Well, it’s definitely a very entertaining show, there’s a lot that’s wrong with it though and I don’t mean the philosophies or approach to design that Starck’s is aiming to promote to these young designers or even to us normal human beings who are just watching these videos, it’s the way Starck contradicts himself that I find incredibly amusing. Nevertheless, let’s talk about the good things first, I agree with all the things he’s talking about in terms of design and what designer should be doing. For example, the fact that “designers must question whether we need to design more products”, I found that quite poignant because I actually do think that there’s too many things in the world, so much that maybe if all the designers in the world boycott and stopped designing altogether, it might actually do something good for the world.
In his Frenchi-stised accent, he also said “We must design less and less and less and less products” but we all know that’s not going to happen, so the only other alternative is to design with staggering amount of thoughts put into it, to make this product so valuable, no one will want to throw it away. Moreover, even if it ends up in the landfill for some inconceivable reason or other it will do as little damage to the environment as possible. Thus, hopefully it’ll be the only thing you as a designer will ever design in your life. Hey maybe that’s a good solution, what if there’s a legislation from governments like that Chinese law of one child per family? What if there’s a law of one manufactured design per designer? But then it probably end up with rising activity in the blackmarket and all so maybe not.
The other thing I found quite interesting was when he said, to “look for the story behind the product” and that was a pretty apt description of what ALL consumers should do not just designers. This means, making sure the choices you’re making in buying a product is a green one, in all aspects of its life. SO not choosing a product that may waylaid the environmental cost of production onto someone else like child labour or deforestation or site pollution at the factory location. This means, buying a product that is actually expensive not because they’re hiking up the margins for profit like there’s no tomorrow but because the true cost of that product is reflected in the price that consumers pay, at a margin of course, because then where’s the spirit of economy and well we all understand economy.
So that’s all good and stuff, but Phillipe Starck himself is definitely one heck of a good entertainer and I’m saying that in a non-respectful sort of way. Ok he says all this things about being environmental and all that kind of shit, but then he goes on to hire military cars to haul all those students from one place to another. A big gas guzzling truck? I don’t see the logic in that. Secondly, for show only, he comes to meet the students in this motorcycle to make himself more dramatic… seriously, a 5 minute walk from the camera van to go inside the warehouse don’t require a motor cycle. That’s just wasteful. So honestly? The way he does things doesn’t reflect anything about what he preaches. If he talks about design as something that “affect our lives in the future” and as “a force to change society”… yeah well if we all live like him we’ll probably need more than 6 and ½ planets.
