Meeting people where they are ... The simple vision of creative leaders.

Zapping through the airplane media system on my last trip back from Asia, I stumbled across an episode of "Iconoclasts", an inspiring Sundance Channel/Grey Goose Entertainment production that filled in heart and mind the last few hours of my flight.




The show pairs people of different creative realms sharing a day in each other's lives, with minimal production in an intimate setting. The episode I watched featured Christy Turlington Burns and Tory Burch as the face-to-face "iconoclasts". In a straightforward conversation between two articulate, intelligent and beautiful women discussing the ideals that have driven their successful careers it became apparent to me that the simplest measure of a creative leader is the fact that they live extraordinary lives by instinct.

The title of this post paraphrases Christy Turlintgton (she says that Tory Burch's success derives from "meeting women where they are"). I found these words to define the essence of a true philosophy for life and work - I paused the video and listened again and again …



There are so many zingers thrown around these days to explain what companies need to do to attract clients and gain market share. From re-naming consumers "product guests" to the ubiquitous labeling of every product as an  "experience", consumer driven companies seem to be all too often more focused in achieving an intellectual differentiation from their competitors than in just addressing their market with the honesty that most people want.

My daily exposure to the hospitality & leisure world provides me with plenty of examples of brand gimmickry. It can be the over-use of adjectives like ultra-luxurious (FYI to all hoteliers: just plain, simple and real luxury is fine when delivered genuinely!), or brands so scientifically tailored to a particular sub-demographic that by the time they come to market that niche has morphed into another and the brand runs on empty, or even tag lines that can be exceptionally good examples of language flexing but fall short of expanding the expectations of those for whom they are suited - a particular favorite of mine is Las Vegas Cosmopolitan's great tag line "just the right amount of wrong".


A poster advertising the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan Hotel


And that is why the simplicity of "meeting people where they are" resonated so much with me. It is a worthy motto, and a philosophy of living that I feel inspired to pursue.

Opposite Ms. Turlington Burns’s more reflective view was Tory Burch's pragmatic but sensitive approach. I have always liked the style she has fashioned - it is elegant, it is current and it is genuine. I think she has harnessed the best qualities of creative fashion with the reality of modern women's lives. And I also like the design of her shops - they always seem to stand out in a row of storefronts. There is the lacquered orange for which I also share a passion and the tasteful mixture of furnishings that make them so inviting. So it didn't surprise me when she said that the design was based on the idea of creating "a shop where people would want to come to and spend time in". What better way to sell products than to make your clients feel like welcome guests and let them naturally belong in the place where they are shopping! However conscious, this effort is coherent with the brand and clearly a determining element of her success.




So: "meeting people where they are" and "making people feel like they want to spend time where your products are". Two pretenseless, powerful and appealing ideas that can definitely improve our life and our businesses.
They also prove that more than relying on ad campaigns, if you know what you are doing success will eventually follow.


(The "Iconoclasts" series is available on Amazon.com - you can find it on My Recommended Amazon products on the side banner of this blog).

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Unlocking the hidden value of design services - Part 1



This might be shocking to hear but I believe the recession has been good to the design industry.

Don't take me wrong, I know from the inside how much design firms have suffered during the last few years. Many businesses have folded under the weight of overhead costs they could not eliminate or the debt they could not repay. For others, the lack of profitability seems to have permanently discouraged partners from investing in their firms and it has led many practicing designers to lose faith in the profession they have worked so hard to belong to.

When I started this blog over a year ago, I set out to explore how sanity in the design profession required such a fine balance between leveraging the magical experience of creating something new while remembering that what we create must have value to others. Understanding the post-recession re-tooling of creative professions was my goal and it all started with my first post “What’s in the toolbox?

So why do I say that the recession has been good to design businesses?

Because now that designers are finally seeing an increasing number of interesting RFPs flowing-in as well as a steady rise in billings, the holders of equity in firms are realizing the full potential of their newly-acquired “recession-survival” skills: they have learned to appreciate the value of the information contained in financial statements, they have developed selling skills they never thought they had, and they are reaping the benefits of a focused strategic thinking.

The professional landscape has changed and designers are now guided by a new map.

I am surprised by how frequently these days designers mention their attendance to real estate and investment conferences, their active presence in social media platforms, their new-found curiosity for Gen Y'ers and Millennials, their interest in deploying financial resources in technology and their deeper understanding of metrics that help them run better performing businesses.

All these interests bring improvements to the economics of the design services industry, but I have also noticed that what I consider to be the best measure of success is often absent from the conversation, crowded out by all these new and exciting activities. I am talking about that one element that has been the foundation of so many designers’ careers: a satisfied client.

I think there is a real risk that the search for operational efficiency might become the Holy Grail of designers focused on surviving the next economic dip. If firms make the keystone of their mission to become well-oiled and lean machines, they might just crowd-out the Client. While I insist that the recession has made many design practices better managed businesses, designers should not forget that the success of their services results from contributing positively to the goals of their clients.

So what do we get from satisfied clients that return with more work?

  • They increase the profitability of the business by reducing the cost of sales
  • They become an active part of the firm's marketing strategy – providing referrals and tilting the needle of trust in the right direction for other potential clients
  • They increase the intrinsic value of the business by solidifying the client portfolio and helping raise the backlog baseline
  • And last but not least – they provide the most significant and elusive reward a designer can get: a compliment for a project well delivered.


Here's the challenge: design firms need to be professionally managed to succeed but if they seek efficiency solely by approaching design as a goal in itself, they will only survive until the paradigm is disrupted again. But the firms that approach design services as a dynamic and evolving process by which they leverage their client’s ability to succeed, those are the ones that will perpetuate the business.

As designers seek to define their value proposition in the current economic environment, they must strike the right balance between the cost of the resources they apply to each endeavor and the opportunity cost of those resources. It is only by striking the right balance that we can maximize the productivity of each creative professional in the organization and unlock the hidden value of our services.

Design professionals are particularly vulnerable to over-servicing and under-valuing their involvement in projects, and that risk increases exponentially when clients do not provide the adequate level of project management. By delivering effectively on the services that clients have bought we can achieve a baseline profitability, but by actively expanding the scope of work and up-selling services that are perceived as adding value to the project, then firms can truly leverage their resources to maximize the performance.

In my next post, I will explore examples of actions that leverage this new management approach and unlock the value of design services.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

What is iconic today? (Part 2)

There are few moments in life where a simple but profound statement can define our thinking forever. It happened to me during a lecture I once attended on the recondite subject of financing models for cultural initiatives, when the speaker said: 
"... the value of art is in conversation ..."
Perhaps it is a simplistic view but I have often engaged in discussions with friends about what makes a painting, a photo, a musical composition, a building or an interior be associated with Art. All too often our exchanges hover around issues of taste or currents or social structures or historical context, or just plain old "educated art criticism".

However simple, the notion that art has value when it animates human communication resonated with me. I don't think art is about taste or fashion, or even schools of thought. Artistic creations that have value are the ones that are able to generate sophisticated exchanges of thoughts and ideas, that make us question assumptions and preconceived notions. 
Real art generates timeless interest because it provides an answer to many questions, and sometimes many answers to the same question.
In my last blog post, I discussed the over-use of the word "iconic" to describe  aspirations of very diverse examples of contemporary design. Too many times we see “iconic” mistaken for authenticity, for picturesque or for elegance. People tend to confuse the meaning of iconic traits with memes, or with pastiches and replications of what was once original and modern.

On some level, I think that it is partially the result of a declining importance of cultural studies, and it is also the result of the loss of the richness of language in the abbreviations and zingers popular in the modern ways of communication. But it is also because we aren't always as demanding as we should be in the recognition of artistic creations.

Not all experimentation is Art, in the same way that not all writing is literature. Art, as well as Design, must question assumptions, generate dialogue, provoke thoughts and leave us wanting to explore it further. And in the case of Design, if those concepts can translate into reality and they transcend the thinking of their time, then we can start thinking about  calling them "iconic", and most of all start thinking about calling them Art.

I find many examples today of artists that have been pushing the boundaries of their time, creatively as well as scientifically. These are some of those that I believe have been enriching our conversations:


Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid creates buildings and spaces that define the transition of architecture to the 21st century, but she also creates important moments in cityscapes that are identifiable and push the boundaries of the built environment. She innovates with shapes around building functions and explores materials and aesthetics with elegance and originality. And not only her buildings, but her drawings are Art, and they generate their own conversation.


Architectural art by Zaha Hadid

Christo & Jeanne-Claude


Jeanne-Claude & Christo (Sydney Morning Herald - 14/12/2007)

My first exposure to Christo's work was with his Pont-Neuf project in 1985. I was in Paris on a school holiday walking around near Ile-de-la-Cite and did not understand at first why the bridge was wrapped. It looked like it was under construction by the cleanest and most careful builders. The loud arguing I could hear was not surprising in France, but it was only when I realized that people were arguing about the wrapping, and whether it was art or not, that it struck me how fabulous the idea was and how it created spontaneous dialogue between strangers about their involvement in an artistic experiment.



The Pont Neuf Wrapped, photograph 1985
The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85, by Wolfgang Volz
When I got back home I researched the artist, in the old fashioned library-kind-of-way. I learned how his projects focused on the conversation that can be generated about the things that surround us and that can be viewed in a different way. A few years later I became good friends with someone who knew Christo personally and had spent time with him during the Reichstag project. It was wonderful to hear first-hand what his process was and the thoughts he expressed were while working over the scale models. In 2005, on a cold February morning, I experienced the Gates in Central Park, with sheer luck that a business trip coincided with the event. Christo & Jeanne-Claude are true icons of contemporary art, and their creations will last though imagery and oral tradition. I for one will continue talking about their work.




Dianne von Furstenberg


If there is one artistic discipline that intersects with interior design in ways that prove mutually inspiring, that's fashion. Wherever designers explore colors, patterns and textures, we learn from their experiences. DVF has always had a particular appeal to me, and she is quite unique in her style. I think bold statements with pattern are difficult to achieve in a tasteful way but she rarely misses the mark on elegance and sophistication, whether it is one of her signature wrap dresses or a long gown. I think she is a true definer of the taste of her time. Oh, and my wife has never looked so beautiful as in one of her black and white color-blocked dresses...

Sunday, March 24, 2013

What is iconic today? (Part 1)

I so often read features in magazines about real estate developments where the owners, designers or brand gurus talk about how they pursued the inclusion of "iconic" elements ... It is surprising that even when the resulting buildings are no more distinctive than most others, they still insist on the use of the word "iconic" as a differentiation factor. It seems to be used as a descriptor for features that were desired qualities in the program, and much like the emperor's new clothes can be used to brand anything that is new regardless of its quality.

I recently discussed the notion of iconicity in architecture and interior design with a senior partner at an internationally renowned design practice. I refused to accept that iconicity can be achieved purely as a programmatic goal. Instead, I feel that we should use it cautiously to describe examples of great design, old and new, lest we loose the ability to describe really great design when it happens. My own idea of great design is defined by buildings that respect the social, historical and urban context, and can still achieve originality and innovation in their answer to the built environment. And if they have artistic qualities that distinguish them, then they can aspire to become "iconic" and be regarded as symbols of their time.

Very quickly in our conversation, we realized we were trying to answer the wrong question and we both came to agree that the problem is not the fact that people tend to overuse the "iconic" moniker in branding their developments. It is instead the fact that the energy spent in branding buildings has somewhat taken over the act of design itself.

I do not deny that branding is key to ensure competitiveness and to enable the deals required to finance real estate ventures - especially in urban environments - but do we really need to seek the same stereotyped lifestyle ideals over and over again to inspire good design?

There are very focused and experienced developers out there that are able to offer vision and guidance to their consultants and understand that sensible and thoughtful steering is the way to achieve a successful project. And if the project results in the right building for its context, its function and that attains the objectives required by the financing model, then branding becomes a natural extension of the creative process. When this happens, describing architecture or interior design can use a much richer variety of adjectives, and iconicity can return to the higher pedestal where it deservedly belongs.

In my next post I'll explore contemporary examples of "iconic" spaces, but we can start by looking at creations that defined moments in architectural history, and that still inspire today's designers. Perhaps these are the true iconic traits: they became symbols of their time, they overcame criticism and appear to have provided the right answer to their context.


The Colosseum (Rome, Italy - 72-80 AD) 

www.about.com

Soane Museum (London, UK)
Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was a neo-classical visionary who explored materials and light in ways that were so unique for his time.






Wiener Secessionsgebaude (Vienna, Austria - 1897)

The Secession Building by Joseph Maria Olbrich was a rupture with the past, while retaining the appeal of crafts and traditional arts. The motto: "To every age its art, to art its freedom."




Barcelona Pavillion (Barcelona, Spain - 1929)

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created elegance in his modern functionalism.




David Hicks (1929-1998)

David Hicks' interiors are still inspiring today's designers, and have re-surfaced with the interest in the Mad Men-like retro-style.




Sunday, March 10, 2013

The essence of privacy: designing for individual needs

Not long ago privacy was a concept that related essentially to the physical world. All human beings need time to be with themselves: to rest, to reflect, to pray, to prepare mentally for the outside world or just to enjoy quality time in small groups. Finding a place to be alone or to enjoy privacy was not difficult. 

Then, in a short period of time our lives were taken over by an ever-growing dependency on the digital realm and rather than relating to the fulfillment of individual needs, privacy became instead a way to quantify the amount of personal information that we share with others, willingly or not.

If privacy is less and less a physical experience, how do we frame the need for privacy in todays built environment? Our homes are places where we can still affect some degree of control over what we share about ourselves, but how can we achieve it in the public environment: in the workplace, in leisure areas, in hotels or in cultural venues?

In his inspirational book "The Poetics of Space", french philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote:
 "... the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace."
The complaint about lack of privacy is not a real one as most people knowingly accept some interference with their personal lives in order to benefit from the enhanced reality provided by our permanent sharing. I believe it is the ability to find some sort of personal space to be oneself without the involvement of others that can provide us with a sense of privacy. Even if we remain connected, we need to be in control of our environment. Privacy is probably shifting from the "alone-together" idea that used to be common in libraries, museums and churches, and moving towards a "together-alone" behavior where we can selectively connect to the wider community in some form of seclusion.

I wonder if the growing appeal of calm and serene wellness destinations does not come from this inner desire to be in a bubble where the outside world is kept somewhat at bay. It is not unusual to see people in spa relaxation areas with their smartphones or tablets. They might be enjoying leisure activities but also replying to a work email - but they still feel relaxed because there, they feel protected.

I used to think that being in an airplane provided me with a distance from the real world and for a few hours I was in privacy, even if the passenger next to me was clearly inside the most personal area of my proximity sphere, where usually no-one besides my family can stay for such a long period of time. But now we can connect to the world from the plane, and although I try to resist it, there is a sense of guilt in insisting to have those few hours all for myself.

So how do we address the design of public spaces to ensure that we create the "new privacy" that people seek?

The ability to personalize interiors is the bridge that separates public and domestic spaces, but as urban dwellers become more transient, empowered by the tools that have fostered globalization that allow them to be in multiple locations simultaneously, the challenges to the design of public spaces include trying to create those dreaming and reflecting places without interfering with the every-day life.

In "The Architecture of Happiness", Alain de Botton shares sensitive insights into the nature of human needs that we should keep in mind:
"What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty."

I take this to mean that if we can create a sense of identity between people and the spaces they inhabit, then we can trigger a positive connection. So much of what we call "connection" these days is so short-lived and superficial, that if we use the permanence of architecture as something that people can experience, then we touch them at a deeper level and imprint more memorable experiences. And if people experience that physical connection then we can start exploring new forms of privacy.

Relating this issue to the design of hotels is my immediate reaction as those are the spaces I deal with professionally, but I am interested in the public sphere in general. I always learn from watching how people behave in public and I've researched recent projects in the cultural field to make some sense of this important driver of design.


Charles E. Young Research Library

In the Fall/Winter issue of IIDA Perspective Magazine, UCLA Deputy Librarian Dr. Susan Parker leads an interesting tour of the recently renovated, high-tech and socially mediated facility, where physical books as well as technology and privacy held equally important places in the brief to designers Perkins+Will and Eva Maddox Branded Environments.



Perspective IIDA - Fall/Winter 2012 (pg. 14

I invite you to discover how relevant some of the aspects of this library's design are for wider thought about public spaces, but a particular comment stayed with me:
"We have a progression of spaces within the library, inviting people to explore and find areas that are relevant to them. That echoes the metaphor of discovery - of knowledge - that happens in the library."
It is so important to create the possibilities of self-discovery, as those will provide people with a sense of individuality, with the ability to customize their environment around their behavior, and ultimately enable that elusive sense of privacy. 


East Hotel - Hong Kong

Just recently I stayed a few days at East in Hong-Kong. East is part of Swire Hotels, owners of  The Upper House, which in a past blog post I elected as one of the game-changers in the hospitality market ("Hotels of the future: will they be comfortable?").

Entrance (from: SassyHongKong.com)

East is a wonderful example of a hotel where all spaces are able to retain the ability to treat each guest in an entirely personal way, where travelers that are focused on the reason for their trip can feel as if there is a little bit of home there, and still enjoy communal  areas in a very relaxed way. As I said before, most people have accepted to live with smaller intimacy spheres around them, so the answer to creating some privacy possibly comes from having a variety of contiguous spaces to satisfy different needs. It could be the ability to jump into a private call by moving away from the louder areas into small acoustically appropriate compartments and a diversity of seating layouts that can accommodate both formal and informal gatherings in the same space, allow for work, relax, alone or together.


Sugar Bar (from: swirehotels.com)
And in the guestroom, then more freedom is permitted to provide that variety, sometimes with a bit of gimmicks and otherwise just by providing natural and serene comfort with the focus on the bed, the lighting, the shower and in this case ... the view!