Experience
Experience
Table
In collaboration with Affordances:
The Experience Table was sparked by the casual conversations that occur when people cross paths at industry tradeshows such as ICFF and NeoCon. The purpose is to create a platform where a diverse group of workplace industry influencers — end users, project managers, brokers, interior designers, industrial designers, art curators, sustainability and tech experts — can dig into the issues and ideas that transform the quality of the workplace experience.
FEATURED | FOR SALE
Heading E Goes Here
In publishing and graphic design [paragraph text], lorem ipsum is a placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document without relying on meaningful content (also called greeking).
$20,0000 USD
property details
FEATURED | FOR SALE
Heading F Goes Here
In publishing and graphic design [paragraph text], lorem ipsum is a placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document without relying on meaningful content (also called greeking).
$20,0000 USD
property details
PREMIUM | FOR SALE
Heading G Goes Here
Replacing the actual content with placeholder text allows designers to design the form of the content before the final content has been produced.
$20,0000 USD
PROPERTY DETAILS
FEATURED | FOR SALE
Heading H Goes Here
Replacing the actual content with placeholder text allows designers to design the form of the content before the final content has been produced.
$20,0000 USD
PROPERTY DETAILS
FEATURED | FOR SALE
Heading I Goes Here
Replacing the actual content with placeholder text allows designers to design the form of the content before the final content has been produced.
$20,0000 USD
PROPERTY DETAILS
ICFF Experience Table
How is European design influencing American manufacturing, or vice versa?
This was the topic discussed at our Experience Table event during ICFF 2019, held at A/D/O, a creative exchange center in Brooklyn, New York, and sponsored by Insidesource, Normann Copenhagen and Affordances. Helping to lead our group’s conversation was Yorgo Lykouria, creative director of Rainlight, Jason Heredia, vice president and head of product design development for HNI, Simon Legald, creative director of Normann Copenhagen, and Eric Pfeiffer, founder and creative director of Corrall.
During our discussion we talked about the differences in design in the US and Europe, the history of design in the context of economics and culture, and the impact of globalization on the design world and manufacturing.
Design is synonymous with Europe and an embraced norm in all aspects of European life. Lykouria described the impact of design on European culture and mentality: “For Europeans, buying a sofa is like buying a car. They save for it… they aspire to it.” He continued, “They value time more than money… quality over quantity.” The early roots of European design laid the groundwork for what became a loosely knit but closely located network of A&D professionals and crafts workers with generations of experience. “With European factories, I can order 20 of something in a custom color, because the distance is so close.
“People on the factory floor revere designers. If something sells, they’ve got a job… it’s a relationship, it’s not just about efficiency or price.”
-Yorgo Lykouria
“There is a Henry Ford mentality in the US, a tension between quality and quantity.”
-Jason Heredia
” Conversely, innovation and manufacturing have shaped A&D in the US. As fundamental infrastructure and development took form in the 18th century, industrialization and scientific innovation came to define the American identity. Legald notes that in the states “you want things faster… it’s impossible in principle unless you standardize things.”
The general population in the US “sees design as something superfluous and expensive,” something precious as opposed to the norm, Andrea Teixeira of Shop Architects noted. She explained that though we strive as innovators in the US, this creates a conundrum. “We make better quality things for a lower price. Then that lower price becomes the baseline, and the quality falls again.”
While we
lead in technological innovation, there is little room or time left for thoughtful design.
Although design will continue to be a defining feature of Europe, it has not been immune to the impacts of globalization. As prices continue to drop and product is manufactured faster, Europe struggles to maintain the thriving production communities it once had. “Most factories in Denmark are almost gone… people don’t want to pay the price of craftsmanship, so they move to other countries,” Legald notes.
China has become the leading manufacturer globally. Lykouria explains, China is “…actually making equal or better quality than anyone in the world”, and that we’ve “outsourced all the knowledge to China,” along with the craft and generations of experience. Acquisitions and partnerships have also changed the landscape of design globally. As companies consolidate, designs become more standardized and less individual.
Making the conversation more complex are the rapid changes within workplace design. A shift away from the traditional 9-5 model and advances in technology have pushed for greater flexibility and mobility in the workplace. The modern office has evolved from utilitarian and homogenous to experiential and personalized.
“How can we take reinvention and rapid growth, and marry it with the craft?”
The US has always looked to Europe for design inspiration. But as workplaces struggle to keep up with evolving technology, where does that leave design? The uncertain future of workplace design is at the mercy of technology and globalization, forces almost impossible to contain or predict.
Our conversation closed with a question posed by Liz Wert, of Insidesource, “how can we take reinvention and rapid growth, and marry it with the craft?” Perhaps the answer will emerge in our next round table discussion.
IS Experience Table
What is the purpose of furniture? What makes
it good?
In collaboration with Affordances, Insidesource held its first quarterly roundtable discussion of 2019. Inspired by casual conversations at industry trade shows, the Experience Table creates a platform where a diverse group of workplace industry influencers — end users, project managers, brokers, interior designers, industrial designers, art curators, sustainability and tech experts — sit down together and dig into the issues and ideas that transform the quality of the workplace experience.
Held at Insidesource’s 444 Jackson experimental showroom, the event featured an OFS pop-up with several pieces designed by San Francisco-based industrial designer Brian Graham, who helped to lead the discussion. The group gathered to discuss topics surrounding the questions, what is the purpose of furniture? What makes it good? Our conversation considered the variables that affect furniture and workplace design, including the tension between usability and aesthetics, sustainability and obsolescence, as well as balancing craft, workmanship and price.
As our conversation progressed, it became clear that technology and sustainability will play key roles in the future of workplace design
A dealer will often decide which furniture looks aesthetically pleasing and fits into a space. But the conversation between dealers, designers and tech experts is crucial when looking for a result that is not only looks good, but is also functional, technologically relevant, and sustainable. As technology outgrows furniture, much of it becomes obsolete and is replaced by newer designs. Stronger collaboration between tech and sustainability experts throughout the entire designing process will be key in creating long-lasting and efficient furniture and workspaces.
How do we handle technology outpacing furniture, and furniture waste?
Some dealerships already have buy-back programs in place, but we need to put more emphasis on tracking their success rates. We discussed the potential of recycling and donation programs, moving towards a future where dealerships play a larger role in the broader community while minimizing our environmental footprint.
Time is of the essence when working in the commercial furniture world. Although we’d like to say we all appreciate a finely crafted piece of furniture, it often boils down to cost and how quickly product can be delivered. People respond to authenticity – it has longevity. An IKEA desk is cheaper and faster to purchase, but is it still cost-effective in the long run?
Empowering teams with knowledge on how furniture is made or a companies’ story is key
It became clear in our discussion that sustainability was the unifying theme of all the topics that arose. There is an opportunity for the entire design industry to make a paradigm shift that not only will improve our working models, but will have broader environmental and social impacts. We are lagging in adopting processes that are technologically, financially, and environmentally sustainable – so what’s missing? Carving out key roles for technology and sustainability experts in the design process, beginning to end, is crucial. Creating furniture that is more adaptable to constant technological change will be more cost-effective, longer lasting, and more sustainable. The future of all industries is in sustainability. Even during economic downturn, companies geared toward sustainability continue to thrive, and consumer demand for sustainable products continues to rise. We started with the question, “what makes furniture good?” But ultimately, we need to question what makes our industry good, and what it will take to get there.
