Do you ever wonder why one sofa costs $600 and another costs $6000? Don't they come with basically the same materials, springs, foam, wood, fabric?
There are disciplines involved in every pursuit, and the higher the cost of an item, the more likely it is that the designer of that product is lazy, or only concerned with their view of furniture as art, not something functional. They want exactly what they want without regard for waste, either in time or materials....or money. Or, they want the exclusivity of exotic materials which have no, or very little impact on how the product works. It's all bullshit!
"So fabric comes in 56" width, my design requires 60". Make me something that fits my needs. I don't care what it costs. I don't care that it's not available. It's my design!!" Half the time I think these people warm up their voices by singing mi, mi, mi, mi, mi while really thinking Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! They are, you know, arteeests.
Something can be beautiful, but a bad design. The argument is not about art; it's about how you make your art useful, without leaving raw materials on the cutting room floor. It's about efficiency.
Great design is inclusive, not exclusive. It takes a problem and finds a solution simply, elegantly, and economically. It isn't lazy; it's diligent and disciplined. It tries to think of every way to use all elements of the product to its greatest potential. It tries to combine what's available with what's possible. Great design is when a little does a lot.
Sometimes we confuse art and design. While connected, they are separate. When art and design are combined, we truly find something special.
OK, I'm done.
There are disciplines involved in every pursuit, and the higher the cost of an item, the more likely it is that the designer of that product is lazy, or only concerned with their view of furniture as art, not something functional. They want exactly what they want without regard for waste, either in time or materials....or money. Or, they want the exclusivity of exotic materials which have no, or very little impact on how the product works. It's all bullshit!
"So fabric comes in 56" width, my design requires 60". Make me something that fits my needs. I don't care what it costs. I don't care that it's not available. It's my design!!" Half the time I think these people warm up their voices by singing mi, mi, mi, mi, mi while really thinking Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! They are, you know, arteeests.
Something can be beautiful, but a bad design. The argument is not about art; it's about how you make your art useful, without leaving raw materials on the cutting room floor. It's about efficiency.
Great design is inclusive, not exclusive. It takes a problem and finds a solution simply, elegantly, and economically. It isn't lazy; it's diligent and disciplined. It tries to think of every way to use all elements of the product to its greatest potential. It tries to combine what's available with what's possible. Great design is when a little does a lot.
Sometimes we confuse art and design. While connected, they are separate. When art and design are combined, we truly find something special.
OK, I'm done.
amen.
ReplyDeleteThat chair is HORRID!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEK!!!! I was pretty sure it was a bunch of snakes, but I had to take a look at the bigger version just to be sure!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, $6,000 sofas and $400/yard fabric are BS. OK, yes, there are different levels of quality. But in the end, it's the name you're paying for more than the quality of the piece. And what makes one person's name so much more "special" than another person's names??
Bring on the good looking, well-priced furniture!!! :-)
Kelly