Genuine Design

Comments?

Comments?

Comments?

Comments?

Comments?

Entry Form

Laine Blumenkopf - Fourth Place

Dear Senator Schumer:

I commend your efforts to pass The Design Piracy Prohibition Act. It is a necessary bill that, when passed, will accomplish great things. As is, however, this bill does not go far enough to protect designers’ rights. While fashion designers are protected under the current bill, furniture designers are excluded. We are one design community that deserves equal protection under the law.

American ingenuity is the backbone of our nation. In this past election year, we heard various versions of this phrase from both parties. The bi-partisan support for The Design Piracy Prohibition Act shows that our representatives in government are acting on their beliefs. I would like to provide a few examples that support the design community’s belief that furniture designers deserve legal protection.

Nancy Corzine, a highly successful furniture designer, was in litigation for nearly thirteen years to stand up for her design. In 1995 her entire collection was reproduced, passed off as her design, constructed poorly, and sold cheaply. After one million dollars in legal fees, Ms. Corzine won her case. It is doubtful that she will ever receive monetary compensation for the designs stolen from her. She was financially able to do what most furniture designers are not—stand up for genuine design. Our government provides a voice for those who cannot speak; give our furniture designers a voice.

By not providing legal rights to furniture designers, Congress sits idle while theft occurs. Carlos Salgado is a designer for Scrapile, a company that collects and repurposes discarded scraps of wood from New York’s woodworking industry, and through a unique laminating process creates spectacular furniture. In an era when environmental preservation has never been more essential, Scrapile’s work embodies the belief “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Scrapile benefits the planet while meeting industry demands. Mr. Salgado had no legal rights when someone who had once had access to the Scrapile shop, stole the laminating technique, produced very similar pieces, and sold both the design concept and the furniture as his own. A designer’s work is more than his or her plans, it is his or her heart and soul. Mr. Selgado was robbed.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced unemployment rates for November had reached 6.7%. Seven thousand of the jobs lost were those of furniture manufacturers. The number of American jobs outsourced overseas is a more difficult number to pinpoint. A way to combat losing Americans jobs is to give furniture designers legal rights to their designs to ensure the designers have control over where their designs are being manufactured.

Knoll is an American furniture manufacturer and distributor that has licenses to the designs of many Mid-Century Modern furniture designers, such as Florence Knoll and Eero Saarinen. Knoll has manufacturing sites in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Michigan. Designers who sell Knoll rights to reproduce their designs do so knowing they get a percentage of the royalties, their designs will not be altered, consumers will get authentic products, and they know where their designs are being manufactured. By empowering furniture designers with legal rights to their designs we are also ensuring American jobs, something needed more now than ever.

As an emerging interior designer, it is important to me to provide my clients with authentic designs, and it is essential to legally, honestly, ethically support the furniture designers of this industry. Until The Design Piracy Prohibition Act is passed, America stands as one of the few Western nations that has not taken steps to protect its designers. When America stands up for its designers, let us do so fully and completely, and protect all designers.

Sincerely,

Laine Blumenkopf

Lawrence Chabra - Third Place Winner

Dear Senator Schumer,

First, I would like to say that I heartily support the steps being taken by your office and the U.S. legislature to extend the copyright protections to the fashion industry through the Design Piracy Prohibition Act.

As a student about to enter the interior design profession, I want to urge you to consider extending these same copyright protections to the furniture design industry as well. Extending these protections is essential to ensuring fairness and justice in the marketplace as well as ensuring the fiscal health and future of the furniture design industry.

Currently furniture designers have none of the protections offered by copyright and are therefore vulnerable to unscrupulous imitators and knockoffs. There is little incentive to develop and produce original, innovative and advanced technologies and products if rivals can profit from the hard work of others. Competitors that copy the work of other designers and manufacturers already have an economic advantage because they do not have to recoup the money spent in research and development. Without providing any compensation to the original creators they are in fact stealing their work. And right now this is legal.

Furthermore if a rival is looking to knockoff a product and avoid paying royalty and licensing fees they will also be looking for other ways to reduce costs, including cheaper production methods and materials. This often leads to lower quality products. For many consumers who aren’t savvy enough to distinguish between the knockoff and the original this could create confusion in the marketplace as to the quality of the original product.

Legitimate manufacturers of properly licensed products then find themselves in competition with knockoffs and this leads to a downward spiral of cost cutting in the search for profits in the global marketplace. This puts the legitimate manufacturers under great strain as they try bear the costs maintaining their commitment to development, quality and service, which their rivals do not. The ultimate loser is the consumer who buys the cheap knockoffs that aren’t worth their hard earned money at any price.

Copyright law in the U.S. is intentionally broad to cover as many situations as possible in order to keep what is already a Byzantine process from getting totally out of control. However this also ignores the unique differences and special needs of particular industries. This is true of patent law as well.

Currently copyright law does not protect “useful articles” such as furniture. This is considered the purview of patent law. However patents with their standard of novelty are more difficult and costly to obtain. The patent guidelines require that the design be so revolutionary as to be “unanticipated” in prior art, while copyright merely requires a lack of plagiarism and a modicum of originality.

The rules covering “useful articles” are often thought to be immutable, but this is not the case. The very bill you are sponsoring, the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, will create a sui generis protection for fashion design. This is based on the precedent set forth in the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act that was enacted as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In both cases, copyright holders of fashion designs and vessel hull designs are given a limited period of exclusive rights.

In my opinion, what strikes even closer to home for furniture designers is the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA) that Congress passed in 1990. Prior to the passage of the AWCPA, building plans, drawings and blueprints were protected by copyright law, but not the actual building itself. The only way to protect your design from being ripped off was to never actually build it.

With the passage of the AWCPA Congress defined a protected “architectural work” to include “the design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans or drawings.” This protection is limited providing that “[t]he work includes the overall form as well as the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements in the design, but does not include individual standard features.”

It seems to me that similar language would be very appropriate for furniture designers. But whether this approach is pursued or the one that you are championing for fashion design, I leave that to you and the rest of our elected representatives in Congress.

What I do ask is that I urge you to pass your current amendment, the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, and extend copyright protections to the fashion industry. And I also urge you to consider extending that right to other creators, including furniture designers to ensure fairness and justice in the marketplace as well as ensuring the fiscal health and future of the furniture design industry.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chabra

Kayne Elisabeth Rourke  - Second Place Winner

The M2L Genuine Design panel discussion sheds light on a harsh reality facing the design profession today.  While genuine design is an open discussion in other creative disciplines, namely art & fashion, the interior design and home furnishings world has not acknowledged these concerns as openly as it should.  This important panel discussion, addressing the design community’s limited awareness on the issues surrounding genuine design, should be seen by all designers to spurn an open dialogue on how to address these issues on all design projects.

In this essay I am proposing several crucial steps to be followed in the initial design stages.  My approach unfolds in a series of conversations and visits meant to educate the client before actual design work is initiated.

STEP 1: Opening Discussion: Elements of Good Design

As stated by Mr. Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, working with residential clients provides the designer with complete control over the process – unlike contract work, the designer purchases all pieces for the project, versus using an outside agent.  The designer can be assured that what they specify will be delivered.  This, combined with a client who is already well-versed in good design, makes for a great scenario.  The ideal elements are in place – it is up to the designer to orchestrate the project to ensure these factors can live up to their potential, and this starts with some upfront discussion.

Any good designer automatically starts a project by doing their homework with a client – that is, getting beyond the requested aesthetics of a project and finding out the real design needs behind it.  In this scenario, a residential client has requested an update to their penthouse apartment.  They “appreciate” high-end modern design, yet require you to stick to a budget.  This can be interpreted as meaning that design quality is important to them, but aesthetically it can be realized in lesser-known, more economical pieces if the design integrity is intact.

I would start by providing comparisons to products they may be more familiar with.  For example, what are the characteristics of a flawless diamond?  Why is it worth more and what makes it unique?  Another great example that could be referenced is the wine industry – a truly special vintage is created from a variety of factors: soil, climate, vintner, and aging process.  It’s a constant trial-and-error, where man and nature must work together to create a perfect specimen.  Given all of the variables, it is truly amazing when all of the elements work together to create a spectacular wine.

In much the same way, good design is a process of trial-and-error.  After initial project parameters are reviewed, including intended use of the product, initial sketches result in the development of numerous prototypes, perfecting dimensions, changing materials, and working with both to get to an end result that works for the client as well as the designer.

One of my favorite examples of this process is exemplified in the development of Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, an iconic object whose development was commissioned by the Italian design firm, Alessi.  The initial project brief sent to Starck was for a silver serving tray.  Months went by, with no sketches from Starck – he simply stated that he had not been inspired by anything yet and would be in contact when he was.  Some time later, Alessi received a series of sketches from Starck, inspired by his vacation in Italy, where he and his family frequently enjoyed calamari lunches on the Italian coast.  The sketch series arrived on a grease-spattered placement from one of the restaurants they frequented during the trip.

The infamous “napkin sketch” developed into the octopus-like lemon juicer, designed in 1989 and still one of Alessi’s Top 10 sellers.

This initial discussion serves to spark the imaginations of the client, helping them to understand how original designs get concepted and developed.

STEP 2: Surveying the Field

With this initial discussion under our belt, I would suggest to the client that we take a field trip to see some actual examples of well-designed objects and furnishings.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) – Capitalizing on the client’s stated interest in Modern design, a trip to MoMA’s Architecture and Design collection would be a perfect place to start.  Although the client would most likely be familiar with the permanent collection, a walk-through and review of the pieces involved in the collection, and why they are museum-worthy, would be beneficial.

As part of this conversation, I would mention that many auctioned originals cost less than reproductions, and thus auctions of original designs should be explored during a design project.  Take the new REAL MODERN auction, introduced in February of this year by Sollo Rago Modern Auctions in New Jersey.  The idea is to help younger buyers furnish an apartment without breaking the bank, and doing so with furniture and decorative arts from leading designers of the 20th century.  A pair of Mies’ Barcelona chairs sold for $3,250, much lower than the current Knoll pricing of $4,655 for one chair.  Reproductions or knock-offs resell for much less than the purchasing price, whereas originals almost always hold their value over time, often demanding more when resold than the original purchase price.  Plus, for clients with environmental concerns, the re-use of originals is always the better option versus using materials for new reproductions.

Showroom Visits – Knoll, Vitra, Fritz Hansen - I would suggest some showroom visits for the next part of our journey, choosing the ones listed here for their strong design history, international reputation, and, practically speaking, the willingness of the showroom staff to tour potential clients around the showroom and answer their questions.    Knoll’s history with iconic designers such as Alvar Aalto, Harry Bertoia, and Isamu Noguchi would support the educational intent of the visit.  Vitra’s world-renowned history with designers and the company’s love of a well-designed chair is truly inspiring, and Vitra’s openness with explaining the design process, prototyping, and thus pricing of their chairs helps to further explain the design process to the client.  And at Fritz Hansen, a viewing of Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 chair would be a perfect setup for comparison to a knock-off piece, as seen in the next stage of our visit.

Retail Visit - CB2 - Crate & Barrel’s newest concept store, based on “affordable modern furniture,” would be a good visit for comparison of knock-offs versus the originals seen in the showrooms.  A specific example I would show the client is the Toro chair,  a knock-off of Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 chair seen in Fritz Hansen.   Priced at $89.95, the chair description of an “Ode to Arne” directly  references Jacobsen, while the shape, dimensions, and materials are  clearly different from the original design.  Sitting in both would be a great comparison for the client.  And again, referencing back to the auction information, it would be yet another example of not only a  different sit and feel for the product, but a difference in lifetime value.

STEP 3: The Cost of Genuine Design

At this point, we have covered the major point of the argument – that genuine design matters, and knock-offs, while affordable and sometimes easier to obtain, do not live up to the original product.    Thus, the final step in these discussions is the question of price in comparison to genuine design.

Up until now, the discussion has concerned iconic furniture & products with high price points – yet does genuine design always equate to high prices?  Since this is always a concern for clients, and has been particularly noted in this scenario, it serves as the final point to be made in the discussion.

A great example of affordable, genuine design is in IKEA’s products.  IKEA has built a worldwide reputation of interesting design at an affordable price.  While many people debate the quality of IKEA merchandise overall, many items within their product lines are known to be consistently well-made and reasonably priced.  Their products could be introduced into a project to add whimsy, interest, and discussion to an otherwise over-designed interior.  IKEA’s design process is simple – the company states, “At IKEA we design the price tag first and then develop the product to suit that price.”  By ensuring that price, production methods, and materials are considered in tandem, they use value engineering in a smart and consistent way.    Also, recognition of the product designers helps to bring a connection between the design and its originator.

Conversely, Muji, a Japanese housewares-to-clothing chain known for their simple design and minimal marketing, chooses to work with big-name designers for some of their products, yet does not call out their association with the company.  Harkening back to the company’s name, Mujirushi Ryohin, meaning “no label, quality goods,” Muji keeps prices low by using simple materials and production methods, like Ikea, but chooses to forgo the marketing of big names to pare down the cost, letting their products speak for themselves.

Genuine Design. Period.

Much like the very popular farmer’s market farm-to-table concept that is now catching on in smaller demographic markets in addition to larger urban ones, the connection between and product and the original designer, or source, is gaining mass appeal.  Knowing the history of a well-designed product provides consumers with a connection to the origin of the product, increasing its intrinsic value as well as its monetary one.

Starting the design process from an educational and research perspective, the steps described above lay the foundation for subsequent design development and product selection conversations throughout the project.  They also educate the client on all options within genuine design, allowing for freedom and flexibility in the product, while keeping the basic tenets of genuine design at the forefront of all project discussions.

RESOURCES
“Barcelona Chair Matrix.” Modern Furniture Classics website, 08 March 2009.
“CB2 Toro Chair.” CB2 website, 07 March 2009.
“Ease of Buying at Auction.” Auction Central News, 12 November 2008.
“IKEA PS Gullholmen Chair.” Ikea website
“Top designers. No Brands.” Fast Company website 19 December 2007.

Genuine Design Scholarship - First Place Winner

By Melanie Gowen

Design is more than style, even more than form and function – it is values, beliefs, and
the opportunity to make a difference. Designers are poised to be change-agents in the
world, for the field of design does not exist in isolation but is fully integrated into the
human experience. Design makes people’s lives better by improving the quality of their
interactions with the environment. “Design is a reflective conversation, a dialogue with a
situation that involves people and their needs for artifacts that arise in their relationship
with the global environment.”1

Designers need to act as leaders by helping to create a better understanding of the power
of design. Design can be a means for realizing a vision or what Gian Luigi Longinotti-
Buitoni, President of Ferrari Group, calls “Dream Marketing” – when the right product is
chosen for the right reasons it can fulfill dreams. By tapping into a client’s needs and
emotions, designers can turn owning a product into a dream-fulfilling experience.

Because design decisions are “…concerned with the world that could be, and more
importantly the world that ought to be…the designer becomes ethically responsible.”2 If I
were commissioned to re-design a penthouse apartment in New York City for a client
who appreciates high-end modern design yet requires me to stay within a certain
monetary budget, I would establish at the outset of our relationship a common
understanding of the vision and values that will guide the process.

The foremost job of a designer is to listen to a client, while at the same time upholding
the standards of professional practice which preserve design integrity and extend to
taking responsibility for social and environmental impact. Clients need to be made aware
of the full costs associated with authentic design.
“Design—good design—is not cheap. You would be better served to
spend your money on something else if you don’t place a high value on
what it can achieve….Design is a human act.”3

So how does a designer help each client discover the role that he or she can play as a
consumer with purchasing power? By helping the client understand that design is about
product and process, by making each client aware of the effects of his buying decisions
for supporting genuinely thoughtful and innovative design. A designer’s responsibility is
to make sure the client’s product decisions align with the client’s values.

A possible conversation between a client who clearly respects high-end modern design
and the qualities of it and a designer who understands the broader impact of design might
go something like this:

Designer: “Let’s re-iterate the vision and values that are guiding this process. I’d
like to know what is the single distinguishing quality for why you hired me?”

Client: “I was excited and drawn to working with you on a project because you
have a reputation for using design with integrity, and I am attracted to high-end
modern design.”

Designer: “And why do you appreciate high-end modern design? What exactly do
you love about it? Is it the quality?”

Client: “To me there’s a simplicity to the design that seems born
out of a very high level of expertise. I love the lines of Eames
designs – I envision using that aesthetic in my apartment. I’ve
been admiring the Eames desk chair, but I think I saw a cheaper
version of the chair at a local retailer, so let’s get it there.”

Designer: “There actually may be several places we can get it
cheaper, and in fact one of the most well-respected big-box
marketers is planning on producing a knockoff of an Eames chair, but let’s talk
about the decision-making process for a minute. Iconic pieces were designed by
masters who devoted a lifetime developing the skills to create them. We value that
as a society. It’s my job to help you not just come up with a fine design but with a
design that is an extension of your values.”

Client: “Well I value high-end design, but I also value a good deal. Why do you
think it’s more important to buy the real Eames chair rather than buying one that
looks just as good somewhere else for so much less?”

Designer: “Let me tell you why. For example, Eames was supported by Herman
Miller, a firm which all its life has supported fair labor practices, humane
environments, and now, with the current concern about the environment, is at the
forefront of sustainability. Its products might cost more, but that is the cost of true
quality, so knockoffs are going to have differences – some visually subtle and
some not until you sit down – but you’ll see them over time. You might get an
imitation that looks like the original design, but you’re not getting any of the
depth of the product. With your good discriminating eye, I worry that over time
those differences will bother you.

Client: “Well maybe or maybe not. It depends on how obvious the differences
are….”
desk chair by Eames
printed on 100% post‐consumer pecycled paper

Designer: “Well, let’s take a hypothetical situation. What if you knew Company A
is doing x-y-z to benefit the environment or for human rights, or for worker
integrity or for community, and Company B makes a very similar item – not in
quality but in appearance – and sells a cheaper version, but it is undermining the
environment, human rights, worker integrity, and the community. Which company
would you like to support? Which process do you want to pay for? Well in fact,
that is the decision that you need to make right now.”

Client: “Oh, of course I would support Company A! But that is just a hypothetical
situation.”

Designer: “Actually, the recent proliferation of designers and companies
dedicated to authenticity, sustainable production methods, and social values
means it is possible to select furnishings that align with your own beliefs and
simultaneously benefit the environment or social causes. For example, there are
furniture companies right here in NYC that have made a commitment to deep
authenticity, making sure their products are visually innovative and embody
longevity and quality. Authenticity isn’t about just visuals, its about the vision and
values behind the design. What issues do you feel strongly about that will guide
your purchasing decisions?”

Client: “Well I have been paying more attention to the environment in my own
life, but just in terms of habits like recycling.”

Designer: “That’s great, and that same concept of recycling and the sustainability
it represents is being incorporated by some companies and designers into their
products, while other businesses might be compromising labor practices or using
materials that are harmful to the environment. When we’re talking about the
environment, we’re also talking about your children’s future. Have your children
ever asked you about fairness? You can help by supporting design as an ethical
decision that is not just surface deep.”

Client: “Wow, that surely aligns with my values, but why should I still pay so
much money for something that, for my kids, will only get used for a few years?”

Designer: “Remember how we were just talking about recycling and
sustainability? Well, a local furniture company named ‘ducducNYC’
designs sustainability right into the use of its product – the furniture
pieces are intended to grow with the customer by adapting to
changing needs throughout your lifetime. For example, the baby
changing table transitions into an elegant bar console for the living
room. This embeds the concept of sustainability even more deeply
into the design by extending the lifecycle of the product.”

Client: “Okay, that sounds great, but does it look like high-end
design and is it high quality?”
aj ll changer by ducduc NYC
printed on 100% post‐consumer pecycled paper

Designer: “I think the contemporary aesthetic would really appeal to you.
ducducNYC uses only FSD-certified hardwoods and low-VOC paint in its
products. Also the company operates its own domestic manufacturing plant,
which allows it to watch over every aspect of the process from design all the way
to production. This ensures the authenticity and innovative quality of all of its
furniture is as much about the process as it is about the aesthetic.”

Client: “Oh, so if I buy a crib from a company like ducducNYC, I am not just
supporting the visual quality I like but also supporting a business that expresses
my values.”

Designer: “Right! That’s how you can make a difference in preserving “genuine
design” – by realizing that every buying decision is an ethical decision. As a
client, you can be a change-agent moving the world in the right direction! Your
values and beliefs can make a difference when you support integrity, respect for
creative rights, human endeavor, authenticity, and process that doesn’t harm the
environment. I hope our interaction has been a process of discovery for you,
helping you to realize that the decision you thought was just about money and
appearance is actually about your own social integrity and being true to your
values.”

Ethics is as much an issue for business as it is for design. Nowadays the ready
distribution of low-cost copycat designs to the masses means consumers have to think
harder about the quality and origins of their purchases. The unfortunate part is that an
imitation may possibly achieve success on the surface, but it cheats the consumer from
experiencing the true integrity of the product and from continuing to nurture that integrity
into the future. It robs them of the ability to be a change-agent. The best products market
the dreams of their customers.

The guarantee from buying authentic design is that the product embodies true creativity.
All designers are inspired by designs of the past, but by re-interpreting them instead of
copying them, they produce something original, innovative, and new. Designers today are
not just re-interpreting the visual, they are re-imagining the very processes that bring the
visuals into being.

As an undergraduate design research assistant, I have been studying the intersection of
design, business, and leadership. I have witnessed entrepreneurs who use design to
communicate their vision and values but also as and a social mission to make the world a
better place. These are the designers that deserve the support of consumers. After all,
“Design is about the way [products] work and how they mean and the way they act in our
culture.”4 The future integrity of design depends on authenticity, which in today’s world
is an evolving concept going beyond just visuals to include depth of product through
vision and values.

Research Sources