Designer's Voice Bouroullec

How important is the photo for a product, or even for an entire collection?
Ronan: It’s pretty important to us. Especially when our products require the buyers or users to give them more intense consideration. We always try to explain our products to people. There’s a certain complexity to our products, and sometimes you can offset that with a self-explanatory photo that shows something we’ve installed inside the product, something that isn’t easy to discern.

Erwan: It’s just that we’re not very good at writing. For us, the photo is an integral part of the project. Without a photo and a presentation, the project isn’t complete. And for me personally, it’s important to turn round with the camera when everything’s finished and say okay, enough of that. Only then can I leave the project behind and forget about it.

Ronan: Sometimes we do a film as well. You can say a lot with pictures and music, even without words. If you need too many words to explain something, then the words are just too big for the object. You couldn’t for instance write anything sensible about this glass here (points to one of the brimming tumblers – it’s a hot day!) – unless you write a story that the glass features in. The more directly and simply you can explain a design the better. Pictures and music are a good medium for that.

What does the music relate to – the space the product was designed for or the product itself?
Erwan: The music is closely linked with the composition of the film, just like in our film about the Vegetal chair for Vitra. It’s just too expensive to buy an existing piece of music, and it’s a whole lot easier and more interesting to compose it. We love playing with these media!