tom howard design

I am a really big fan of JAM’s product branding, which I think is very innovative in the way they can take a companies product and changing are preconceptions of the original object. The book is a great insight in to how Jamie Anley and Astrid Zala started JAM Studio and the people they met on their way and Alexander Payne has down a good job writing there story.

I remember my brother telling me about how Jamie had come to his school to give a talk on what JAM does as a studio. He was telling me that one of their first branding projects was for the Phillips light bulbs. Jamie been curious and wanting to know how they made light bulbs went to visit the Philips factory.

Above: Bulb Vase, Philips, 1998.

When a light bulb is been produced it starts of looking like a vase, but now and again there are production errors so these vase shaped looking light bulbs are disregarded. Apparently Jamie looked at this heap of disregarded vase shaped vessels and said, “I know, what it needs” he pops outside the factory and came back in with a flower and put it in the vase, so the story goes!

Apparently when they first visited the factory the surrounding were rather dull when they returned to the factory later on the workers had placed vase shaped light bulbs with flowers in them all over the factory.

Above, Speedo, Audi Coat Rack, Audi Rollover Bar Bench, Audi, 2002.

One of my favorite branding exercises they did has to be for the launch of the Audi TT in 2002. I thought how they changed the context of the Audi objects which are designed for the cars into other items of use, worked so well as we are still able to relate key objects to the Audi brand.

Mark Newson, has been described as the Urban Spaceman, he is a design superstar almost a house hold name with the average punter, and that’s in its self is quite a feat. He has designed everything from dish trays, furniture, watches, bikes, coat hangers and transport system including a space craft. Recently his Lockheed Lounge, which was handmade by him in 1986 was auctioned off by Sotheby in London for huge amount of money.

Above: Front Cover, Marc Newson, 2003.

The projects featured in the book are very interesting but unfortunately the author has not done a good job writing about Mark Newson designs in a technical sense. I felt while reading the book that he had skipped over all the details, styling and the process behind Marks designs which are featured in the book which I thought was a real shame. Because of this you don’t really get a good understand about why his work is viewed as special.

Above: MN01 & 02, Biomega, 2000.

I think to sum this book up it’s more a biography about him and his work, rather than an insight into his work. I think if you wanted to get an over view of his work then this is probably a good book to read, but if you’re more interested behind his critical thinking then you should get the 1999 Mark Newson book.

Like Naoto Fukasawa’s book, Jasper Morrison has written about his own design work, so his passion for what he has created really comes though when he is explaining about his projects.

I did feel that the book had featured slightly too many projects which weren’t than special or interesting, which I felt was a shame, because he has worked on some simply amazing projects and it would have been great to have had more explanation and discussion about them. Other than that, this book is definitely worth a read and is visually presented very well.

Above: Low Pad, Cappellini, 1999.

Jasper has designed and produced some extremely good furniture, I especially like the Low Pad chair for Cappellini the design is pure elegance and simplicity at its best. I am also a fan of his Air Chair which IKEA practically ripped off which is disgraceful for an organization of that size to be doing!

Above: Flat Screen TV and HiFi, Sony, 1998.

I was really interested by his concept designs for Sony Europe which he worked on with John Tree, I thought the flat screen TV they developed in 1998 still look’s stylish for today’s standards, I can’t believe Sony pulled the plug after the concepts were delivered what a shame.

Above: Kitchen Appliances, Rowenta, 2003.

Jasper and John then went on to design products and rebrand the failing company Rowenta which produced kitchen appliances in high volume which they then sold cheaply to increase sales. Subsequently they had trashed their brand image over the years, the all too familiar story in Taiwan.

Above: Kitchen Appliances, Rowenta, 2003.

Three years was up and Jasper’s team had finally produced and developed, high quality kitchen appliance which I think look superb, unfortunately the products all developed malfunction due to bad manufacturing and the range was recalled with in the year.

Raymond Loewy’s book is a fascinating insight into his creative career which has spand over five decades. It is truly outstand what he has managed to achieved in his life time as an industrial designer.

Below: Skylab System, NASA, 1975.

Raymond Lowey started worked as a fashion illustrator in the Twenties, then came the Thirties with the great American depression he survived and started a design agency where he convinced companies that product prestige and investing in high quality design was good for corporate image, profits and would benefit the consumer.

In the Forties World War II happened, He was asked by Washington to help maintain the morale of the American woman. So he designed the first cardboard swivel lipstick which didn’t use any critical war metals, the lipsticks sold in there millions. He also went on to design transport systems for General Motors, United Airlines the Greyhound Bus System his firm also rebranded for the like of Coca-Cola, Shell, BP, the list goes on.

Come the Fifties he was redesigning the entire logical and architectural layout of Shell and Nabisco to improve their efficiency. The Loewy organization branched further into modern transportation and he started to work on projects for BMW and the French helicopter Alouette.

Above: Concept Development Skylab System, NASA, 1975.

By the Sixties he was designing the exterior graphic for Air Force One and his company took on a lot of government based projects, including the human factor design for the Skylab system which was a NASA project they were going to used to enter into space with.

Below: Concept Development Skylab System, NASA, 1975.

In the Seventies he started up a new design agency in Europe which acted as a think tank for his corporate clients, his agency specialised in new technology and innovational design his studio still continued to work on transportation and rebranding projects for some of his American clients. Raymond Loewy’s book is a fascinating insight into the dreams of one man and how designs can be used as a fantastic tool to improve people’s lives.

Above: Concept Development Skylab System, NASA, 1975.

I think Ross Lovegrove would prefer to be called a scientist rather than a designer, his book is a very interesting read about the design process he goes though and what he like to describe as ‘organic essentialism’ and I have to admit it is highly impressive what he does.

Above: Ty Nant Waterbottle, Wales, UK, 1999-2001.

I felt when reading his book that he really connects himself with the object that he is trying to create, it’s as if he is sculpting his design to fit natures engineering and to me that is why he is able to create seamless organic beauty.

Above: DNA Staircase, Ross Lovegrove, 2003.

I heard about Geoff Hollington when reading a copy of Designing The 21^st Century, and I loved this object he had designed called the Fit… For Life Fan, I didn’t have any idea how it worked because the illustration in the book was not that detailed, but I was very curious by its shape.

Above: Fit… For Life Fan, New Pacific Industrial, 2001.

The work featured in Geoff’s book is mainly office systems and furniture which I thought was quite dated for today standards, but mind you the book was published in 1990 so that is quite a long time ago and I imagine his work look very slick at the time.

Above: Piglet, Personal Computer Concept, 1990.

What I thought was really interesting was his concept design in 1990 called Piglet which was a personal computer. He didn’t really focus on internal technology but was more interested in mapping out a future typography for how the personal computer could look.

I thought the concept was very good, especially when the only companies back then doing anything innovative with personal computers was Apple and NeXT (Steve Jobs).

This book doesn’t give you a good example of his latest works and is more about his early projects and thinking, mind you if 80 retro is your thing then you’re in luck!

This is the sequel book to (Products As Landscape) Things That Go Unseen examines Industrial Facility products in more detail and explains about the thinking behind the object in their various different categories. Some of my favorite designs by Industrial Facility has to be the Telephone (Second Phone), it’s so simple but works so well.

Above: Second Phone, Muji, 2002.

As Yves Behar says: “I always ask people, ‘Do you want a smart phone or a stupid phone?’ And everybody wants a stupid phone.”

Above and Below: Soft Phone, Eleksen, 2002.

My second favorite object has to be the Softphone for Eleksen I still think it looks incredibly stylish for today even though it was design six years ago, amazing!

The critical thinking behind Industrial Facility products is extremely good; Kim Colin and Sam Hect are very much on the same level as Naoto Fukasawa it’s not surprising that they have already collaborated on the design typography for NEC in 1996 which influenced a generation of computing products.

Above: Found Thoughts, Though The Years, Kim Colin & Sam Hect.

In their book they talk about objects in relation to its landscape/environment. But I found when reading this book that to me Industrial Facility are passionate about producing highly functional design with a very simplistic human factor touch to their objects. The book is beautiful presented and to me definitely reflects there thinking about design, and is really worth read.

This is another designer I have looked forward to writing about. I found Naoto Fukasawa book especially interesting to read though. Firstly it is written by him, so his passion for design really comes though when he is explaining about his projects.

It is obviously he has done some exceptional design work. The daily life observations he has made transcend into his products and captivate the imagination of the user and to me that is why he is highly successful.

The is a lot to digest from this book, but it is all very interesting and you do begin to understand the creative design process Naoto Fukasawa takes himself though.

Above and Below: Cordless Telephone, Plus Minus Zero, 2005.

Some of my favorite design items Naoto has done, has to be his Cordless Telephone the simplicity of the phone bowing when it is placed upright on a table was very well executed. I am also a fan of the packaging concepts for the Takeo Paper Show; I thought this was simply wonderful.

Above: Prototype Packaging, Kiwi Fruit Packaging, Takeo Paper Show, 2004.

Nick Crosbie is a real inspiration to any young designer who wants to set up their own company because they have a great idea kicking around in the back of their head or maybe they just want lots of inspiration for new PVC inflatable products.

The book is a fascinating read about the history of Inflate and how they basically got started and the ups and downs which Inflate went though as a company. Nick Crosbie was extremely lucky to meet his business partner Nitzan Yaniv, without him Inflate could have lost everything to Alessi, but they stuck to their guns and did what they thought was right, it paid off!

Above: Office in a Bucket (OIAB), Inflate , 2003.

Two of my favorite Inflate products have to be the Office in a bucket (OIAB) and their Rucksack. I think the office in the bucket is a wonderful idea and I can actually think of lots of other application for it!