Today, design is all about fun. That may seem paradoxical in these somewhat grim times when war and economic downturn have narrowed our horizons and left us bereft of utopias. But it is less absurd than it seems. When the future looks bleak, we turn to the past and our childhood, seeking comfort in the known. Risk-taking is the bedfellow of hope, and hope is in short supply these days. Designers no longer see themselves as missionaries; they no longer think they can save the world or make it a better place. At best, they hope to sell their projects, and wrack their brains to hit on a winner. Gone are the days of trying to educate the public!
In their desperate attempt to catch the public eye, they tinker with all styles, leaving no “neo” or “ism” unturned! Only Enzo Mari, his white beard even whiter, tries to stem the tide. Professional ethics, says Mari, requires the designer to stand up to industry – vultures, in his view, preying on designer creativity. His is a lone voice, though. Everyone else, young and not so young, seeks integration with industry, hoping to emulate the financial bonanza of a Philippe Starck or Stefano Giovannoni.
Looking at Giovannoni’s long series of winners, you realise that they are practically all playful objects. He was the inventor and promoter of the original design gadget; the first - followed by a shoal of imitators - to transform kitchen utensils and table-top objects into endearing little creatures, lifting them from the mundane into a fantasy, comic-strip world. It was Giovannoni who first turned the toilet brush into an amusing, fun object!
So playful design, the keynote theme of the 2004 Milan Salone, has been around for some time. Alberto Alessi realised very early on that if design was to become truly democratic, it would have to shed its technical aura, lighten and brighten up, and dress in all the colours of the rainbow. If design was to enter homes and not just museums, it would have to learnt to smile....
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Garofalo Architects in Wisconsin
Garofalo Architects
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