konstantin grcic interview

konstantin grcic interview© designboom

we met konstantin grcic in his studio in munich the 21.08.2000

designboom (DB): what is your best moment of the day?

konstantin grcic (KG): the morning, from 8 to 9.

DB: what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?

KG: a lot of music, i always listen to music, lots of surf-punk, mostly music with electric guitars.

‘beach measure’ graphics on a beach towel for moeve

DB: do you listen to the radio?

KG: no.

DB: what books do you have on your bedside table?

KG: right now “the yellow pencil” (der gelbe bleistift) by christian kracht.

DB: do you read design magazines?

KG: no, i don’t read them, but i flip through them.

belle + bon, 1999, eggcup and spoon for porzellan manufaktur nymphenburg

DB: newspapers? where do you get news from?

KG: süddeutsche zeitung, every day.

DB: do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences?

KG: in the summer a woman with a beautiful dress is very noticable.

mayday, 1998, portable lamp for flos

DB: what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?

KG: for example, I never wear shorts.

DB: do you have any pets?

KG: no.

bucket, 1997, for authentics

DB: where do you work on your designs and projects?

KG: in terms of space usually in my studio, and then in my head.

DB: who would you like to design something for?

KG: for industry.

left: leopolda + leopoldino, 1997, armchair and table for montinaright: zig zag, 1996, dismantelable shelf for driade

DB: do you discuss or exchange ideas with other designers?

KG: I have good friends who are designers, and dialogue is very important for me. the person I talk with most is sebastian bergne.

DB: describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.

KG: I would say current, feasible and realistic.

tam tam + tom tom, 1992, height adjustable tables for scp

DB: do you think that design is an autonomous cultural expression? do you think it’s a form of art?

KG: I think of design as a cultural expression. it is an autonomous discipline…but not like a cultural expression. it is closely linked to communication and other fields of art. I don’t like the idea of design being defined “art”. as a source of inspiration, art is very important for me … so is the cinema and music.

DB: which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction?

KG: and which do you like the most? the “mayday” lamp for flos.

DB: do you enjoy your work? what did you want to be when you were a child?

KG: the thing I enjoy the most, since I was a child, is to make things. I still love my work, because I make 3D objects in my studio. I have become what I wanted to be when I was a child, though I didn’t know the word “design”.

left: start, 1993, folding chair for cappelliniright: clothes-hanger-brush, 1992, for progetto oggetto (cappellini)

DB: is there any architect or designer from past you appreciate a lot?

KG: there are many. some because of their life’s work, like sottsass or castiglioni, others are very important for me perhaps because of a single design item.

DB: what about colleagues, are there any particular ones you appreciate?

KG: jasper morrison has been and is very important for me, sebastian bergne is a close friend and phillippe starck, alberto meda.

DB: on the news they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future?

KG: I’m not afraid of anything, that has made me reflect a lot, in this new millennium, is that our lives are so short and so important to us.