MILANO ‘14
Marjolein Los Report of a study trip
INTRODUCTION In this report, I will reflect on Lucid’s study trip to Milano which I joined. We visited the Milano Design week and of course some of Milano’s high lights, I decided to subscribe for the Milanotrip not only because I thought it would be fun, but also to explore my vision on design. I sometimes have my doubts regarding to design. This makes me doubt about me as a designer and my vision. In Milano I would be confronted with much design and I really wanted to know how I would react on and deal with that. Before the trip I hoped I could find some designs in Milan which
are designed for children or which are designed with a very creative, surprising or open-minded view, so with a bit a childish view. This is a part of my vision and identity which I would like to explore more, because I think this is something what can help to become the designer I want to be. I hope you enjoy reading. Marjolein Los
SUPERSTUDIO PIÙ The first ‘design thing’ we visited was Superstudio Piú, where we visited their exhibition Temporary Museum for New Design. I experienced a mix of design. From furniture till interactive design, from design visions till high quality problem solving products. I liked that variety and it was a good start of the design week for me. I immediately noticed that a lot attention has been paid to presentation. Everything is perfectly displayed and positioned. This also holds for the appearance of the designers and most visitors themselves; all neatly dressed, ready for businesses. I felt underdressed in my summer clothing and you
experience that in the way you are approached (or not) by the designers. A good lesson for a next time therefore is that clothing really can help you and is very important, especially in a country like Italy. This exhibition contains both industrial design and design which I would classify as art. I also liked the more artistic design, because it can give you inspiration to create objects people like or are surprised by. An example is a lamp made of pencils. The pencils have another function then you are used to, but together they shape a nice artistic object.
I also saw some good examples of design which expresses a vision. For example, the room of some Thai designers breathed their vision: ‘By cleansing the mind, body and soul of earthly troubles, one can then see the truth of life’. They want to achieve this by give you the feeling and experience of mediation. I also experienced that while visiting their rooms. I felt calm and quiet. The rooms are powerful, simple and mysterious at the same time. Another example of a company with a clear, interesting vision is Alcantra. This is a quote from their vision: ‘Sustainability is about future. And the first requirement to deal with future is a complete awareness of our own identity and responsibility.’ They claim to develop chic products and that they chase excellence, but they
don’t lack sustainability or their looks. I think they don’t succeed in bringing their vision to their designs. I don’t like their furniture and it has a gloomy look in my opinion, which they might consider as chic. Their vision is consistent with my vision; I also would like to design nice looking and good working products and sustainability is also very important, but I would express this vision in a different way. I also liked this design; a colored light system which reacts on sound. When you speak to a microphone or music has been played, the items react by blinking consistent with the music. I like the playful look of it and I also was relieved to see interactivity.
UrbanHello is a home phone which automatically switches to ‘handsfree’ mode when you put it down. It has a high quality, all-directions speaker, which ensures good sound. Health specialists say that keeping a mobile receiver away from the head cuts up by 90% of the electromagnetic waves that it emits. I like the vision behind the product. It works intuitively and is different than most home phones from an aesthetic view, but also prevents the user from possible safety risks. For me it is important that a product either has a clear vision or just works intuitively with a certain goal. The vision of the company should be reflected in the product to give it more value. That is the case in this product and therefore it works for me.
VENTURA LAMBRATE We also visited the Milano district Ventura Lambrate. In this part of the city we could also find Dutch design. I liked the ambience in this district; you could just walk in ateliers and buildings to see what was exposed. This was a bit like we want in our department. Also the many Dutch people visiting this part of the city was striking. I think ‘we, Dutch people’, prefer the surprising designs here over the static furniture and ambience at the Salone del Mobile, I do anyway. It is nice to experience how designs can touch or surprise me. I was surprised by this lamp. It has been made of a flexible pipe which is half integrated in the wall. A light bulb
has been placed in the end and a hole in the wall has been made as lampshade. I really liked this design. An original, nice lamp has been created with simple materials and a simple look. I also liked the series home decoration objects of the Dutch company Wandschappen by fine artists Nicole Driessens and Ivo van den Baar. They used well known materials in a new way. I like how they combine arts, craftsmanship and product design. In my opinion networking between different ‘worlds’ is very important and can bring you many new ideas and opportunities. I see this company and its designs as a successful result of that.
SALONE DEL MOBILE Salone del Mobile is the biggest part of the Milano Design Week. It is mostly filled with home furnishing design and intended to exhibit and promote the furniture of many companies and designers from all over the world. At first, I was overwhelmed by the size of this event. There are many halls and each hall itself is already very big. We just went into one of the halls, which turned out to be the one with classic furniture. I was prepared for much furniture, so not really the design I want to make, but this really was not what I was looking for. I was surprised by the big amount of classic furniture what still is made and
sold. And when you look at the business people and rooms, it is still a big business I think. I didn’t feel comfortable between them and these designs. We made a plan and went to the hall for modern design. There was still mostly furniture, but it was in my opinion way better to walk around. There were many chairs from which I really can’t understand what is new of it. For me it is just like any other already made chair. Examples of this are the chairs on the picture here above. I also would expect them in a big store where thousands are made of each type.
I can’t imagine how someone would give so much money for such a chair.
the adventurous way of thinking of the designer while creating the shapes.
I had not expected that there were so many furniture designs that still surprised me or which I found interesting. A chair is mostly not innovative or interactive, what I mostly prefer, but they are extremely funtional. I have now experienced that funtionality is more important than interactivity sometimes and a product can still be very interesting. You can reach this by interesting shapes, unexpected materials and striking color combinations.
During our visit to the Salone del Mobile I recognized that there is a parallel between many designs I like. The most appealing furniture for me were the ones with a natural look, pastel colors and/or visible wood. This confirms for me what I have written in my Identity. There I wrote about my love for Scandinavia and Scandinavian design. These characteristics I described often appear in Scandinavian design. Scandinavian design is also mostly functional and goal oriented, this causes a lack of decorative elements and I like that. I would like to do an internship or exchange in Scandinavian in my third year. In Brera I also found inspiration for that.
This chair has a striking shape and a big contradiction between the soft fabric and the shiny spines, which gives the chair a dangerous appearance. I like
BRERA In the district Brera, I visited some ateliers, galleries and design companies. We passed a company which sold fabrics; it looked nice so we decided to take a look. The fabrics were showed and exposed in a very nice and original way, so that even I liked it, whereas I think of most of such shops as boring. I also liked their slogan, which is also applicable for industrial design: ‘Details never sleep’. Since the assignment Basic Formgiving Skills I am more aware of the importance of details. Details really make the difference between successful and unsuccessful. The fabrics of this company were therefore exhibit as sheets on little
bed with a magnifying glass to watch he details. I like how their vision is perfectly in line with their exhibition, this strengthens what they want to tell and it impresses me. We fortuitously walked into an exhibition with Scandinavian design. I immediately felt happy and comfortable between these designs. I again recognized some elements you often see in Scandinavian design. I also shortly spoke to a student who studies in Norway, but does an exchange to Sweden now. It was nice to hear how she liked it and what she did. It made me even more enthusiastic.
TRIENNALE MUSEUM In the Triennale Museum I mainly focused on aesthetics, also because this was a museum with also a lot of art. The first thing we visited was ‘Light is Time’, presented by Citizen. For me, this was immediately one of the most impressing things I saw during this week. I liked how everyday objects were used to create a beautiful setting. Citizen wants to emphasize the relation between light and time. They tried to achieve this with this installation to create a total experience. I think they succeeded in this. It is interesting to see how parts of everyday objects (watches)
can be used to create such a nice and big installation. When everyday objects get another function, a surprising design can be created. I can also link this to my vision and identity. Children’s creativity fascinates me. Children also can see opportunities where adults can’t see them. Changing functions and using everyday objects in a new way are also parts of this. I like to be inspired by this and I try to use my vision and identity in my projects, assignments and reflections.
ZONA TORTONA In Zona Tortona there was more industrial design, so not only furniture. I was happy with that, because I had seen enough furniture for one week. I saw some interesting stuff and I especially liked the four interactive play concepts in one part of the exhibition. I realized the importance of interactivity for me, but it should never appear without a function or vision. Functionality makes something often more valuable, but when something has not clear function in everyday life, it can be valuable through its vision. It eventually has a function then, for example bringing people together, but it is more hidden.
wwI will discuss the four interactive concepts now. This is an interactive play table. Each color block represents a vehicle and its track. The child can adapt the tracks by moving the blocks. The child can then make the play world he wants. I like this concept, because the child has been provided with tools to play and which makes this attractive, but it also enhances the child’s creativity. During my KiKa play project, we also thought of making something like this during the first pressure cooker, but we eventually went with another concept. Disadvantages for us were the
shadows of the children, when they play with it. It also reacts too slowly now, but that can be improved I hope and think. These blocks react on each other with their colors. When a block is connected to another block, they ‘give’ some of their color to the other. An example: a yellow and a red block are connected. Then the yellow block becomes somewhat more orange and the red block becomes also lighter. I also liked the concept of drawing fish very much. People could color a paper fish. When they are finished, the drawing is scanned and appears as projection on a screen. People can so add their own piece to the big screen and they can change the room a little bit. I think
this technology can be used in different settings with different goals. This is a very promising concept and I hope it will be attainable for ordinary people soon. The last thing I would like to mention is also an interactive play table. It consists of projected items, like dwarfs, ladders and clouds, and physic items, like books, plates and pens. With the physic items you could influence the projected items and play with them. The dwarfs walked around the table and when they faced an item they tried to climb it with walls. The game is a bit simple now, but very promising and already very interesting for young kids. I like how kids can use their own imagination to play and they are also able to use their own toys with the table elements.
CONCLUSION I can conclude that joining Lucid with their Milanotrip was an amazing experience. It was not only fun, but also very useful. It was a nice possibility to place my vision in another context. I compared and explored very much design which also helped me to shape and define my vision and identity. I noticed that design with a natural look, simple materials and a calm appearance were the most appealing to me. I also discovered that it is important for me that there is a vision behind a design. Therefore I focus on my own vision and using it in my designs. It makes a product or concept more valuable.
I want to thank Lucid and the Milanotrip committee 2014 for making this trip possible and giving me the opportunity to enjoy so much design and such a great ambience. Thanks for reading! Marjolein Los