Monday, December 10, 2007

TEDTalks: Philippe Starck (2007)

3 Types of Designer:

  • The cynical designer - designs as a product for marketing
  • The narcissistic design - who only designs for other fantastic designers
  • Another kind of designer - tries to make the object for the result, and for the human being who'll use it.
"The big challenge" - lack of production out of "the big image."
Describes as "the supermonkey" and the result of 4.5 billion years of evolution, and that we're at the half-point of this path. "That is our story. That is our beautiful poetry. We are a mutant."
"If we don't integrate the fact that we are a mutant, we completely miss the story. Every generation thinks that we're the final one. We mutate for 4 billion years before, but now, because it's me, we stop!"

The duty of vision: to be in the territory of intelligence. As our angle of vision changes toward our people, the more important you will be important in civilization, and for the story of our mutation.

"God is the answer when we don't know the answer." We see our line of evolution. From far it looks very smooth, but if you take a lens, the [line is very rough]. We have different duties in different parts of the cycle. There are periods of light and shadow, ie. during times of peace a certain type of person can flourish and be acceptable. When barbarians are back forget about [design and art]. You must go back to fight/to battle.

Starck claims that he's ashamed of being a designer during a period of darkness/war.
However, claims that we must finish the story. In perhaps, 50 years, we can leave our children the possibility of creating a new story, a new poetry. He claims that this is why he continues to work, even if it's for a toilet brush.