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Yves Behar was born in 1967 in lausanne and grew up in switzerland
(German mother and Turkish father).
He studied industrial design in europe and the US, and holds a
B.S. of industrial design from the art center college of design in
Pasadena, California. From 1992 he worked three years at design firm
Lunar and three before that at Frog Design in Silicon Valley,
developing product identities with clients such as Apple Computers,
Hewlett Packard and Silicon Graphics.
In 1999 he founded the design studio ’Fuseproject’.
recent clients include Birkenstock, Herman Miller, Swarovski, MINI,
Nike, Toshiba, Hussein Chalayan and Hewlett Packard.
His designs have been recognized with numerous
awards, such as the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award in 2004
as well as the IDEA/business week gold excellence award in 2003,
just to name a few. Currently the San Francisco MoMA exhibits a
solo show of Béhar’s diverse work, a ‘Futurespective’ which spans
products, fashion, graphics, packaging, environments, and strategy.
see more on
http://www.fuseproject.com
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Designboom interviewed Yves Béhar on june 20, 2005.
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what is the best moment of the day?
falling asleep, when thoughts end and dreams start.
what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
the sounds of the ocean surf breaking,
and ‘in the fishtank' record by LOW,
and nouvelle vague ...
do you listen to the radio?
yes, NPR in the US (national public radio), BBC and couleur 3.
what books do you have on your bedside table?
‘air guitar' by david hickey and ‘le petit prince' de st exupery.
where do you get news from? newspapers?
NY times, liberation, and the daily show hosted by john stewart.
do you read architecture and design magazines?
yes.
do you notice how women dress?
do you have any preferences?
eclectic, creative, personal and sexy.
what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
bland and personality killing.
do you have any pets?
no, unfortunately.
when you were a child,
did you want to become a designer?
a writer first, and yes, then a designer.
where do you work on your designs and projects?
everywhere: in the car, in bed, outside, inside, at home,
in airplanes, at the office, in trains etc...
describe your style, like a good friend of yours
would describe it.
the fusing of storytelling and fluidity, where the potential for
technology and poetry, commerce and culture merge
with the physical world.
who would you like to design something for?
unesco and ...
yes, creating more environmentally friendly products,
it is an area that needs some attention.
does your approach to designing change with each
project or do you approach each client with the same
basic philosophy?
designers can fight any battle with one methodology or point of view; scale, functionality, technology, and manufac- turing processes can
all be adapted to different projects.
the only basic philosophy is that our approach has to be relevant,and our methodology is about building contents and ideas,
designing from the inside out, rather than applying a style or
visual signature to everything we touch.
rather than selling a specific idea of what beauty is or is not,
products will be more personal, customized and unique.
in 2001 you were called to develop accessories around
the iconic MINI car.
the collection was launched in september 2003.
rather than reinforcing the stereotype of accessory as status
symbol, I focused on the transition between being inside
and outside the car: every accessory has a dual function, for example, there's a shoe that has a detachable inner slipper for
driving; a watch that reads either vertically or horizontally,
depending on the position of your arm; and a jacket that has a
built-in seat.
do you discuss or exchange ideas with other architects?
yes, the creative community that I have a dialogue with is
absolutely amazing in it's diversity of points of views:
they span architecture, fashion, technology and the arts.
can you describe an evolution in your work from your first
projects to the present day?
currently I'm trying to make technology disappear.
in 1999, I said ‘design brings stories to life',
the idea that products were the true agents of a brand,
I remember these were the virtual and advertising days,and this point of view differen- tiated us: most US based design agencies were only focused on
technology and medical products, two areas who never understood
the value of connecting to consumers emotionally and building brands
people love (to the exception of apple of course). so I applied our design and technical skills to exciting consumer
brands such as MINI cooper and birkenstock,
and we were able to grow our team in the technology downturn.
what project has given you the most satisfaction?
very hard question to answer, can a mother admit to
a favorite child ?
usually it is the one project I am working on at the moment,
you have to give it attention and even love,
and that is what I am proud of:
I give them all the attention they deserve !
is there any designer and/or architect from the past,
you appreciate a lot?
achille castiglioni, for his wit and storytelling.
and those still active
- are there any particular ones you appreciate?
hussein chalayan, ron arad, herzog and demeuron.
any advice for the young ?
develop your own direction: design is one of the very few fields
where differences are celebrated, so find your own route.
(example: unemployment, criminality and pollution...)
what are you afraid of regarding the future ?
the only thing to be afraid of in the future, is when people
don't believe in the future anymore.
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