5 Designers Who Revolutionised the Design and Changed My Worldview
Gianluigi Fragomeni
Design-Driven Brand Executive | Elevating Global Brands through Strategic Innovation and Creative Excellence | Expert in UX/CX and Brand Strategy
My approach to design was not an easy one, and I “always go straight ahead while you have it.” Although I have loved to draw since childhood, convincing myself that I could make it a job and then a career as an articulate process studded with ifs and buts.
What I remember very well, however, is the fascination and great inspiration that some designers generated on the subject. I recount five of them here: those who, in the last century, have, in my (debatable) opinion, laid the foundations for schools, lines of thought, and that tireless and frenetic activity that makes design perpetually changing and always a bit ahead of the times.
And, of course, feel free to add yours and comment on it.
1. Dieter Rams (1932-)
Are you looking for principles of good design? Your answer is Dieter Rams. Highly influential German industrial designer, renowned for his association with the consumer products company Braun and his minimalist design philosophy. The 10 principles extended beyond industrial design into the realms of architecture, graphic design, and user interface design.
"Less, but better." How can’t we?agree?
Notably, his work has influenced contemporary technology companies, including Apple. Apple’s former chief designer, Jony Ive, has cited Rams as a significant influence on his work.
10 principles of good design:
His work at Braun demonstrated a commitment to creating products that were user-friendly, durable, and elegant in their simplicity; highly relevant in today’s design landscape, where there is a growing emphasis on sustainability, user-centered design, and minimalism.
Simply necessary! Thank you, Dieter.
2. Coco Chanel (1883-1971)
Please: take pen and paper and mark her birth date well, because what this woman accomplished, and the great contribution she brought to the world not only of fashion, but to the world itself and to the enhancement of femininity is a legacy we too often trivialize.
Coco Chanel had a profound impact on women’s fashion, liberating women from the constraints of corsets and heavy, ornate clothing. Her designs promoted a more relaxed, yet elegant style that aligned with the changing roles of women in society.
Her philosophy is based on 4 extremely simple but highly effective principles:
We don’t need a fashion passion to understand how these principles influence our society.
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
The style of Chanel is unmistakable although it has gone through periods of fashions (sometimes questionable) and human events that have changed humanity (see the two World Wars). Staying true to its identity and philosophy has paradoxically been what has made Chanel a true legend.
Starting from zero, determined to keep on her way, passionate, and completely uncatchable, her story is one that I suggest you read, and read, and read again, especially if an entrepreneur in your next stage. It's agood one.
Coco is a true legend. Irreplaceable.
3. Antoni Gaudí (1852-1910)
In my school days, I always looked at this man with a fair amount of scepticism: a sort of unsympathetic figure and an obligatory passage in the middle of my art history textbooks.
I also admit that on my first trip to Barcelona, I was almost forced to see the Sagrada Familia because it seemed like one of those classic tourist destinations last weekend in May.
It was a memorable day: the astonishment upon entering that space in which harmony of shapes, lights and colors, project you in seconds into a space in which you feel small and completely helpless before such beauty. Needless to say, like a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela, I visited every Gaudi site and work present in Barcelona.
“God is the most important architect of all.”
Gaudí was a deeply religious, and his Catholic faith strongly influenced his work. He was a very modest person. In his final years, Gaudí commitment to Sagrada Familia was total, and he moved to live on the construction site to be closer to his work.
He was very influenced by nature and often incorporated natural organic and geometric forms in his works. He believed that nature was the best example of perfect engineering and tried to imitate its forms and structural principles in his designs.
Nothing that you can’t read in books, but few people know that Gaudí was not only an architect; he was also a skilled craftsman and often participated personally in creating the decorative details of his works.
He was also very interested in and active in the welfare of his workers, ensuring they had good working conditions and were properly paid.
Go to Barcelona, enjoy the wonderful city and Gaudì places. You will come back renewed.
领英推荐
4. Philippe Starck (1949 -)
Multifaceted and provocative, the son of an aeronautical engineer, this strong connection to his father and the time spent in his workshop inspire and mark him.
Philippe Starck is the younger of my 5 designers and, fortunately, still very active. Let me say that we know design as it is today thanks to his genius and artworks. You may have seen his works or something that was very inspired.
One of his most iconic creations, “Juicy Salif”, was drawn on a paper placemat while he was at a pizzeria on the Amalfi coast in the company of Alberto Alessi, president of Alessi known Italian brand of design objects. Born partly as a joke and partly as a joke, Philippe created an iconic object not only for its design but also for its working style, which crosses both functionality and aesthetic sense and cleanliness in its forms.
It will be described as “The Decorative Vein”, which is the ability to add a decorative character to an object, making it unique and highly iconographic, without committing to extravagance for its own sake.
Why do I say that? Philippe Stark personifies design in its most basic and natural nature: cusiosity and playfulness, free thinking and the ability, through not taking itself too seriously, to generate something that endures through concept and personality.
"Since childhood I have always been somewhere else"
We can believe it. The place where most of us would like to be when creating.
5. Bruno Munari (1907-1998)
I can’t finish my list with Bruno Munari, certainly, the least known of the 5, at least internationally, but I can assure you, hand on my chest, even if you don’t see it, that what Bruno wrote in the 1950s and 1960s was simply visionary to the point of being ever contemporary.
Industrial designer, graphic designer, and artist Bruno Munari made design educational, a pedagogical journey for grown-ups who have lost their way in lightness and discovery. Innovative, ingenious, and contradictory with the aim not to displace but to show with facts how our “growing up” sometimes limits us in solutions. Bruno Munari is that schoolmaster every student dreams of.
“Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do?things.”
A man who was able to challenge artistic conventions at a time in history when art remained entangled in political totalitarianism and wars.
It was a time when, as he wrote at the time, art competitions were held in which juries were composed of generals and party politicians. It's sort of like asking an electrician to fix a broken pipe. Think what came out of it: among the ugliest ugliness ever seen.
“Man begins to express himself when he begins to be unafraid of being judged.”
He led the postwar art and design movement with renewed confidence by showing a way in which lightness, a spirit of observation and experimentation gave way to both functional and aesthetic design.
1. Useless Machines: Art installations that explore movement and form in a poetic way, questioning the concept of utility in art.
2. Unreadable Books: Editorial works that challenge the traditional structure of the book, using unconventional materials and design.
3. Educational Projects: Munari has developed innovative educational methods, such as the “Munari Method,” which encourages creativity in children through exploration and experimentation.
I conclude with one of his most famous phrases, which gives an idea of this man’s personality unparalleled in empathy and teaching style.
“There is no such thing as being unable to explain to a?child.”
My journey stops here. There would be so many other designers to mention that we would “run out of paper.” In any case, I hope that my experience can help someone, if only by spending time differently, and why not deepen this beautiful topic, which is creativity.
Because this is free, and after all, it makes us live each day in an unpredictable way, making our experiences unique.
Happy design to all.
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