Design Discussion Week 4

Philippe Stark stands out for his raw honesty. He does not attempt to glorify his work or the design industry but rather, he admits that he finds his work obsolete. He claims that “design does not save lives”, and that it does not provide solutions to the biggest problems the world currently has and all he can do is attempt to make people’s lives better. While I do agree that design alone cannot solve life’s biggest problems, I believe that its importance lies in making these solutions more accessible to many. And so, while I think that design cannot save lives, it can help save more lives which I think is just as important. 

One design of his that I like is his Duravit Bento Starck Box series because of its simplicity and practicality. Deriving inspiration from Japanese bento boxes which are separated into multiple compartments, Duravit and Starck successfully designed bathtubs and sinks that could hold their user’s bathroom necessities. 

One design of his that I do not particularly like is the Juicy Salif XXL, a bigger version of the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, standing at 187 cm (6’2″). The main reason why I don’t like this invention is the fact that I don’t think it serves any practical purpose aside from being a piece of artwork.