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A global connection
[Thu 01/01/1970 10:00:00]
 Take a European product designer with a passion for specialist niche products and mass production from Hong Kong; a funky design duo from Australia in love with fun, honest sustainable design; and a designer from New York who has carved a path for himself in clever design for renowned brands, and you’ve got a global perspective on retail, design and the space in which they meet.
The designers
Sarah Gibson and Nicholas Karlovasitis are the duo behind Australian brand Designbythem. Designbythem’s business name encompasses what the couple’s aim is—to welcome more Australian designers to their fold and thus play a role in helping them establish themselves on the international stage. The pair believe that less is more and that people don’t need more products that simply take up space.
“We believe that humans don’t need more things that just sit around,” says Gibson. “We also aim to have a bit of fun, be playful and always inject a bit humour and quirkiness into the pieces we create. Character of the products is also really important to us and to make our pieces as practical and sustainable as possible.”
Fang Studio in Hong Kong is headed up by Danny Fang, a Dutch industrial designer whose first foray into design was working on a fair trade project in Africa. Here he discovered a love of being able to speak through the creation of products with people who he could not verbally communicate with. For six years Fang worked at the renowned Marcel Wanders studio (founder of Droog Design) before deciding it was time to move on and open his own firm.
Fang believes in design that human beings can form a connection with and not just the creation of products for the sake of new things—his philosophy for the designs he creates has been based upon a saying ‘Create love, not more’. It was also important to Fang to be based in a place where his design made a difference, which is why he opened his studio in Hong Kong.
“Europe is going to create nice things with or without me,” he says. “I knew I needed to be somewhere where they needed me. Somewhere where the people haven’t previously had a big understanding of what design is. I needed to be somewhere where I could make a difference and have a large impact,” he says.
Ran Lerner is an Israeli designer who studied design in Milan. He has been based in New York City for 11 years and established Ran Lerner Design in 2003 with the philosophy of bringing unique design concepts to products sold in both the private and mass markets. Lerner is all about making design accessible to the public and he also believes in creating products with which people can create a true affinity.
“There is no point in doing something for the sake of doing something different,” he says. “The best way forward is to first find a need and then optimise a design to fill that need. It’s about creating something that is better than what was there before and by better it could mean in the way someone interacts with it, or simply if the product makes someone happy. It might function better, be more enjoyable or more beautiful, as long as it is better.”
All of these designers are completely different in their approaches, but they all believe that design should be about the fusion of form and function and products that don’t inspire a relationship between themselves and the end user are not just a waste of space, but a waste of resources. They are all responsible designers who understand the importance of design and what more and more consumers are looking for today—durability, sustainability and a connection with the products they buy.
 Use what you have
The designers behind Designbythem focus on the honesty of the materials they use and work with what they have.
“Our products are designed to complement the materials we use, rather than us forcing the material to do something it is not meant to do or be,” says Gibson. “Materials, for instance, might have a pattern themselves and they are beautiful as they are. So we utilise the characteristics of the material.”
A great example of this approach is the Treeling earring tree the pair created. The tree is based on the outline of a Bonsai tree and is made from a thin sheet of the white, duck egg blue, black or gold perforated material that is hen cut into a silhouette of the tree’s shape. The piece flat packs for distribution and upon removal from the simplistic envelope-like packaging, folds at the base into a standing tree with the trunk standing above a small base that balances the entire design.
Each minute hole in the tree is for hanging an earring, so that when decorated with jewellery it takes on an exotic appearance. Adhering to the company’s design philosophy, the design makes use of the material as it was originally created, rather than manipulating the fabric of its makeup to accommodate the design concept.
The same can be said for your retail space. If you work with what you have rather than trying to force a feel or a style on to a space that is not right for it, you won’t achieve a feeling of authenticity and your ideas may fall flat.
Use the natural light or perhaps the exposed brickwork or the original beams of a space as highlights, rather than as things that need to be covered up or erased to make room for a completely new look you have in mind. Check out the space first and see what elements of natural beauty it has, then think about how you can work with them.
Another project that Designbythem worked on was a modular staff photographic display system for a medical institute. They conceptualised and constructed from laser cut acrylic a system comprised of modular panels that allowed for the simple addition or removal of photos while keeping the design in line with the institute’s clean, organised yet dynamic environment.
“The design is flexible in nature,” explains Gibson. “We believe in open, clean spaces that convey the personality of a place, but where people feel comfortable.”
This whole concept can be applied to retail. First you want your display systems to be flexible, and you don’t want to overpower your product as it needs to be the main point of attention.
“To us, designing a great space is a balance of keeping it clean but not stripping away the personality of the environment. People like to hear a story. They don’t want to walk into a minimal space without a story, but at the same time it has to be a story that is easy to understand and not cluttered. The story a retail store has to tell shouldn’t be confusing,” says Gibson.
In other words, you need to clearly convey the personality of your business not only through the space but also through your product choice. So keeping the idea behind your brand at the forefront of your mind at all times is imperative to your success.
Durability is king
There are many things that Danny Fang has learnt since moving to Hong Kong, but one of the main things that affect his business is retention of staff. After the Chinese New Year around 70 per cent of employees tend to go on holidays and don’t come back. Fang believes that what he has learnt about products and manufacturing can be applied to business as well.
“Durable design can create a durable business,” he says. Fang strives to ensure that staff working on his products on the factory floor are happy, have good working conditions and are kept busy and interested, because he knows the cost of losing staff and having to re-train new ones is high.
“You teach someone how to work on a particular product and they learn how to do something and then when they move on and someone else starts, mistakes are made and you have to throw away products.”
Retailers can benefit by applying these ideas to their business as well. Not only do staff who have been with the company longer know more about your products and your business’ philosophy, but they will also form relationships with your customers who will come to trust them, ask for recommendations and enjoy buying products from people they know.
You also don’t want to waste time training more staff so keeping the ones you have invested time and money in is crucial. It also results in fewer mistakes, giving you more time to focus on developing your business rather than fixing it.
When it comes to durability, Fang likes to create a durable product that someone genuinely enjoys, will keep for a long time and that is good for a person’s wallet and the environment.
“If a person has a connection with a product after using it for a long time, they might not even throw it away when it is broken,” he says. “They’ll continue to use it because they feel connected with that product.”
 Colour my world
Lerner, like all great designers, has to think about colour and its application and meaning when associated with the products he designs.
“In the beginning when designing a product, I examine the environment in which it will go,” he says. “This helps me to determine the character of the product. For instance, red is a great colour for cars because it is all about passion and speed and it attracts attention. You might have a product that needs to be more stable and more traditional in its nature, so I have to choose something more subtle. I look at how I can enhance the character of the product.”
Lerner uses some examples of his products to illustrate his point—the Grape Vine wine rack he created for Umbra for instance is made from a clear material so that it looks as though the wine bottles are floating. Or he might apply green to salad servers as they are linked to fresh, green produce in a person’s psyche.
The same can be said for your retail space. Use colour to enhance the character of your store. If it is a store for children’s toys, use bright bold, fun colours to decorate. If it is a store that sells relaxing, soothing body products, go for soft pastel shades that are comforting and warm. If your products need to do the talking, look at plain white or clear shelving so that your customer’s eyes are drawn straight to your products rather than the bones of your store. Colour, and sometimes lack of it, plays an instrumental role in business, and it is a hugely pivotal element when it comes to bad and great product design.
Creating that connection
One thing all the designers agree on is that a connection with a product is essential.
“It’s all about creating interaction between the end user and a product,” says Lerner.
He designed flatware where the ends of the knives and forks do not touch the table. Called Float, they create interaction as the user looks closely at them and see the difference, touches them to check for balance and becomes attached to the idea behind them.
Fang also strongly believes in creating an affinity between a person and a product. He also divides designers in two groups.
“There are designers who research before they create their products and there are designers who are more trend followers and they are like stylists, styling the product to sell to the market,” he says.
“I am the worst stylist. I am like a chef. I do my research, collect all of my ingredients and then come up with the best recipe for those ingredients.”
What Fang means is that when a designer comes up with a solution to a brief—a new product—then the puzzle has, in a sense, been solved and the product can be styled to suit different buyers. Colours can be added, quirky elements can be brought into the design, different models can be made based on the conclusions made during the conceptual stage of design.
“These are like different sauces for the recipe,” says Fang. And what these ‘styling’ elements also do is help to create a bond between the person and a product.
You should look at your store in the same way designers look at their products. Decide what it is that you want your store to achieve—this is your brief or puzzle to be solved. Next, you need to answer your brief and, like an industrial designer, come up with a product that fills your needs as a retailer. When you have come up with that product, concentrate on styling your store to attract customers, just as designers style their products to attract a buyer.
So next time you pick up a product and consider it for the shelves of your store, think of the design philosophy, the processes, the materials, the love and attention that has gone into its creation. And then take a few tips from an innovative designers’ book and apply them to your store.
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