# A S K Y V E S A TWITTER INTERVIEW
Yves Béhar is a designer, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate. He is the founder of Fuseproject, the San Francisco and New York based design and branding firm he established in 1999. “[Behar] has the ability to strip something down to its basic functional logic and then apply a set of emotional and aesthetic considerations to create something unique. It’s an art.” Chris Hacker, chief design officer at Johnson & Johnson Fuseproject work aims to contribute to areas that include technology, furniture, sports, lifestyle and fashion. Béhar brings a humanistic approach to his work with the goal of creating projects that are deeply in-tune with the needs of a sustainable future, connected with human emotions and which enable self-expression. Examples of fuseproject’s diverse projects include the world’s first $100 “XO” laptop for Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization, which aims to bring education and technology to the world’s
poorest children. fuseproject is now working on the laptop’s successor, the “XOXO”. Béhar was born in Switzerland and studied industrial design in Europe and the U.S. Fifteen years ago he moved to San Francisco at a moment of immense technological innovation;
WHO IS YVES BEHAR
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“Those innovations were a part of everyday culture here and became an additional tool-set for my work as a designer,” Béhar says. He credits his design ethos in part to growing up in Switzerland with a Turkish father and East German mother; “I have a triad personality,” he
explains. “There’s the warmer, expressive, story-telling culture of Turkey combined with an ethic of quality that comes from Switzerland, and the California tech-causal culture mixed in.”
The combination of technological innovation and design, or the notion of design ‘from the inside out’ is a hallmark of Béhar’s work. “I see design less from a style standpoint than in terms of innovative experiences,” Béhar explains. fuseproject considers not just the outer shell, but the relevant functional purpose and emotional connection of the product itself. In addition to fuseproject’s commercial projects are many not for profit clients which underline Béhar’s core philosophy that, “Design is a real agent of change. We need to initiate an emphasis on the notion of ‘Design for Good’; we have a responsibility to the world around us.”
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WE HAVE A
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@AshleyWoodfield #askyves your studio in San Fran is a world away from wintery Ldn, does the location play a key part in your designs? @ DesignMuseum
TWITTER Q&A 16/11/2012 #AskYves Yves Behar in collaboration with the Design Museum answered questions from the Twittersphere about anything relating to design, ethics and his own practice. This is what he said.
@yvesbehar For me SF and Silicon Valley have been very influential in both attitude (open) and tech (new ways of designing)
@P_3rown E.g. how do you prove that design is a long-term investment not just a “oneoff purchase�? #askyves @yvesbehar I think Steve Jobs and #apple have proven that for us designers already, now we have to use that new power in a good way
@P_3rown How do you communicate the value of design to new businesses? #askyves @yvesbehar New businesses need identity, and design is identity forming...short and long term. #askyves cc @ DesignMuseum
CHRISHELINGOE
YVESBEHAR
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A COMMUNITY? #ASKYVES
CONNECTEDNESS IS WHAT TECHNOLOGY DOES, AND DESIGN MAKES CONNECTEDNESS DEEPER AND MORE HUMAN #ASKYVES
@LarasaTita @DesignMuseum @ yvesbehar how should future designers be trained? #askyves @yvesbehar skill is central to design education: learn how to draw and make things, learn how to think in a 21st century of change
@motgrafis Do you think governments should integrate design in public policies? Could that make in some certain way a better world? How? #askyves @yvesbehar yes possibly: when the gov says only bio-degradable plastic bags, an industry is born‌and designers can participate @Swarovski What inspired @YvesBehar to create Amplify for #DigitalCrystal@ DesignMuseum? #AskYves live tonight at 8.30pm @yvesbehar what inspired Amplify? How to augment the simple beauty of light+crystal with minimum materials and energy #askyves
@P_3rown How do you define “a designer� considering the constantly evolving role of design in society? @ DesignMuseum @yvesbehar #askyves @yvesbehar self-made design through 3-d printing will make design more participatory, but not endanger design #askyves
@_jsws #askyves which of ur designs wld you like to see exhibited in the#newdesignmuseum? @yvesbehar all of them of course! #askyves cc @DesignMuseum
@SarSheCha What advice or tips would you give to young people studying design now and hoping to become designers? @yvesbehar #askyves@ DesignMuseum @yvesbehar my advice: think wide: the design field is expanding in new areas of: service design, UI/UX etc.. #askyves cc@DesignMuseum
@auliaamandaa @yvesbehar how do you see chldren as a co designer? #askyves
MIAKIEU DESIGNERS NEED TO BE INSPIRED ALL THE TIME, SO WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR INSPIRATION? #ASKYVES YVESBEHAR INSPIRATION FOR ME IS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, AND IT’S UNTAPPED POTENTIAL. IT’S NOT AESTHETIC, IT IS IDEA DRIVEN #ASKYVES
@yvesbehar kids: amazing co-designers: open minded, see possibilities/not constrains, love trying new things #askyves cc@DesignMuseum
@_jsws #askyves which of ur designs wld you like to see exhibited in the#newdesignmuseum? @yvesbehar our around the world designs exhibited at @DesignMuseum: Mexican eyewear, @olpc, NYC condom, Costa Rican chocs we made… #askyves
@Sarahleepearse @yvesbehar do you think a first class degree means a first class career? #askyves @yvesbehar first class person = first class career ;) cc @desigmuseum #askyves
@lacey_Glave @yvesbehar can we see a pic of your office? What’s the view like?#askyves
@yvesbehar this is old office...new office in a few months! ha! need more space for experiments/labs/incubation‌and more peeps! (we are hiring!)
@mirkaganesan @yvesbehar how do you think brands will change in 10 years time? #askyves @yvesbehar before 10 years! Every brand has to change in order to live #askyves
@utzonkids @yvesbehar what is the best way for a new designer with a new product to get it out to people - can be difficult when just starting out ?
@yvesbehar never easy to create something new...new crowdfunding platforms like @kickstarter can help #askyves cc @DesignMuseum
@weaselspoon How have you found working on the kickstarter-funded Ouya?#askyves @yvesbehar @yvesbehar OUYA and Kickstarter: it’s been amazing, the passion in the gaming
community is un-equalled. Made our design better.#askyves
@LiamCarterHawki What did you draw for such a long time after you left school?#askyves @yvesbehar @LiamCarterHawki at first i drew a lot of dumb boxes, like computers.. humbling...later drew things people wear (watches etc)#askyves
@LiamCarterHawki Thanks! Do you think students should start small brands/co.s focused on design to supplement leaning?#askyves @yvesbehar its a good learning experience to start small brands/co. but it’s also important to want to change big brands!#askyves
@maczerwinski Hi Yves. In your career as a designer what r u most proud of and what would you rather forget? #askyves @yvesbehar most proud of @olpc and the 3 million kids using it & would rather forget good designs that got changed into bad ones#askyves
CHRISHELINGOE HAVE COMPUTERS BECOME COLLABORATORS RATHER THAN TOOLS? #ASKYVES YVESBEHAR COMPUTERS ARE BOTH TOOLS, AND COLLABORATORS. BUT WHAT DRIVES EVERYTHING ARE HUMAN IDEAS! #ASKYVES
JAIMEORTEGA SO, YVES, REMEMBERING THAT TWEET OF YOURS, IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIGN AND ART THAT DESIGN CAN BE WRONG? #ASKYVES
YVESBEHAR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DESIGN AND ART IS THAT DESIGN CAN BE WRONG: FROM AN ERGO, FUNCTIONAL, ENVIRONMENT, AESTHETIC#ASKYVES
@lacey_Glave #askyves if you could design a product for anyone in the world who + what + why? @yvesbehar I would design something for everyone, that changes lives, because that’s all that counts cc @ DesignMuseum #askyves
@design_law Any thoughts on IP law? Does the fact that IP is (or is not) available affect your design process or planning at all?#askyves @yvesbehar IP Law has to be considered, our work HAS to be original. cc@ designmuseum #askyves
@LiamCarterHawki @yvesbehar awesome! Last one, sorry, what would you count as a kickass junior designer for Fuse? #askyves @yvesbehar “what would you count as a kickass junior designer for Fuse?”Talent+ Skill+ Personality+ Passion #askyves cc@DesignMuseum
@ecesatibol #askyves have you ever had a Turkish value that affects you design? Thanks @ DesignMuseum @yvesbehar Turkish values that influence my work? Yes: tolerance and the diversity of turkish arts/culture. #askyves cc@DesignMuseum
@DesignMuseum Got a question from @danino. What are the qualities of design leadership? what are the conditions that develop these qualities?#askyves @yvesbehar @DesignMuseum @danino Qualities of design leadership: ability to have a vision, and know what path to explore to get there. #askyves
@swarovski So enjoying the light @ YvesBehar is shedding on his design process & philosophy in #AskYves More of his insightful design in#DigitalCrystal
@swarovski Hi @YvesBehar! We’ve loved working with you again on#DigitalCrystal @DesignMuseum. What makes a good design commission for you? #AskYves @yvesbehar what makes a good design commission: clients asking questions and openness & the ability to produce! #askyves cc@ DesignMuseum @lacey_Glave #askyves my very silly final question: favourite pizza topping combination? @yvesbehar @lacey_Glave haha! Favorite Pizza toppings? a good Margherita does it for me! #askyves cc @ DesignMuseum
@yvesbehar Bye! Thanks for everything @DesignMuseum and tweet peeps!#askyves