Genuine Design

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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

February 2009

M2L has created its first Genuine Design Scholarship to educate students about knockoffs and their impact on the design industry. Developed in conjunction with Ruth Lynford, founder of NY Eleven, the competition is open to design students at all of the participating New York Eleven schools.

To kick off the competition, M2L has organized a panel discussion to explore the subject of design knockoff/intellectual property that will be recorded at M2L’s Manhattan showroom and posted online for students in early October. Fred Bernstein, freelance design journalist for the New York Times, Metropolitan Home, Architectural Record, Interior Design and Metropolis will moderate the panel, which will include: interior designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, BNO Design; two prominent, industrial designers Carlos Salgado, SCRAPILE and Jeff Miller, Jeff Miller Design; and Michael Manes, president of M2L.

Students of affiliated New York Eleven schools will be eligible for the M2L Genuine Design scholarship after viewing the seminar online or by DVD.  Applicants must write a two- to four-page essay on one of three possible questions regarding design authenticity. The essay questions and more competition details will be available on this site in early October. The deadline for submission will be no later than February 23, 2009.

Finalists’ essays will be reviewed by a jury of top design journalists:  Paul Makovsky, editorial director, Metropolis; Annie Block, senior editor, Interior Design; Jana Schiowitz, senior editor, Hospitality Design; and Katie Weeks, senior editor, Contract.  Four winners will be selected to receive scholarships of $3500, $2500, $1500 and $1000, respectively.  The winning and runner-up essays will be announced in Spring 2009 at a New York Eleven event and posted on the Genuine Design and New York Eleven websites.