i AM feeling rather sleepy...

Seeing Katie’s latest post I thought it would be an appropriate time for me to link another blog’s coverage of an exhibit NAI Maastricht exhibit entitled State Alpha, on the Architecture of Sleep. The exhibit talked more about the psychological aspects of sleep rather than the conditions that are most contusive to a good nights sleep. Perhaps in lieu of creating a sterile sleeping room within studio we could begin practicing Inemuri, or set up a bed that has sign up sheets? Here's the link for the review of the exhibit, the site itself is worth a adding to your blogroll, not only does it have one of the best names out there but they frequently profile art and architecture that matter.

Class Summary: EQ3 Tour

The tour to EQ3 was a nice change from being in school! I was excited to get a glimpse of the design world. I thought the presentation they gave at the beginning was interesting, and made me feel better about all the cardboard I so painstakingly cut: maybe one day I'll actually have to do it again. It would be really great to see your designs on the floor at the store, it is definitely a dream for me. I did feel as though the lifestyle did not seem as exciting as I imagined. I think that this feeling I had only reinforces the stress they put on the feasibility of your designs in the presentation. Do not fall in love with what you are creating! Inevitably changes will need to be made to get to the point of production, and that is reality. I think you get into design with a dream in your mind, and then the world kicks in and wakes you up. I think that that was the most important thing that I got out of the experience. I was disappointed however that such a new company was still so far behind in sustainability. It is these fresh young organizations that have the greatest power to make the right decisions from the get-go. I enjoyed the tour, and absolutely felt it was beneficial, but it did not leave me feeling as though I'll been knocking on their door in 5 years!

Class Reflection October 2

Our visit to EQ3 gave us the opportunity to witness how a successful (Winnipeg!) furniture company negotiates the integrity of their designs with the constraints of mass production. The design team's presentation of their design process, from inspiration to final product, was informative, and it revealed that the designers must balance their own esthetic desires with the perceived desires of the public, and of course, a financial bottom line. While EQ3 has become a successful company by producing reasonably priced, modern furnishings, I found it discouraging that their designs were more market then creative driven. While I understand that just as price is determined by the intersection of supply and demand, so too EQ3's products must sell to the masses, however, I must admit that all that beige left something to be desired.

Furthermore, I agree with Lindsey that it is discouraging that EQ3 does make sustainability more of a consideration in their designs. With several members of the EQ3 team being U of M ED grads I expected to see more initiative into ecological design and sustainable practices.

Class Summary: EQ3

EQ3 is a Winnipeg based company under the Palliser umbrella whose mission is to bring affordable modern design to the masses. Oft compared to Ikea their designs offer a clean unified aesthetic and are priced somewhat reasonably. The company is a well-oiled machine that runs smoothly thanks in large part to its integrated staff and close-knit design team. It was interesting to see what working for a large company would feel like and to see the gives and takes that occur when designing for the masses.

Recently our class went to their head offices to hear what their design team had to say. The presentation began with an overview of the EQ3 brand, mission statement expansion plans ect. Although already making a splash in Canada and overseas, EQ3 is still a very young company, only 7 years old. Based on EQ3 founder Peter Tielmann’s philosophy that modern design should be available inexpensively EQ3 designs for a certain demographic of trend conscious young professionals.

Tielmann seems to be focused on creating a more beautiful world whilst at the same time operating a profitable business. A lesson that, as design students, is important to learn. The design team cited the pressures of getting their designs manufactured cheaply and efficiently as their biggest constraint, which often means abandoning parts of a design, or their design as an entirely. I think that this is really important for us to understand, feasibility of the design can be more significant than the design itself. The challenge then becomes creating designs that are inspirational and beautiful whilst at the same time allow for ease of production.

The designers’ comments also helped to contextualize the importance of designing with a green lens. Most some of the manufacturing processes and materials used to create their products did not seem to be the most ecologically sound however, when pressed with a question on the matter - by bog group member Ms. Lindsey Weller - the design team passionately re-enforced the importance of green design. EQ3 has recognized that not only is designing with the concepts of ecology in mind important for the general progression of our environment but, perhaps more importantly, it sells. As I have bogged before we are seeing a huge interests in the environment and all creative fields are finding ways to incorporate principals of ecology and sustainability into their designs. EQ3 is no exception and has research and development teams working on finding more sustainable ways to manufacture their goods.

Although EQ3 does seem to be showing a commendable interest in converting some of their manufacturing processes into more eco-conscious alternatives, we are heading into a recession and the challenge of bridging the gap between green design and inexpensive design may become quite challenging. I think that this is something that, as potential designers, emphasizes the importance of making it our own prerogative to design products that can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

When we took a tour of their factory, there were minimal amounts of workers and hundreds upon hundreds of boxes of product, a clear implication that much of their product is produced overseas. In fact, I believe that custom upholstery is compiles the bulk of what is produced here. I think that as fuel prices continue to rise manufacturing locally will become more and more important.

The presentation concluded with us being asked to design a chair. Throughout the presentation the design team talked at length about the difficulties in designing a chair. We all waited for our opportunity to flaunt our creative juices three of us won and were awarded EQ3 Harijuko figurines for a prize. The prizes also acted as an indicator of brilliant business EQ3 runs, in that they recognize the need to expand their brand beyond furniture. Our classmate’s designs that were chosen represented those that were both innovative but perhaps more importantly represented a certain ease of manufacturing.
All in all I found our trip to EQ3 informative and for those of us who are interested in industrial design I thought that it put into perspective what being employed for a large company could feel like, and things that we should start thinking about now, in terms of ways to keep our own design integrity while at the same time designing for someone else.

Reflections for October 2 Class EQ3

The trip to EQ3 was a great glimpse into a potential career path for graduates of this program. I found the insight from former grads to be informative and useful.  One of the many pieces of advice that really stuck out in my mind is about not getting too attached to your designs. When creating products in the real world, more economical solutions will often cause our original designs to change. Compromising is a skill we will need to learn to prepare for the business side of design. This was clearly demonstrated through the miniature chair design competition, where the chair picked was chosen because of the affordability to make it. Marcello's chair design was chic, but at the same time could easily be put into production because the molds already existed. I found the tour part of the factory a bit too quick, but nonetheless interesting to see the process a piece of furniture had to go through to end up in a store.

Class Reflections , October 2nd, 2008

For as long as I’ve known of the EQ3 design store I had no idea that it was founded and based in Winnipeg. It was interesting to see former environmental design students working for such a company, actually realizing their own designs and having them recognized globally. However, as Lindsey mentioned, I found it strange that such a young company put little emphasis on sustainable design initiatives specific to EQ3. Despite this, awareness of this issue was very present in the designers. They expressed the difficulty of implementing sustainable design practices when a company’s priorities put little weight on environmental awareness.
It also dawned on me how impersonal design truly is, and I know that this is a reality, but somehow I still believe that design must fulfill a personal desire on top of everything else. There are so many niches in the design realm. The possibilities are endless, and although a part of me still loves flipping through catalogues filled with the latest season’s trendy furniture and sleek accessories, I’m not quite sure I find myself contributing to that aspect of design.