the outsiders

Last night i was invited to the Royal College of Art in London to the 'leaving party' of Ron Arad. I studied there from '99 to '01, and Ron was the professor on the Design Products MA. He's decided to move on after a fairly long tenure, and the post is to be taken by Tord Boontje in September (yes i know, but that's not for here).

I was a little nervous about going last night if i'm honest, but decided to pop along anyway. I kinda wished i hadn't as i immediately felt uncomfortable. You see, i think there's a huge gulf between the two types of people who study on that course. There's the popular 'in crowd' of experimental designers and then there's me. I never studied art until taking my MA. I'm not comfortable in fancy dress (last night's party was a 'hat' party). I don't design chairs. I'm not experimental with materials. I'm not a craftsman.I don't want to upset people. I'm a designer working for a huge corporation.

Now i want to make it totally clear that lots of people who studied the course are lovely. I had a nice, but brief chat with Tim from studio glithero, and even bumped into my good friend Ben Wilson outside, but the RCA design crowd isn't, well it just isn't my crowd. When i bump into ex RCA types i dread the 'so what are you up to now?' question which inevitably rears it's head. When i tell them that i work at sony (or currently - nokia), I often get the 'you sold out' look, swiftly followed by a glance over my shoulder to see if there's anyone cooler or more useful they can speak to. I spoke to Hillary French the Head of School about my last two positions and her response was 'well they're both big names i suppose'..... EXCUSE ME?? I happen to be very proud of what i've achieved, and I'm very creative on a daily basis, but because I don't conform to the designer/maker mould I'm somehow not good enough for the gang?

I'm over-reacting i know, and it's obvious that the problem lies with me, but it has to be noted that there's the in-crowd, and there's the out-crowd. The RCA course is split into different platforms, which study different approaches to design. My platform, run by the incredible Peter Russell-Clarke (now at Apple) was the most industrially focussed platform, and at last night's party, i was the only member of that group to attend. There has to be a good reason for that...

This 'expressive' end of the design world, often inhabited by the furniture and lighting types, could do with embracing industrial design. It's not all about becoming a celebrity name. Creativity comes in many shapes and sizes, but unfortunately if you ain't cool, you ain't in. In Milan many years ago i was at a cocktail party when Ron Arad saw me from across the room. He threw his olive at me, then came over. Here's how the conversation went:

Ron arrives:

RA: "hi, how are you doing?"

Me: "yeah not bad, good show isn't it?"

RA: "hmm, it's OK. Where are you working now?"

Me: "seymour powell"

RA: "you made me waste my olive"

Ron departs...

Now i know that's funny, and i actually laughed at the time, but it really shows the gap between his understanding of design and mine. I just think it would be so much better if we could all just get along. It was with great sadness that i heard of the appointment of Tord as Ron's successor, not because i don't like his style, but because it's just more of the same. Design is a broad church, and is best enjoyed in all it's forms. I love that these expressive types exist, and i love the work of a great many of them, but Industrial design can be great too, it really can, no need to be so sniffy.

Comments

[BrazzaB]

Would Ron Arad consider his olive wasted if he threw it at say, Jonathan Ive?

Ultimately working for a big firm you'll touch more lives than doing stuff that only the in crowd will ever see.

After 10 years working in engineering you'll be unlucky to see anything I've designed (in some cases extremely unlucky) but I'm proud of each one.

[stuart]

What does it matter?

You have to pay for a roof over your head, and the occasional meal out with the lovely lady. It's pragmatism - a much maligned asset.

At the end of it; it's a chair, it's a phone, it's a light, it's an ipod. It's all stuff that will be occupying landfill in 15 years time. Who cares - unless I'm wrong nobody there has cracked teleporting, or developed nuclear fission on an industrial scale. They've just made sitting down a little more stylish and a little less comfortable.

Whoop de do. Don't sweat it.

[charlie gower]

crowds are boring you don't want any part of em.
In-crowds are a myth and they only form together out of deep terror that on their own they will drown in a sea of insecurity.
screw em.
you're good at what you do, that's lucky because normal people have to buy stuff to use, you know chairs to actually sit on, a chair made out of butter simply isn't going to help anyone.

[BrazzaB]

mmmmmmmmmm....... butter chair........

[fosta]

hey you guys..... this wasn't meant as a 'fishing for compliments' exercise... honestly.... Thanks though.

Brian: about 'touching more people' by being involved with a large company. I think that's what a lot of the 'in crowd' find crass about what i do. Most of them (i think) actually don't like the idea of their work being ubiquitous, more it's a case of elitism. They aren't interested in the masses.

Stu: good point, but it would be nice to think that none of us is simply making stuff for landfill, cool or otherwise.

Charlie: I know what you mean, but it's still a bit like being at school. You know the jocks are idiotholes, but you still kinda want to fit in.

[paulieB]

thats a pretty funny line though.

once a geek always a geek I guess!

[Warren]

I always thought this about the RCA.

I wonder if any of these self-awarded Designeratti bunch would consider Johnny Ive's job at Apple to be cool.?

I suppose it's a big name.

[Chris]

They wouldn't be able to cope at a big company where you are working together with a group of equally talented people to create a product and learning from everyone else at the same time. Do big name designers use the word "we" to decribe a project.... very rarely. I have respect for Ron that his work often has Ron Arad Studio on it