Design for Life is a reality tv show which follows 12 design students and how they fare in the care of Philippe Starck. After having watching the first few episodes its quite intriguing as how Starck thinks in comparison to that of the students. Where students think of a product as one thing, Starck has an amazing understanding with the “story behind the product”.
Reflecting on the ethics that Starck wants the students to implement and demonstrate is one of simplicity. He has these short simple concepts which he emphasizes to the students such as for good design you think about life, sex, flesh, sweat. I think this shows design is not just about design its everything else and the way everything works together. Sustainability is also mentioned throughout, ”design decisions now, affects all our lives later ” so thinking about the future is very important issue to address. Tomorrow will be less!
It is not a school of design but a “school of creativity” meaning ‘less design and more of everything else’. So also the philosophy of life, he establishes the thought that it’s not all about design! Well going back to the story of a product, an example shown was when the bike was picked for sustainability. Starck just shot it down breaking it into little parts such as child labour and that its just a sheet of metal. So he is looking for the story behind the product, trying to establish this point in their heads.
I liked how one of the girls at aged 13 or 14 answered her mum to” no money in art” that just looking around us design is in everything, it is fascinating to see that at young age she is thinking of that!
