Portrait/Interview: Nuno Coelho
Design Theorist, Lecturer and Curator
Nuno Coelho is a London-based Design Theorist, Lecturer and Curator who works internationally. He has collaborated with his friend Anna Stewart on a number of projects.
In this brief interview, Anna asks him about his recent work and his predictions for future trends in design.
We met when you curated New Simplicity in 2011, an exhibition of rational and functional design objects, with work by Oscar Diaz and Jasper Morrison.
It seems that was the start of what is now quite a standard aesthetic.
What’s your response to this? Do you think a simple, useful approach is here to stay?
I think that a useful, simple and functional approach will be with us for a long time to come. However I do not think it is, or will be, the main aesthetic or design approach. At the moment there is such a plethora of different styles, approaches and aesthetic sensibilities that reflect our diverse, cosmopolitan and global culture. What seems to be a historical pattern is that every time there is an economical recession we find a trend towards frugality and a return to basics. This is possibly because it would be seen as ‘bad taste’ to promote ostentation and glamour when so many people struggle financially. But as we start to move on from a period of slow economical growth to a period of financial stability, there is a resurgence in design that appeals to our emotions and desires rather than focusing simply on the functional.
The biggest impact of simple design at the moment is happening online. There are several social media sites and online publications that are really pushing for a very simple, almost “no design” approach. The new social media site ello and online publication Medium are two good examples of this very simple approach to design and user experience.
You gave a workshop at Eindhoven recently about Psychogeography, our understanding and navigation of urban environments. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Psychogeography started as a radical critique of the pervasiveness of capitalism within cities and urban spaces. My intention was to re-capture some of the radicalism and critical thinking of the 1950s and 1960s and apply it to a contemporary context. In order to do this, I am in the process of developing a hands-on methodology – informed by Romanticism, critical theory, psychogeography and design thinking – that aims to rediscover and reimagine the everyday spaces in which we live and work. Ultimately it aims to be an explorative research methodology in which uncertainty and relevance are investigated through a new urban awareness.
I’m interested in the piece you are writing for Medium (open source news blog from the founders of Twitter) what’s your view on open source reporting? And is it more or less of a challenge to write a short, sharp piece of text than a normal magazine article of say 1000 words?
Open source is a very noble principle and concept, however, I have my doubts in terms of its actual feasibility. What I notice is that a lot of the people who promote and work within the realm of open source and collaborative design seem to forget their own ethos and principles once money or credits are involved. A truly communitarian, open source and collaborative approach still needs to be addressed. Perhaps we have to move on from our current neo-liberal ideals to have a proper open source, collaborative mind set. For me it is more of a challenge to write small pieces as it implies editing out a lot of information that is relevant.
You studied History of Design at the RCA and your academic work is informed by your knowledge of history and how political and social movements have brought about changes in technology and design. Have you come across any work recently that you think is genuinely inspiring, historically significant, even?
I don’t think there is one single work that I think is historically significant but rather I think we are living through a major significant period in history. There are several movements that, in fact, started a while ago, but are now coming to the fore. Those movements are for a more sustainable approach to design (and life in general) and for a new focus on collaborative, participatory approaches exemplified by the Makers movement. Within these two movements there’s a lot of really interesting and challenging work being produced, but ultimately, unless we radically change our current world view, these movements will end up being utopian manifestos rather than promoting massive change.
Icon Feature on James Patmore
Nice feature on James Patmore in Icon’s December issue, with a portrait I took of him when we met during the London Design Festival a few weeks ago at his Horizon installation.
Portrait/Interview: Oscar Diaz
Product Designer
Oscar Diaz is a London-based product designer known for his plain and playful objects.
Anna Stewart has followed his work for some time. Here, she asks a few questions
about his creative process.
Oscar, I first came across your work when you showed the Ink calendar as part of
a RCA graduate group show in 2007. I still love this project!
How has your working practice changed since then?
The short answer would be: a lot. At that time I didn’t have any objects in production with any companies and I had just recently graduated. I was still what we call a “moonlight” designer, working as freelancer for others during the day, and on my own projects at night.
I have since established my own practice and we have worked with some well-known companies like Muji or Hermès, designing mainly products and also installations.
You work a lot with useful, functional objects. Is this essential for you, i.e. would you ever design something that you would not perceive as useful?
I studied art before switching to design. I used to create “useless” things everyday.
In a way, one of the reasons why I switched to design is because I wanted to make simple things that people would use everyday and relate to. It is very important to me that it [the finished product] is not about me, that the object and what it does comes before the person who designed it. It also has to work, therefore it is not a piece of art to be admired,
although I try to insert some emotional qualities into each project.
Recently you took part in a series of talks at the V&A called The Creative Process
(with Curator & Co). Can you tell us a bit about your talk called ‘Design as a verb’?
I wanted to use the opportunity to reflect about my own process. I am usually jumping from one project to another project, and a big part of what I do is making in a semi-intuitive way.
I thought: what if I don’t show any of my projects and talk just about my idea of design?
I am currently very interested in maps and diagrams and I tried to explain my process
by using just these elements.
“Design as a verb” is a way of focusing on actions, on the process, and forget for a while about the result. Design is often used as a noun or adjective, but is the verb that indicates action on a sentence.
We know that designers, writers and photographers collaborate in different ways.
As a designer, how important is a collaborative approach to your work?
It is very important to collaborate with people from other disciplines; it often brings a new perspective on things. I constantly collaborate with craftsmen, engineers, graphic designers, writers, etc… I have found that if you want to create something strong, you need to have
a holistic approach.
Portrait/Interview: Betty Wood
Writer & Online Editor at PORT Magazine
Editorial and design consultant Anna Stewart asks 5 questions
to writer and online editor Betty Wood.
You are a writer but that hasn’t always been the case…
I started out working in tax, which was as dull as it sounds.
I was fresh out of University and I needed a job and so it goes. It took me a few years to figure out what I wanted to do, and I spent a couple of years working as a teaching assistant in a secondary school, before moving into editorial. That was a great job, though slightly surreal.
It was actually my old high school, in my hometown, and it was akin to living in a goldfish bowl. I’d walk my dog and bump into students in the park. I couldn’t go to the supermarket without seeing someone from work. Being a semi-closeted queer at the time, I found it a little stressful, as privacy was impossible.
But I got a lot from that job. Don’t listen to what the Daily Mail tells you, teenagers are magnificent and exceptionally generous creatures. They feel everything so acutely; every
day is full of drama and intrigue. I didn’t enjoy being sworn at so much, but I did enjoy forming relationships with the students I worked with, many of who had very specific learning needs, and some of whom had behavioural problems – anger, anxiety, stress, ADHD. We had kids who were in foster care too; they were probably the ones I bonded with most, for no other reason than they responded so generously to simply showing an interest in them.
It was immensely rewarding.
Your writing has covered different genres from film and food to literature and design.
If you could write about any topic, what would it be?
I would love to write a column one day. I think the thread that links my work is craftsmanship.
I’m obsessed with it. I treat every interview I do as a learning experience, as though I’m getting a window into someone else’s world and that really excites me. I’m also very interested in business: not necessarily from a turnover point of view, but about brands and building identity. Entrepreneurs are the modern pioneers.
I’d love to write more on queer issues too; it’s always something I’ve shied away from before, as I’ve never really felt like I fit anywhere in particular within the gay scene. I don’t identify
with labels, but I think I’m more comfortable discussing LGBT issues now.
I can be part of that dialogue.
Writing can be quite a personal process, how much of yourself goes into your work?
I’ve been writing a few very personal essays recently, the first of which is being published next month. I re-wrote it three times because I was worried about ‘speaking for others’; when I’m writing from my own experience I’m very confident in my voice, but naturally, you worry about presenting other people in a way they’d like to be seen. I put an enormous amount into my work in the respect that, if I write something and people don’t like it, that hurts me.
But it’s also part of the job.
Of course, if you’re writing for a client, it’s about finding their voice, not mine.
I am quite good at being able to switch between the two. I enjoy the challenge of that.
What’s been your most challenging and most rewarding story to date?
Probably an essay I wrote last week for Some Such Words: it’s a two and a half thousand-word essay on cinematic memory, inspired by my grandmother. It was quite emotional writing it, though the final version doesn’t reflect this so much, because I removed a lot of it
(too personal. See above.) I was writing about my grandparents, how Alzheimer’s affected
my family; I wrote about a car accident I was involved in as a teenager – it was serious stuff, laced with macabre humour and observations. But I had to self-censor, make it accessible, and hope that should my parents ever read it, they aren’t mad at me for over-sharing.
There’s always compromise involved when writing from personal experience, but then, memory is always compromised too…
What does the future hold for Betty Wood?
I’m launching my own podcast series within the next three months, Letters From London, which I’m incredibly excited about. I’m very into radio, and really enjoy content that can work across mediums. I’m also starting to publish work in the US, and here in the UK, which is exciting. Where I’m going to…
I guess it’s a case of watch this space.
November 2014