"The World of De-Materialization". Karim Rashid in Detroit.
posted:
Karim Rashid giving his presentation.
He brought up some interesting concepts and ideas, some of which I embrace, and some ideas that I don’t necessarily subscribe to. I admire the fact that he is asking questions and trying to get people to re-think their positions. For example in his presentation he questioned why a car needs a glossy paint job. He brought up how it could be a better idea to have a matte paint job, and have the surface textured to reduce the wear and tear. He brought up how many watch manufacturers are now going back to designs that have a lot of “bling”, and how these designs are overloaded with dials that no-one can figure out what they are used for. He also asked why it is necessary to sleep 17” off the ground, and brought this up to say that many of our day to day objects grew out of layers and layers of issues; some of which are behavioral.
So what is it that I didn’t agree with? Well, I got the impression that he doesn’t value drawing, the physical aspect of drawing on paper or some other surface. I got the impression that he feels that the act of drawing is arcane.
I could be wrong, so if anyone out there happened to be in Detroit at this event, please correct me if I am wrong in my assumption.
I don’t know what to make of all of it, but it was nice to get a few minutes away from the studio….
Here are some of his quotes that I jotted down-
“… I don’t believe in ‘problem solving’ in industrial design because the ‘problems’ have been solved. Take for example a comfortable chair, this is a problem that has been solved…”
“ If we design and aren’t as concerned with style, we shape the world.”
“You should never have any hobbies, because your job should be like your hobby.”
“Modernism wasn’t as much an aesthetic as much as it was a social behavior.”
“What is the ornamentation of today?”
