Editorial

Photo: Koelnmesse, Frank Erler

Far from merely meeting demand, the furniture industry makes its money by satisfying a host of very different needs – from modular sofas and eat-in kitchens all the way to home offices and wellness mattresses. Today design plays a crucial economic role in both the creation of needs-based products and the stimulation of demand. A closer look at the interaction between design and business, design trends and manufacturers’ ranges, designers and entrepreneurs is therefore indispensable. That is precisely what the materials and interesting ideas in this latest content folder are intended for.

But designers also have their fingers in various other, less obvious pies such as brand development, the communication of material innovations to the industry and the debate about sustainability concepts for the production, transport and usage of our consumer goods. The public discourse about green design and organic concepts has thus led to some interesting niche markets and retail concepts, some of which are bursting not only with idealism but with future potential as well, as our survey of the green design business shows.

Experience has shown that, more than anything else, the interaction between design and business depends on good relationships between creatives and entrepreneurs. Our numerous best-practice articles with statements by leading entrepreneurs provide some interesting insights. And the in-depth interview with Stefan Diez, one of the hottest German designers on the scene, vividly describes just how closely the interests of designers and companies are intertwined and pinpoints the opportunities and risks that such a more or less well-developed network can entail.

The imm cologne doesn’t only see itself as a shop window for market-relevant design developments, but also as a communication platform for the exchange between designers, project developers, manufacturers and retailers. Last but not least, we are also interested in the feedback from the end customers who use the public days to get thousands of exciting ideas for their private worlds.

At these interfaces, design and the market move closer together than anywhere else. Surprisingly, the subjective mood right now is much better than the difficult market conditions would suggest. One thing is certain: more than ever before, doing a brisk business is essential. The imm cologne will point out which design concepts are suitable not only for putting on a good show but for generating sustainable sales as well. Consumers are looking for products that are durable and good-quality, products that have a story to tell or “carry hand luggage around with them,” as Stefan Diez puts it. His Houdini chair for German furniture label e15 is a perfect example. By the way: our making-of feature also shows how designers’ inventiveness and manufacturers’ innovativeness can produce an extremely useful side-effect: effective copy protection.

As for us, we don’t mind being copied and quoted at all. Provided the source and copyrights are stated, all the texts and photo materials in this folder are available free of charge – for editorial purposes and purely journalistic publications only, of course. The layouted version is a service for the press – nothing more and nothing less. Because the visualisation of business-related themes can be something of a challenge, the content folder includes several unusual ideas. We would ask that you kindly inform us of any publication and, if applicable, send us some specimen copies.

Best wishes from Cologne,

Markus Majerus


P.S.: Our next content folder (due for publication in mid-November) will contain numerous professional assessments and concrete examples of the latest interior trends.

Author: Markus Majerus
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