#1
age of the icon — In a media-saturated world, the discussion of what and who is important is a complex one.
What is an icon? How does something become iconic? And why do we care so much? Celebrity culture is at an all-time high and a multitude of voices vie for our attention. As a result, the word ‘icon’ prompts incredulity, eye-rolling and bored dismissal. However, we still need to believe that positive change is possible. And that is what icons represent – a new idea, a new zeitgeist, a shift in paradigm, which will take us forward and upward. An icon stands for something. The important question is not what or who is an icon, but why. In the following pages, we examine what it means to be an icon, drop in on an iconic city with Tim Ross, and ask 30 creative individuals to nominate their idea of an icon, whether building, product, person, artwork or object. The results are both intriguing and revealing. Together, we can restore the true value of an icon. If our discussions around the concept are more meaningful, then they will have to be, too.
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Make me iconic —
WHAT DEFINES ICONIC DESIGN? And what are the pros and cons of putting respected designers, products, brands and buildings on a pedestal? Sophie Davies explores our love affair with making things iconic‌
Text Sophie Davies | photographY various
grace on coronation, Brisbane, by Zaha Hadid Architects. Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
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juicy salif lemon squeezer by philippe starck for alessi.
Icons should be more permanent and add to the life of everyone.
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starchitect duo frank gehry and zaha hadid are given the religious icon treatment (created by carl rugtherfoord of luigi rosselli architects).
Imagine the faces of contemporary starchitects Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid cheekily blended with traditional religious icons. During a talk entitled ‘Longevity & Icons’ at August’s Sydney Indesign fair, architect Luigi Rosselli showed a slide of the world-famous duo photoshopped so their images morphed into spiritual art. The modern icons were made iconic, literally. “An icon can be an item of consumption,” said Rosselli, “or in the case of a building or [piece of] furniture it can be something that will last much longer and resist the weathering of time. Icons should be more permanent and add to the life of everyone.” However, Rosselli warned that “employing a starchitect can be a marketing tool for good or bad. This is where icons are changing from a positive sense.” We often look to design to provide inspiration, gurus even and near-sacred creations, but no one wants to see major names commissioned reductively by rote, like snapping up luxury handbags. Worse still is slavish adoration of work that parodies greatness – copycat furniture, we’re looking at you!
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What makes an icon? Authenticity is key to defining a true furniture icon. Ripoffs may be a backhanded compliment – the first sign that a design has become iconic is when it is being routinely copied – but the integrity, quality, individuality and craftsmanship of the original cannot be bettered by a fake. Longevity is important too, with good designs only truly becoming iconic when they pass the acid-test of time. Good looks help when it comes to bagging iconic status – Alberto Korda’s iconic photo of Che Guevara launched a million T-shirts, thanks in no small part to the Cuban revolutionary’s striking face. The Sydney Opera House too radiates nautical-chic charisma.
graffiti artwork of Che Guevara on the berlin wall, a cultural appropriation of Alberto Korda’s famous photo.
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Longevity is important, with good designs only truly becoming iconic when they pass the acid-test of time.
the iconic tile-covered sails, courtesy of sydney opera house.
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peter eisenman's powerful holocaust memorial in berlin Š Stiftung Denkmal, Photo: Marko Priske.
Is it the tactile materials, sensual lines or sculptural forms? The timeless soul of the best designs?
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ubiquitous random lights by bertjan pot for moooi.
Classics or clichÊs So why do we want that marblelicious Eero Saarinen table, curvy Hans J Wegner chair or come-hither Charlotte Perriand chaise-longue? Is it the tactile materials, sensual lines or sculptural forms? The timeless soul of the best design? Or is it just a status symbol of culturally sanctioned good taste? While it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly what tips a great design into being an iconic one, our desire for icons risks typecasting design.
tulip table by eero saarinen for knoll.
lc4 chaise longue by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, manufactured by cassina.
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corallo lounge chair by ronan and erwan bouroullec for edra.
Icons of Instagram In the 21st Century’s fast-churn social media whirl, the nature of what makes design iconic is changing rapidly. Increasingly, favourite designs, hot buildings and new creative talents are posted, tweeted, pinned and liked, with Instagram becoming the go-to media for reporting from the world’s design fairs. Images of new products are shared instantly, often while still at prototype stage, along with architectural works-in-progress.
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Favourite designs, hot buildings and new creative talents are posted, tweeted, pinned and liked.
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The OLPC XO has the potential to be a social game changer.
the $100 laptop from the one laptop per child project in use by students in afghanistan.
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Ethical design revolution While we all love a stylish sofa, should a design’s ethical impact be the true arbiter of an iconic piece? Kicking off in 2007, the One Laptop per Child project – a robust, low-cost, self-powered computer intended to educate children in the developing world – surely deserves iconic status. Designed by San Francisco-based Yves Béhar and his fuseproject studio, the OLPC XO, also dubbed the $100 laptop, has the potential to be a social game-changer. The recent PET Lamp project, employing craftspeople in poorer countries to weave pendants partly formed from recycled plastic bottles, also ticks the eco/ethical design icon box.
PET LAMPS SET OF 6 BY THE PET LAMP PROJECT.
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Buy less, but better Iconic design can also walk hand-in-hand with sustainable consumption when we buy less, but better. It’s worth saving up for a gorgeous B&B Italia sofa or George Nelson desk if they outlast cheaper but poorly made alternatives. With much of today’s technology and white goods designed deliberately around built-in obsolescence, so you have to keep shopping and swapping to get the latest version, enduring classics that outlast trends are interiors’ eco warriors. We may love Topshop for its super-speedy catwalk-to-high street fashion turnaround, but the best product design and architecture needs to outlast the seasons, inspiring us over generations.
swag desk by george nelson for herman miller.
charles sofa by antonio citterio for b&b italia.
bow chair by tom fereday for designbythem.
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the art of lounging Image from Happy by Amanda Talbot.
bonfire of replicas devised by Design by Toko and realised by Whitehouse institute of design students for hill st precinct during sydney indesign
Enduring classics that outlast trends are interiors’ eco warriors.
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The hype is often deserved.
karim rashid portrait by bando e&c co.
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606 universal shelving system by dieter rams for vitsoe.
Loud versus quiet A lot of the buzz around iconic designs is generated by the noisier, more charismatic designers, such as eccentric Frenchman Philippe Starck, US showman Karim Rashid and Dutch extrovert Marcel Wanders (his superbrand Moooi has used photos of naked people to promote its headturning designs). The hype is often deserved, but in our rush to crown the next icon let’s not forget the quieter talents. Naoto Fukasawa is the creative force behind many of Japanese no-logo brand Muji’s simple, utilitarian homewares, as well as understated furniture classics for other brands (witness his sensual Hiroshima chair for Japan’s Maruni). The UK’s low-key Jasper Morrison is also universally acclaimed for his less-is-more style. Even minimalist magician Jonathan Ive isn’t really a household name, despite being Apple’s design mastermind.
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Everyday heroes Finally, we should pay homage to the no-name anonymous designs that make our world sing. From the bicycle to the paperclip, we use ‘iconic’ designs all the time often without knowing who first invented them. Let’s hear it for the everyday design heroes… Full text in Habitus #30, out now
bike sharing service by bike mi in milan.
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Let’s hear it for the everyday design heroes.
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