The title of this book synthesizes the underlying nature of the designer: Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design.
The german designer very defining words are "serial production"; he is deeply fascinated by the serial reproduction of objects, the rigid constraints of industrial processes challenge his creativity exactly where he feels best prepared to react; mass production just brings the best out of Konstantin Grcic and he enjoys every second of it.
Read the complete review after the jump.
The book covers in depth and breadth the prolific professional career of Konstantin Grcic, from his very early and somehow crude projects in solid wood to the much-celebrated Chair One, passing through unfinished, truncated and frustrated projects that never got to be the huge success they were meant to be.
Largely illustrated with photos of the creative process, sketches, prototypes and hands-on exploration, this book is a fantastic ode to the real design process, where materials and people are as important as the final outcome.
"My creativity only starts to unfold when I'm faced with a topic that I find worth thinking about. This generates a reaction, in the form of a design."
Grcic himself comments every project in the book; he tells about the people, the challenges, the dreams and difficulties he finds in his creative journey, which is after all the most important thing, the journey.
There's a lot about how he relates to clients, manufacturers and assistants in this book as there is on the products themselves, I had the feeling I just had a pleasant chat and a cup of coffee with Konstantin when I turned over the last page.
"The construction process is what gives my work its context. The beauty of design is all about transforming the restrictions and the difficulties of the project into creativity.""
After I finished reading the book I spent double the time diving into the images, the way prototypes were made, the people, the tools, the places ... there's so many rich insights about his very own design process that I can safely say this book is a great lesson to any design professional. Absolutely worth the money.
April 12, 2012 1:33 PM
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