21st October 2014,
Psychedelic colours, whimsical shapes, sensual objects – it’s common to go all wide-eyed with wonder at Karim Rashid’s designs. As one of the most sought-after international designers in today’s ever-changing design landscape, Karim is truly a force to be reckoned with. Beyond just furniture and spaces, he’s all about changing the world through celebrating the beauty of design.
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“Today, poetic design is based on a plethora of complex criteria: human experience, social behaviors, global, economic and political issues, physical and mental interaction, form, vision, and a rigorous understanding and desire for contemporary culture.”
– KARIM RASHID
Can you tell us about your work?
Over the years, we have been producing designs that include luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot, and Alessi, democratic products for Umbra, Bobble, and 3M, furniture for Bonaldo and Vondom, lighting for Artemide and Fabbian, just to name a few.
We don’t stop there of course. We expand beyond product design to interiors such as the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia; Semiramis hotel, Athens; nhow hotel, Berlin; Universita Metro Station, Naples as well as exhibition design for Deutsche Bank and Audi. We have just completed the interior design for The Prizeotel, in Bremen, which features our signature style of bold pops of colours, contemporary shapes and futuristic furnishings.
I also frequently guest lecture at universities and conferences globally disseminating the importance of design in everyday life.
What is your design philosophy?
Today, poetic design is based on a plethora of complex criteria: human experience, social behaviors, global, economic and political issues, physical and mental interaction, form, vision, and a rigorous understanding and desire for contemporary culture. [cont… ≥]
Manufacturing is based on another collective group of criteria: capital investment, market share, production ease, dissemination, growth, distribution, maintenance, service, performance, quality, ecological issues and sustainability. The combination of these factors shapes our objects, inform our forms, our physical space, visual culture and our contemporary human experience. These quantitative constructs shape business, identity, brand and value. This is the business of beauty. Every business should be completely concerned with beauty – it is after all a collective human need.
How do you define “design”?
Design has been the cultural shaper of our world from the start. We have designed systems, cities, and commodities. We have addressed the world’s problems. Now design is not about solving problems, but about a rigorous beautification of our built environments. Design is about the betterment of our lives poetically, aesthetically, experientially, sensorially, and emotionally. My real desire is to see people live in the modus of our time, to participate in the contemporary world, and to release themselves from nostalgia, antiquated traditions, old rituals, kitsch and the meaningless. We should be conscious and attune with this world in this moment. If human nature is to live in the past – to change the world is to change human nature.
What inspires you?
I am into art, fashion, and music and I am determined to creatively touch every aspect of our physical and virtual landscape in my designs. I believe that we could be living in an entirely different world – one that is full of real contemporary inspiring objects, spaces, places, worlds, spirits and experiences.
