When a Philosophy Inspires the World
a tribute to Apple, design and furniture
In the comfortable darkness of the night, in the moment when the ingenious dark side of the mind leaves the body and meets the fleeting glimpse of the childhood,
the visionary's hands can at last rest on the matter.
Then, the haunted mind tries to shape the unattainable perfection.
In this never-ending challenge, a few instants have been
fixed,
and another awesome object is about to be born.
How Apple Enchants the Furniture World
Yes, I am certainly thinking about Jonathan Ive, about his visionary talent
in transforming a philosophy into the objects that Apple gifts us with, every day.
I'm thinking about Steve Jobs's madness, who would have said, with irony
“this is shit, a truly revolutionary chair should stand without legs”.
It might seem weird, but an iPhone, an iPad and an iMac have many aspects
in common with the world of furniture.
The purity of materials, the perfection of a curve, the joy in seeing unique objects.
We are used to love material things, when we can own them, touch them,
and live with them.
Indeed, there is a moment when you sit in front of a Mac and you are about to start it up.
Your beautiful mind always gets a small positive energy, inspiring your heart
and making the work you are going to do a bit more pleasing.
Thus, you feel unconsciously at ease.
Somehow, this is the feeling that you are gifted with by the objects surrounding you:
the things you chose for your home or work space, objects that you looked for,
that you chose, and that are now part of you.
Thus, every time I'm designing a new object for my company, I have it confirmed
that the Apple philosophy is possible in the world of furniture, starting with design and up to the most advanced marketing.
“The Chair” is a homage to the Apple lovers and to those who conceive design
as a source for transmitting new concepts and gifting people with feelings.
Design is Music for Your Eyes
What would the world be without design? Is it, maybe, the highest artform of man? With painting or sculpture, you can see a concept,
but design allows you to embrace it.
For Apple and for the furniture, design is the product's soul..
Both use it as a means to convey a philosophy through material
objects that people can benefit from.
Design is an emotional impact, a process directly involving human feelings, design is music for your eyes.
It is a tireless study of essential shapes, a quest for the
materials' outer edge, but above all for symbolic attributes
that allow us to achieve unique objects.
An iPhone or an iMac have a natural appearance, respecting
the human gaze, putting at ease those living closely with it.
Likewise, the nature of a chair must be essential, versatile
and comfortable.
What a Fabulous Experience
In order to create a new concept, you have to create a representative object,through which you must provide the information to the customer.
Its characterization is of paramount importance, because that's what will
determine its identity – forever.
You have to create an icon in its class, to present it as an artwork, and then
make it accessible for your fans.
Apple has always been the master in that, it's not for nothing that it's the most
powerful brand in the world.
The ideal example is provided by the fascinating Apple Stores, where you are
the protagonist of an unforgettable experience.
They let you touch and test their objects within a special environment.
You enter in their world and you live unconsciously in the fascination of their
products.
The furniture canons make use of the
same experience-based marketing.
By entering a furniture store, you have
a chance to grow fond of an object
you'll touch and test.
Owning something exclusive is
a psychological remuneration
Sit on a rocking chair;
how many feelings does it
convey to you?
Schools and Your Grandpa are Fanboys
Purchasing a Mac is like saying “Yes, I brought home a trulynice piece.I'll put it in the most special place in my home”.
Thus, “The Chair” can become an integral part of a user set,
when he has to sit in front of a Mac.
As an accessory of the electronics,
an ”Apple style in the home Apple user”.
Apple always thought of the educational sector as a starting
point to develop the customer's loyalty to the brand.
A long-term marketing strategy that involves the kids since they are very young, allowing them to use the fantastic iOS for most of their future projects-works. Grandpa is doing the same at home, because iOS is extremely simple. Where would they like to sit ?
It is the strong vision of a concept that can be brought over
to the furniture, it's an icon linked with this style.
Designing a chair is not banal. It's one of the toughest objects
to draw, a true personal challenge for every designer, who has
to achieve a pleasant shape, in harmony with the environment.
Transferring an idea into matter is the same as creating a
sculpture.
The shape is its personality, but the material is the essence.
A thin aluminium sheet as a symbol of modernity and of refined,
elegant futurism.
It can be molded, welded, polished, painted, and anodized.
It can last decades and decades without wearing out.
Aluminium is a fantastic material. Pure aluminium is a
silvery-white metal with many desirable characteristics.
It is light, nontoxic , nonmagnetic and nonsparking.
It is somewhat decorative.
It is easily formed, machined, and cast. Pure aluminium
is soft and lacks strength, but fused with small amounts
of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese, and other
elements has very useful properties.
Aluminium is an abundant element in the earth's crust.
It can be recycled forever: it's always ready to give birth
to a new product.
Weird but true: since the beginning of the century,
75% of the world production of aluminium is still
being used in the market.
Symbol: Al
Atomic number: 13
Atomic weight: 26.9815386
Standard state: solid at 298 K
Color: silvery
Classification: Metallic
12 Years Later
Omar De Biaggio is the designer and owner of JOB’S, a real case of a self-made man.“When I did such a thing, they told me I was thoughtless. But I felt the need to step up to a
personal challenge within one of the most competitive industrial districts. 12 milions chairs per
year were produced at the time, which was about 30% of the world production.
I wanted my own firm and my own collection to lay down my concepts and my personal style,
that's why I created the JOB’S brand.
I wanted products featuring an extremely advanced and essential design, but I had not taken
into account the high industrialization costs.
So, the first items were mostly made by means of handiwork.
I have always built the first model prototypes by myself.
Have you ever tried making a chair, starting with 18-feet iron pipes? I spent whole days with a
grinder or a welder in my hands, looking for the ideal proportions. This is something I owe to
my father. I hope all parents can teach the art of manual work to their children: seeing that
you are giving birth to something is a sort of fulfillment.
Years later, I can say it was like starting from below zero, I had not one client nor a collection,
but when you are 27, you are allowed almost anything, including a “dream”.
and wholesale dealers. Then I took the phone and called around. I managed to obtain my first meetings. I drove for three days non-
stop, and in the end I had gathered commissions for over 300 chairs.
When I came back, I told myself: the adventure can begin, there is potential. My initial thoughtlessness had been vindicated, in part.
But the most important thing was that people immediately liked the articles.
When you achieve something new, with your personal style, without copying those around you, then the market offers you better
chances. Since then, I have always followed this concept when designing my products.
My most cherished personal satisfaction came, I think, from the US market.
Many items were chosen by the most important brands in furniture,
such as Design Within Reach, Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma.
When you show something to passion-driven people who understand why
you designed it, and that thing finds a place in their hearts, then your
product will be successful. Today, I can conclude that the initial challenge
is won. “The Chair“ project is a distillation of all the experience I have accrued
until now, going from the simplest marketing tools to the most advanced
production technologies, from the advice given by a worker to the handshake
with the customer I have yet to meet.
omar.debiaggio@gmail.com