Scott Wilson and I flew to London last week to support our European team with the launch of Coalesse in the UK. After an engaging day interacting with the design press and helping with the training on our new products for the European market, we attended a social event with the local A&D community in a stunningly executed Coalesse exhibition space. That evening I shared our mission to create “The New Work Day” and Scott followed with overview of his design practice and an in-depth story about the design of the SW_1 Collection.
After dinner we continued our night chatting at the Zetter Townhouse, discussing the steps the Coalesse brand is taking in Europe, and of course talking about design and the aspirations for our products to be relevant and inspirational to the people and organizations we serve. In his earlier talk, Scott mentioned the difference between “good design” and “designs doing good.” How can we measure success? Are we achieving what we want to stand for?
That evening Scott and I ended up having a last round at 2 am in the game room playing ping pong. I thought this was an appropriate metaphor for our design process: during the design process information goes back and forward, between the original design brief and creative phases, between the creative direction and the designer creation. Sometimes this process loses energy over time and ends up stagnating…ball into the net, or worse, on the floor under the sofa.
Fortunately, because we have chosen to work with great collaborators, the exchange becomes richer and richer, the players aim for harmony, listen and complement each other and ultimately create something new – mutual understanding, cooperation, enrichment, Ping… Pong… Ping… Pong… Getting stronger and more rhythmic as both of us get in a groove, trying to keep the ball going. Progress.
We have succeeded in building a unique design process starting with deep insights about people and the changing relationship of work in their lives to inspire meaningful alternatives to the standardized office furniture solutions. I am truly thankful to Scott – and all the designers we have had the pleasure to work with building the Coalesse portfolio these last 5 years – for their willingness to collaborate and for the creative passion they have shared, building on our research, cross-pollinating ideas and experiences as we complement and enrich each other through the project. I know this collaboration is tangibly embedded in the products we have created together.
When I presented brief for the SW_1 collection, I asked Scott to help us create a conference room people would look forward to working in, a collaborative experience where they would feel more socially connected, at ease, comfortable emotionally and ergonomically, to help generate a positive flow of ideas and compensate for the stresses inherent to our work lives. It took us a few years to go from the design process through product development to the eventual launch of the products, first in North America, this week in Europe. Yesterday evening an influential designer sat at the SW_1 meeting setting, looked at us, smiled and said, “Well, this feels so good, I’d love to work in a room with this in it!” That comment completed the circle for us. Relevance. Inspiration to do more.
Bob
