PUBLICATION
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG
FAZ ICONIC DESIGN SPECIAL 2021
BARBARA FRIEDRICH, DESIGN JOURNALIST AND FORMER EDITOR - IN - CHIEF OF ARCHITEKTUR & WOHNEN MAGAZINE:
“IN COMPLEX TIMES, THINGS NEED TO BE SIMPLER.”
GERMAN DESIGN COUNCIL: “YOU HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THE LIVING AND DESIGN SCENE FOR MANY YEARS. IN THE 2000S, YOUR MAGAZINE ARCHITEKTUR & WOHNEN DESCRIBED A “NEW SIMPLICITY”. WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE TREND FROM 20 YEARS AGO FROM TODAY`S “NEW SIMPLICITY?”
BARBARA FRIEDRICH: “BACK THEN, IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE FORM THAN AN AESTHETIC STATEMENT. MINIMALISM AND PURISM WERE AN EXPRESSION OF A RATHER ELITIST LIVING STYLE; AS A COUNTER - PROPOSAL TO THE WILD DESIGN OF THE 80S AND THE COLORFUL PLASTIC FURNITURE À LA PHILIPPE STARCK FOR KARTELL & CO. IN THE 90S, I SEE THE CURRENT “NEW SIMPLICITY” AS AN EFFORT BY DESIGNERS - AND THE INDUSTRY - TO MAKE PRODUCTS SIMPLER, MORE UNDERSTANDABLE AND MORE HUMAN. NOT ONLY, BUT INCREASINGLY DUE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC, MANY PEOPLE ARE LONGING FOR THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE AND WORK EASIER. PRODUCTS AND LIVING SPACES (KEYWORD HOME OFFICE) SHOULD TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT, NOT WITH NOSTALGIA AND ANTI - TECH ROMANTICISM BUT ESPECIALLY WITH THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF TECHNOLOGY, SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE PROTECTION, CO2 FOOTPRINT - THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT, INDISPENSABLE ARGUMENTS IN PRODUCT DESIGN TODAY. MANY DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS ARE ON THE SAME PAGE VERY GOOD WAY, AS THIS SPECIAL SHOWS…”
NDION
PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 14TH 2021
INTERIOR TREND 2021 “NEW SIMPLICITY”: DESIGN FOR BEING
IN THE WAKE OF THE PANDEMIC, THE FOCUS HAS SHIFTED TO OUR HOMES. PROLONGED PERIODS SPENT AT HOME ARE AWAKENING NEW EXPECTATIONS. IT IS CLEAR THAT QUALITY AND DURABILITY ARE IN DEMAND AGAIN. WHAT USED TO APPLY PRIMARILY TO FASHION IS NOW INCREASINGLY APPLICABLE TO INTERIOR DECORATIONS. ITEMS OF FURNITURE EXPRESS A NEWLY ESTABLISHED AWARENESS OF CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES AND ONE`S OWN ATTITUDE AND PERSONALITY. IN THE FIRST ARTICLE OF OUR THREE - PART SERIES ON THE INTERIOR TRENDS 2021, WE PRESENT “NEW SIMPLICITY”.