Design Relationships

McClaren C12

I am not really a big fan of cars as such - living in London a city seemingly snarled up with them, or having lived in NL too, where pretty much everywhere is accessible by public transport, not being a car owner is almost a no-brainer. Yet today at the RCA I had the opportunity to attend a panel talk hosted by the Vehicle Design Department, in part because I was intrigued more by the talks title than the speakers attending (not being very ''au fait'' with the ''names'' associated with car design generally) which went under the banner of ''Design Relationships - the ways design relates to commerce and the way it touches people''.

Design - especially for ''consumer goods'' such as clothes, cars, furniture, telephones or computers - is perhaps as much about the emotive or tactile quality as anything. This was certainly the key message put across by Neal Stone, Director of consultancy Leapstone, and formally of BA and GNER, who put it in terms of how design is the key link between commerce and people. In many way this is one of the standard arguments, that innovation comes through design, as a way of promoting the health and leadership of any given brand or product. Yet design, or rather designers who create and develop cars, or other products, have a very real role as ''problem solvers'' - with even car designers having to think through how to develop a vehicle that coincides with the principles of ''cradle-to-cradle''. Frank Stephenson, Design Director for McClaren, explained how the ''time-to-market'' for cars has changed from the usual 36 months, to 18 months, and how it is now even possible to develop a car in just 10 months, which is achieved with advances in the speeding up of the ''drawing-board'' and prototyping stages of car design. Deputy Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Rama Gheerawo, explained how in looking at the role of cars in cities today it's necessary to garner the views of a cross-section of car users, from passionate ''petrol heads'' to complete car abstainers, since all have a valid view, and indeed stake, in the usage and perceptions of cars today. Looking at how cars can be more ''connected'' to our everyday lives - how they are used for both professional and personal occasions, he described some possible solutions to how this could come about, and how cars may in future may become more ''useful'' in their role as ''street furniture'', when cars spend so much time just sat passively in parking bays. Kenny Schachter, a curator, was a car enthusiast of a different kind. As furniture has come to be displayed as ''Design Art'', so too he believes, do cars have a role to play in the gallery or exhibition space, as beautiful objects whose aesthetics and meaning behind them can be celebrated in the same way so many other ''designed'' products can be, and are. He cited in particular the project he commissioned the architect Zaha Hadid to create, with a 3-wheel and four-wheel version of what became the ''Z-Car''. This idea of creating ''bespoke'' or ''limited'' edition vehicles almost brings car design back full-circle, to its beginnings, with cars initially the preserve of enthusiastic and adventurous inventors.

For each of the speakers, collaboration was a key theme in the context of car design, yet this is also a facet that applies to many other areas including fashion. Since to realise the vision or ambition of a particular concept requires the input, and co-operation of a number of stakeholders - from designer's ''drawing board'' through to end user. Yet, as was acknowledged in the Q&A session at the end of the panel presentations, the designer's role is today perhaps more complex than ever, as they have to negotiate the demands and needs of the various aspects their designed product impacts upon. Less about trends or ''styling'', instead the social impact has to be considered, and while building ''efficiency'' into the design process is important, helped along by innovations in technology, this cannot negate the quality or emotive aspects of design. As cars too, can be viewed as ''fashion'' objects, unveiled in the glamorous surroundings of glitzy car shows, this emotive and tactile quality makes them not only interesting, but also desirable.


Z-Car, four-wheel version, by Zaha Hadid

Holiday Brochures

RCA Prospectuses (Photos: Nathaniel Dafydd Beard)

Having a bit of a clear out this week I came across an accumulation of some old RCA prospectuses, gathered over time, mulling the options as to whether or not pursing a research degree would be a good idea. Coincidentally, I also had an e-mail from the college press/marketing department asking if I'd like to be a featured student profiled in the new prospectus. Am usually quite happy to be in the background just getting on with things, so was not looking to be ''profiled'' in any public way, but in answering questions about my expectations of the course and my feelings about how it is now I am actually here, turned out to be a good chance to reflect on my time so far at the RCA.

Time flies here fairly rapidly, and already the first year is over and we are well into the summer recess. Unlike some of my colleagues, I won't be taking a ''real'' holiday this year, since have given myself several tasks to complete over the summer, combined with full-time working commitments to my ''money job''. But like flicking through a a glossy holiday brochure, a college prospectus offers perhaps much the same experience. It's never quite as glossy as the brochure would have you believe (for non-UK readers, British tour company brochures are notoriously misleading...oops, did we forget to mention the 6 lane highway between the hotel and the beach?). Yet as I reflect on my past experiences over the last year, one of the stand-out aspects has been the supportive nature of my fellow researchers in the School of Fashion and Textiles, a small miracle in such a competitive field, and one I wasn't entirely expecting. All our projects are distinctly different, which no doubt helps, and whenever we meet up it's always intriguing to hear about the latest developments, the successes, and the dilemmas. Helping out a friend this week with writing their own statement for application to a course at a different institution also reminded me of the need we all have for ''cheer leaders'' as I call them. That is, those people on the sidelines, whether family, friends or colleagues, who are there to support you during both the dark, doubting times, and are the there with words of congratulations when things are turning out just the way you hoped. While it is always wise to take the promises of ''holiday brochures'' with a pinch of salt, it is also important as a researcher to keep an open mind, as you never know when some chance conversation or watching the progress of a colleague can help in inspiring or motivating your own work. As I am finding out, the role of the researcher is certainly that of a self-initiator or self-motivator, but a little help from those around you certainly goes a long way.

Souvenirs from Romania

As part of my continuing curatorial project into Fashion Souvenirs (visit www.fashion-souvenirs.com for more or click the link on the left) I have been asking various friends and relatives to collect anything interesting or typical of the places they visit. My youngest sister recently returned from a trip to Bucharest in Romania, where despite the countries recent entry to the EU and its intriguing history, it has yet to fully take off as a tourist destination. According to her observations the main thing seemed to be to take a visit to Transylvania, and Dracula's Castle, with many a gothic/dracula themed gift to be found. Overall, though, it was intriguing to hear there is a distinct dearth of souvenir shops or opportunities for souvenir hunters in general in Bucharest, which the examples my sister brought back probably attest to. The first is hand-woven book-mark in the Romanian colours, while the second a key-ring featuring landmarks from the open-air museum. Strangely, while abroad it is often the familiar, just as much as the exotic or strange that we seek out on our travels. My sister, for instance, cannot seem to get through the week without her Starbucks fix. Although it appears even that behemoth has already reached Bucharest, she was flummoxed as how to find a branch there, despite the evidence of seeing passers-by clutching Starbucks carrier bags. Instead, she found the local option to be just as satisfactory in stemming her desire for a cappuccino, which goes by the excellent name of Coffee Attack (here above are some souvenir sugar sachets). It is often intriguing to see how as native-English speaker, the global lingua franca is interpreted abroad, often to unintentional comical effect. In the case of the name Coffee Attack, they seem to have hit on an intriguing combination, implying how the need for a caffeine fix is also an attack both on the body (in an unhealthy sense) and on our desires (in a pleasurable sense).


Research is often a solitary occupation, yet in some instances it is necessary to seek the help of others in collating aspects of a research project. In seeking out such help, however, it poses interesting questions regarding how reliable others viewpoint or skills are in collating research. It sometimes also raises questions about ownership. In the case of the Fashion Souvenirs project many of my collaborators have been happy to help out, as a fun diversion to their main activity in visiting a place, and then it is up to me how I interpret or make use of the artefacts I bring back, so ultimately the decisions regarding the process and outcome of the research are down to me. Yet, as I now consider how it may be necessary to collaborate with others on my main research project here at the RCA, it brings about the continuing question of how 'wise' it is to collaborate with others on aspects of the research, and whether, ultimately, this is even strictly necessary. I am guessing only time will tell...