Jürgen Seidler

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Jürgen Seidler ("JS") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

JS : I would describe myself as a crossover. I studied mechanical engineering and automation technology and have always been responsible for economic matters in my roles. My artwork activities originated from industrial design.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

JS : I started my career as a mechanical engineer specializing in fiber-reinforced plastics in racing sports, where I realized it takes two things to capture people's attention. First, it’s the performance of a product. Second, it needs to be well-designed so that the crowd likes to look at it. A racing car needs to be fast, light, and perfectly maneuverable. This makes design more complicated because not every functional design looks good, but it shaped my philosophy. If you get it right so that the crowd loves it, they will remember it for years. This mindset has carried me through careers in the sports and leisure industry, consulting, medical products, and finally, audio products.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

JS : "Forced" is a strong word. Over the years, different fields of design have naturally become a major part of my work.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

JS : I design products made to last a long time, not just fashionable luxury items, but highly valuable investments for the regular consumer. These are products that consumers might need to save up for, holding significant importance in their lives and maintaining this high standing over the years. This requires a timeless, overarching design.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

JS : I think it’s a long way for me to truly become a legend.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

JS : I'll try to describe it... When I visit some of my design-savvy friends and notice a new gadget in their living room, I ask myself: will it still be there the next time I visit, or even in a few years? If the answer is yes, then it's good design that has integrated well into their lives. In short, a good designer creates designs that last for years, not fast fashion.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

JS : It's a combination of life integration and artwork. For me, integrating into a customer's life means prioritizing functionality and upgradability over the product's lifetime. The principle of design following function creates good, functional designs. However, shifting the paradigm to include artwork and potential future functionality as part of the present function makes for truly great design.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

JS : A good design retains its value and is worth the investment.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

JS : That's not how I work. I'm sure if I have the time, it will find me.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

JS : I'm sure if I have the time, it will find me.

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

JS : The attitude when you come to a dead end. I think this can best said with Franks word’s. Each time I find myself layin' - Flat on my face - I just pick myself up and get- Back in the race

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

JS : Andy Warhol, Marcel Breuer, Philippe Starck

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

JS : My favorite example is a design where, unfortunately, I only know the company but not the lead designer. A few years ago, I stumbled upon a used watch that caught my attention. I was drawn to its classic case, which still looked timeless. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the watch was from 1940. On a whim, I purchased it in France and had it restored. The watchmaker informed me that it featured a P450 standard movement from Jaeger-LeCoultre, for which replacement parts are still available. The construction was designed for easy repair, and original stamps were still available for the dial. This experience taught me that even back then, there was an effort to develop platforms that allowed for variations in exterior design without constantly reinventing the complex mechanics. The timeless design of the watch, the fact that it still performs excellently 85 years after its creation, and its continued viability into the future make it the most impressive example of design I have encountered.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

JS : The actual greatest design is Musegg, the reason why we are talking. It’s the first time I had the chance to contribute to various aspects of the design process. This involved creating artwork, incorporating feedback from market research, conducting industrial design, integrating feedback from production partners during Series 0, and finally, revising the product with all that knowledge gained to refine the Bill of Materials (BOM) and redesigning the architecture of the product. I think it’s a great product because it’s ahead of its time. It combines a finely accepted design with great functionality, and we were able to address the sustainability issue of this type of consumer electronics.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

JS : Try to use your product and service designs in daily life and ask your partner and your friends to do the same. If they don't use it with the same joy, ask for the reason.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

JS : Design, for me, is the sum of all properties that define how a product can integrate into someone's life.

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

JS : It’s my family and my friends.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

JS : It's my secret sauce.

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

JS : We will create a smaller version of Musegg that fits into smaller rooms without overwhelming them. We plan to achieve this by incorporating the functionality of a 360-degree lighting system without compromising the modular design.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

JS : To see my designs making people smile every day for decades

DL: How does design help create a better society?

JS : I can only speak for myself here. Some time ago, I realized that individuals are not inherently interested in the environment. Their interest lies in fulfilling their needs. I see it as my task to design products, goods, and services that meet the needs of the customer and are still sustainable without aggressively conveying this. For the customer, I prefer to translate this as "value-driven" design instead of sustainable. That’s something an individual finds a need fulfilled.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

JS : The smaller version of our latest product, Musegg, will also feature a 360-degree lighting system. This will undoubtedly elevate the product to the next level, but it also presents some significant challenges with light management, maintenance, and industrialization. The learning curve is quite steep at the moment.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

JS : It’s the design we are talking about.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

JS : Industry should stop talking about sustainability. Instead, it should learn about the opportunities that sustainable design opens up, including from a financial perspective, instead of repeating what they've been doing since the invention of the steam engine. This could help solve some of the problems we are facing.

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

JS : Creatives will become much more productive and yield significantly more output. The advancements in visualization and modeling have been remarkable lately. This enables even faster generation. However, it will become more challenging to keep track of things or to attract attention despite having excellent design.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

JS : Four years from the first sketch to delivery of series 1

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

JS : It usually starts with a problem, either technical or procedural in nature. In a first step, I try to break down the problem into numbers to describe it. Yes, starting a creative process in Excel... not something you hear every day. After describing the problem, I like to outline the prevailing constraints. These can include dimensions, cost structures, quantities, main and ancillary functionalities, compatibilities, and more. Then, I assess the possibilities on-site. I want to find out what resources are available. These can be manufacturing processes, systems, or other assets. With these, I draft an initial design.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

JS : Everyone thinks it's not possible. Unfortunately, they didn't tell me. So I did.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

JS : That’s a tough question. I view design as more than just artwork; it encompasses engineering design and all its subfields. It's the technical progress that drives hypes or trends, and it's the artwork that gives them their identity.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

JS : It is usually the spark that ignites new eras.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

JS : It makes up a significant part of all that can be a sensual experience. Therefore, colors and materials are good tools to convey the right foundation of where customer experiences should start from

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

JS : It's a simple, jaw-dropping 'WOW,' and the second thing is the need to find out how the designer realized it.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

JS : It’s a person who takes feedback as a chance to evolve. Even though I struggle with this myself, these kinds of people are hard to find. And yes, as soon as you move to industrialization of complex products, some helping hands or partners are really necessary.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

JS : It's people who can tell me why something they are using is not working the way they want or need.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

JS : There was definitely no 'one' book. I absorb information like a sponge, gathering it from the web and from books

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

JS : I’m not sure if I deserve to be called a master. I think it had nothing to do with engineering and design itself. A significant step in my development was my time in consulting. Observing the struggles of production and logistics to maintain high productivity gave me a different perspective on producibility. A second catalyst was a job in the finance field, where I learned that sustainability can only be achieved when it can be translated into something that improves financial indicators.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

JS : Giorgetto Giugiaro. I would like to ask him about the boundaries Volkswagen gave him while designing the Golf."

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

JS : It’s a great honor to receive an award because it means that others recognize the same developments in the future. However, I'm definitely not famous.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

JS : In order... depending on my mood, the Wörthersee in Carinthia, simple pasta Bolognese, impossible to answer with just one thing, and B&O.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

JS : We spend months to trying to find a good and unique name for the design. When showing it to the public for the first time, everyone called it an egg, which naturally gave Musegg its name.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

JS : Getting a step further

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

JS : No, definitely not.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

JS : I see two ways. One way is that we integrate Isaac Asimov's rules into the technology that is evolving right now. Then it will be a brighter time than now, with fewer of all the hard things we struggle with as mankind today. The other way is that we do not manage to agree on these rules.