Bodum’s 2010 collection is introduced with the line: “Make taste, not Waste”, which is perfectly placed in this period of, not only eco-trends, but also an interest into fine taste by young people. And that is what I guess Bodum aims at with this collection.

What I believe is really strong about this collection is the balanced use of material properties and opportunities.

Of course it’s an easy step to introduce a wide range of colors when working with plastics, I mean, we’ve seen that before. But the characteristic use of their company logo is a very style-full decision. The time to be modest is passed for quite a while now, and it’s time to be proud of your company’s history and products.

In my opinion they take this trick even one step further in the design of their take-away caffetières! That’s a damn clever product, spending the time you have to wait for your coffee, on the road! The rubber hand-grip now becomes recognizable as a good old take-away cup.

Then Bodum concludes their almost 200 pages product catalogue with some all-round kitchen appliances which I think are also worth mentioning and showing. Here it feels as if their designers have been cut loose from all existing household appliance designs and came up with some very elementary shapes. I believe uncle Dieter Rams would also be proud. We’ll, I don’t say more.

In times of economic downturn designers respond creatively to problems that occur. After the Great Depression innovations in products, materials and design were coming up. I believe that rethinking the design process can lead to clear insights for new functionalist, affordable and sustainable products, which cary the responsabilities of designing during times of ‘downturn’, be it economical, environmental or ethical.

I am planning to retract methods and approaches by researching the impact of scarcity on the design process and analysis of design innovation after the Great Depression. Combining these insights will lead to new process-optimized products.

With this combination of these insights I want to design a series of ‘optimized’ products for certain situations of scarcity. You could see it as “What if we have less….” -scenario’s

I am planning to write here about my experiences in graduating and about things I come accross and think that are worth sharing.

Hope you like it,

Bart