Cover Versions in Music vs. Design

Today we’re talking about a topic that I care deeply about because I think it’s fundamental to understand the design refinement of some designers, namely the authorial restyling of past objects. The comparison may seem daring, but in the music field, cover versions are a common practice and sometimes lead to greater success than the original version. I think of Jimy Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower or Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, both covers and both more famous than their original versions.

It’s strange that this doesn’t happen much in design, or at least it’s not declared much. I don’t see anything wrong with creating your own version of a past product, I think it’s a great exercise, as long as you credit the original designer.

It’s a fascinating topic because it creates a natural technological and stylistic comparison with the past that makes both the object and the designer’s process quality even more readable.

In some past articles, I have already talked about how inspiration from the past is a fundamental key not only to unlock creativity but also to create the understanding of the project itself. There I only talked about references, such as Philippe Starck’s Kartell Ghost chair. Today, I’m talking about reissues.

Reissue Design: Necessity of Authority and Quality

Of course, making a reissue is very complicated, it takes authority. To work on a past object, especially if it’s signed by a well-known designer, automatically creates a comparison that is not easy to bear. To tackle such an operation, I think it’s necessary to have already demonstrated in the past to have qualities and be able to bear the comparison. In fact, the most common thing that happens in these cases is that the project remains a concept, but some designers have actually put the object into production.

In general, if the object remains a concept, it can also afford not to be great, as it will remain on paper and cannot do any harm. In the moment it goes into production, however, there is a risk of harm. An example of such an operation, but well executed, is the Traffic collection by Magis, designed by Kostantin Grcic.

When this collection came out, I remember there was immediately a comparison with Le Corbusier’s well-known sofa, but it was 2013 and I don’t know if the comparison was declared or if I made the association myself. But the reference is explicit and with due care. The arrangement of the cushions is very similar, and instead of the tube, the rod was used. The object is evidently fresher and contextualized to the time of its release, and, to be honest, I don’t even think they are objects that compete with each other. Although the design comes from the same matrix, the result is very different, especially for the feeling it gives in an interior design project.

Another well-known reference is the design of Apple during the Jonathan Ive era, which often refers to the Braun products of Dieter Rams’ period.

Are these designers copying?

I don’t think so, creativity is the ability to associate, and it’s normal to take different references and put them together. I think execution skills count more because having an idea is easy, but bringing it to fruition is not for everyone.

There is also some design that take inspiration from the past, but in another way. Have a look at Positive Nostalgia blog post.

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It happens sometimes that you live an episode of your life that may change your perspectives.

Well, it sounds dramatic, actually it’s not. In these few words I want to share an episode that really fueled my craving for design.

I was an undergraduate in product design, it was the time where I was spending all my afternoons and evenings in the lab making prototypes (I was not that good at it, so I needed to learn).

In that period I hadn’t realized what I was doing and I was looking for answers all around me, especially the fact that I had to make models by hand was not so clear: when I first approached design school I was attracted by 3d models and fancy renderings. So why was I spending so much time sanding polystyrene?

My lab teacher probably noticed that something was not clear and one day he showed the class a precious book: “The Making of Design” by Gerrit Terstiege.

Try to imagine, it was more or less 2008, social were taking place but those were more a showcase for short jokes, so we didn’t have access to all these cool work in progress from design studios profiles, and they were there, in that book: Bouroullec bros, Kostantin Grcic, Stefan Diez and others showing the real process behind some of their most successful products at the time.

It blew my mind, suddenly all the polystyrene dust on my clothes had a sense. I saw many models from those designers that were wrong or a failure, but those were not wasted time, it was evidence of progress. It was a first step to truly understand the slowness and the accuracy of the job I was in prospect of doing.

As I said, the book was precious to my teacher, so I had the occasion to browse it just once.

When I graduated I flew to GB to work in design studios and I was a frequent visitor of the Design Museum of London and boom, “The Making of Design” was there in their bookshop. Finally my design bible was in my hands.

I know every line of that book and I was admiring those designers creating some of my favorite objects in a way I really can’t understand, so I started to imitate them. Need a volume mock-up? Use paper. Want to test sitting? Use polystyrene. Not sure about dimensions? Do a 1:1 printing.

Sounds banal now after 10 years running my business, but at the time everything was new to me.

When I was in highschool I had a rockband and I wanted to write my own songs, but I had no idea how to do it. So I started making covers of songs I liked, tried to understand the process and started making my own songs.

More or less I did the same with design, first imitating to then find my own way of doing things.

See, imitate, elaborate, release.

Needless to say that this process had so many failures that I can not even count, but those made the difference and helped me to find my own way of doing things.

That book helped me to understand that my design myths are not superheroes who came from another planet, but people with a clear goal in their mind and a plan to achieve it. So I am trying to be one of them.

If you are looking for more inspiring articles about design, check it out “Positive Nostalgia”, a short analysis on Philippe Starck’s work.

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