VOLUME 2
INFLUENCE
The man who brought a new attitude to interior design
PLASTIC. PLYWOOD. PL AY. curious minds of THE fertile, Charles and Ray Eames invented the modern American furniture vocabulary. And they often did it by playing with form and structure in an inventive, childlike way. Charles encouraged experimentation among his staff, saying that he wanted “to have people working on useless projects. These have the germ of new concepts.” The introduction, in 1946, of their Molded Plywood Chairs—with their light weight, compound curves, and streamlined visual profile—changed furniture design and manufacturing forever. And the Eames team put what they
learned from that project into the design of their Lounge Chair and Ottoman, perhaps the icon of modern American design. Whether taking their inspiration from toys, surfboards, or a new process they developed for making plywood splints during World War II, Charles and Ray Eames never stopped innovating and making the world a more beautiful and interesting place. Lean and modern. Playful and functional. Sleek, sophisticated, and beautifully simple. That was and is the Eames look. Charles and Ray achieved their monumental success by approaching each project the
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same way: Does it interest and intrigue us? Can we make it better? Will we have “serious fun” doing it? They loved their work, which was a combination of art and science, design and architecture, process and product, style and function. “The details are not details,” said Charles. “They make the product.” A problem solver who encouraged experimentation among his staff, Charles once said his dream was “to have people working on useless projects. As Charles noted about the development of the Molded Plywood Chairs, “Yes, it was a flash of inspiration,” he said, “a cont. on page 12
DOES IT INTRIGUE AND
INTEREST US ?
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INTERVIEW
TO R S T E N
NEELAND PRODUCT + INTERIOR DESIGNER FOLLOWING HIS STUDIES IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AT HAMBURG’S COLLEGE OF FINE ART, TORSTEN NEELAND SET UP HIS SELF NAMED STUDIO FOR INDUSTRIAL AND INTERIOR DESIGN IN LONDON, IN 1997. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE USER AND THE OBJECT INTERESTS HIM AND HAS INFLUENCED HIS WORK TO RANGE FROM PRIVATE INTERIOR DESIGN, RETAIL OUTLETS, EXHIBITION SPACES, SET CREATING AND PRODUCT DESIGN. HE HAS WON NUMEROUS AWARDS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, INCLUDING THE “DESIGN AWARD OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY” IN 2004 FOR HIS ‘STAV’ CUTLERY SET REFLECT SIMPLICITY WHICH HE THINKS IS A RESULT OF A COMPLEX PROCESS.
AI: What originally made you want to become a designer?
Torsten Neeland (TN): Since I was a child I always had the desire to create spaces and to dismantle objects. the passion for product design came at a later stage.
AI: Who/what has been the biggest influence on your work to date?
Only art is limitless.
AI: What do you consider to be the most
interesting developments in your field at present and why?
TN: 3D printing is probably one of the most
interesting recent developments because it opens up new possibilities and the designer becomes a 21st century digital craftsman.
TN: The influences on my work are numerous and AI: What are you currently fascinated by and how it is impossible for me to name one person or an instance. Most of the time projects are developed in a team. Each project is influenced by the knowledge and skills of the people in the team. I would compare it to a puzzle that turns into a picture. The people that I am working closely with or who are near to me have a stronger influence on each project than a famous designer that others might be familiar with. Gen toidé for example, the man responsible for special events at Yohji Yamamoto, had a big influence on the last Yohji Yamamoto projects in Paris and London. He proposed and pushed for a photo-shoot that took place in Paris as a result of a collaboration.
AI: Overall, what would you say is your strongest skill?
TN: Creating spaces with a strong focus on lighting design and timeless objects.
AI: How would you describe your approach to design?
TN: My design approach is clear and direct.
I believe that simplicity is very often part of a complex process. It is about timelessness. We are working for the design industry and we are dealing with limitations. I like to share the love of restraint, a subtle beauty based on simplicity and austerity. I like purely designed objects that address the antithrowaway, anti-fashionable products that have evolved due to our increasingly transient lifestyles. For example urban normad 1 & 2 are clothes hanging rails which can partly be easily dismantled by hand, without the use of tools and screws. This is convenient for transportation and for space saving. This is a small, yet important practical detail that can be overlooked in everyday life. It is about getting the best possible results within parameters.
is it feeding into your work?
TN: manufacturing technologies, interesting
materials and photography have always fascinated me. For the ‘urban nomads’ show with Y’s Yohji Yamamoto we have been looking to redefine the idea of a picture frame by using a direct to media UV printing technology that allows us to print images directly onto materials such as glass. The result is visible on both sides of the glass sheet similar to a transparency. For the German brand MAGAZIN® we developed a serving tray that could also function as a notebook stand. The product is made out of press molded cork – a technology that is mainly used for cork soles to be manufactured on an industrial scale. Furthermore I always have been very passionate about photography including as an art form, fashion, still life and portrait photography. On a rare occasion Yohji Yamamoto proposed that we work together on a photo shoot that combined the Y’s Yohji Yamamoto collection with Torsten Neeland products. The images have been used to promote the new Y’s line as well as to promote our products for shows at Yohji Yamamoto stores.
AI: What projects do you enjoy the most? TN: Projects that involve a creative direction. AI: is it hard to switch between interior and
product design projects? And what helps you focus on specific briefs? cont. on page 20
THE ART OF
Modern Life The requirement to be more flexible and manage change is becoming increasingly important. A positive personal strategy can help each individual to cope better and improve resilience and confidence.
LIVING
There is no definitive list of life skills, and psychosocial and interpersonal skills generally considered important. The choice and emphasis on different skills will vary according to the individual and circumstances. Though the list suggests these categories are distinct from each other, many skills are used simultaneously in practice. Ultimately, the interplay between the skills is what produces powerful behavioral outcomes. The United Nations’ subset of categories for life skills lays out an excellent basis to begin with; there are, of course, other life skills that are required to address a more holistic approach to modern living that incorporates the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of life.
Your perspective is your reality, and your reality is your perspective. We can make a conscious choice about how we want to interpret every situation. It’s the glass halfempty or half-full approach, and this attitude underpins every life skill. Thinking positively is not about putting your head in the sand, nor is it about being unrealistic. By developing a positive attitude, you still recognize the negative aspects of a situation; however, you choose to focus instead on the hope and opportunity that is available. This approach helps you to avoid getting locked into a paralyzing loop of bad feeling and allows you to move on quickly and take action to solve problems and embrace life’s challenges.
Understanding and knowing that we are so much more in control of our lives than sometimes we believe is not only reassuring, it is empowering. The way we think determines the way we feel and is the control pad for the volume of happiness we choose to experience in our lives. The quality of our thinking essentially determines the quality of our life.
The writings and teachings of some of the great philosophers over the last 2,000 years have been significant. From Epictetus, who said, “What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are,” to my favorite quote by Shakespeare who so rightly observed, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” The
viewpoint extends over centuries from Norman Vincent Peale and his emphasis on the power of positive thinking to American psychotherapist Albert Ellis, the creator of REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy), which led to the formulation of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), something I applaud. The word, “cognitive,” is a term to describe thinking and the word, “behavioral,” is there to emphasize that change is not just about how we think, but also about what we do with that thinking. Having first gained prominence in researching depression, one of the premier psychologists of our day, Martin Seligman, began to look at factors that contribute to positive emotional health. Seligman and his colleagues have identified 24 key factors associated with individuals who report high levels of life satisfaction. The most recent research suggests that out of these 24, five are particularly important: optimism, zest for life, curiosity, the ability to cont. on page 19
PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES
look + feel
PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES
look + feel
GRID
TYPOGRAPHY + COLOR
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