FRONT
Designer of the Future
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The Design Miami/ Designer of the Future Award recognizes an emerging designer or collective that has been practicing for less than 15 years; has produced a body of work demonstrating promise in creative approach and quality of finish; exhibits an interest in experimental, non-industrial or limited edition design; and generally makes a noteworthy contribution to design discourse.
In order to find this year’s winner, we contacted 150 of the world’s preeminent established designers to request their nominations. After narrowing the
nominations to the top 7 candidates, our Selection Committee chose Swedish design collective FRONT.
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Throughout their relatively short career, FRONT has consistently imbued their work with unpredictable narratives and strong conceptual research. Design Miami/ Basel is proud to recognize their unique, imaginative vision.
For Design Miami/ 2007, FRONT will present an on-site installation that showcases their cutting-edge portfolio and features a new prototype commissioned exclusively for our Design Miami/ Basel June events.
Performances by FRONT will provide visitors with a better understanding of the creative, living process of inventing and producing design. FRONT is Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren and Katja Sävström.
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FRONT
Interview
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Why did you choose the name ‘Front’?
In all our ideas and in all our projects, we always work together. We wanted to have a name that could communicate this. ‘Front’ is a fairly international word and can be understood in most parts of the world. It is also a word with many nuances than can be combined with other words to make new meanings.
When did you meet and why did you decide to work together?
We met while studying Industrial Design at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. We were good friends and spent a lot of time together. We liked each other’s work, and talked a lot about our approaches and the ideas behind our projects. Eventually we joined
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forces to create two collections of products, "Design by Animals" and "Technology in New Form," first exhibited during the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2003. That was the start of our collaboration.
We base our works on discussions about all kinds of topics. We always talk a lot about what we do and why we do it, so the collaborative relationship between the four of us is very important for our designs. We build on each other’s ideas, and, in the end, the ideas become a table, a vase or a radio. But the end product usually is not the main objective.
Can you tell us more about the ideas underlying your work?
We approach design conceptually first and often let external factors affect
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the process of design. We explore and question the design process and the role of the designer by assigning parts of the process to machines, computers or animals. There is a story behind each of our designs.
In our new collection FOUND, shown at Rossana Orlandi Gallery during the Milan fair 2007, we brought together various ordinary objects and changed some of their details – altering, augmenting, taking apart and reassembling or otherwise changing some distinguishing characteristic. We have let the small quaklities within one object become the essence of the new product.We were interested in looking at the relationship between newly designed objects and old existing objects.
With "Story of Things," presented
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FRONT
Interview
during the Milan fair 2005, we wanted to look at the similarities and differences between items from homes all over the world. What happens to products after they have left the store? Objects tell stories of moments in our lives, people we have met and places we have visited. We collected personal stories about objects and then reproduced some of the objects in red plastic with the owner’s story printed on the surface. The objects were then spread to different places all over the world, and we asked the new owners to send us images and stories from their homes.This is an ongoing survey, and we continue to collect stories and explore what makes people love or hate an object.
How do you use performance in your creative process?
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Performance within the field of design is very interesting. We presented our first live performance with our Sketch Furniture project in Tokyo during Tokyo Design Week, March 2006, as a way to demonstrate the process of making the designs. We drew pieces of furniture in the air with light pens, and the audience could see our sketches as actual pieces of furniture through a real-time projection behind us. This way of showing the process draws attention to the importance of process to the understanding of design work.
What are your plans for the future?
We have lots of big plans for the future, and will continue to work together to create new furniture, interior design, product design, and exhibitions.
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Most of the projects are unfortunately secret, but you will see us soon in Italy, Tokyo, Sweden, Paris, London and, of course, Basel in the nearest future. We just opened a show with the Issey Miyake Foundation at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo. The exhibition, "Chocolate," was curated by Naoto Fukasawa and went really well.
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