Review - Sebastian Conran Design Talk 30.01.

2014

The name Conran has been in the design industry for decades; Sir Terence
Conran founded the homeware store, Habitat in 1964 and his son Jasper
Conran has been a fashion designer since he was 19 years old, but today the
spotlight is on Sebastian eldest son of Terence and a product designer.

Standing on stage in front of an eager audience of students from various
disciplines product and industrial design and interior architects the
excitement is building.

Sebastian begins by telling us a bit about himself and how he got started in
the design world. The man that can take the credit for discovering Thomas
Heatherwick, a trustee of both the Design Museum and the Design Council
stands before us as humble as they come.

Inspired by the vibrancy of the 1970s music scene, he carries some of the
trends with him to this day like the Sex Pistols ideology of thinking
disruptively. When designing a product for market Conran explains that he is
always thinking backwards considering shipping costs first. His motto -
form follows finance.

He tells us that design is about making ideas successful not necessarily
good ideas. He explains that branding and visual merchandising are
extremely important factors in the success of a product. Products as a
collection have a stronger attraction and appearance and this explains why
his collaborations such as Nigella Lawsons cookware range and his new
kitchen range, Universal Expert have become so popular. And of course, the
name helps.

Sebastian Conran has had a lucrative and successful career for the past thirty
years and it is still going strong. Why? Because he is always thinking,
questioning, learning and finding design problems to solve. Even when he
solves a problem his job is never done. He is his own worst critic and will
continue to ask himself how can I make this better?

This, for me, is the definition of a good designer