Design For Life - Philippe Starck

Design for Life is a British television series on the BBC. It is a show about the famous product designer, Philippe Starck and his design agency and 12 aspiring designers aged from 19-32 years old. They are competing for a 6 month internship working with Philippe Starck. He sets tasks for them to complete and to prove to him why they deserve this opportunity. Thousands of people applied for a position on the show, but he chose only 12, that he believed were a new generation of British design talent. Each person sent in sketches of ideas they had or created and that is how each person was chosen. Starke seemed to choose the most abstract, original designs; examples include a bungee cord kitchen storage shelf, corkscrew coffins and a light fitting in the style of a noose. He invites the 12 lucky hopefuls to a design school he set up in Paris.

I think the series is a great insight into the life and work of industrial designers as it shows us Philippe Starcks design philosophies and his opions on the everyday products that we use. Through out the episode Starck is trying to train his students of a new way of thinking like a designer through life, not thinking about the product it’s self and that they should question everything about a design. He says 'They need to immerse themselves into the environments of other people to understand there behaviours.’ He focuses on the benefit for mankind, sustainability, ecology and ethicality. It is interesting to see the designs that the contestants come up with and how Philippe criticizes them. Through the emotional development of the contestants as the show advances it is evident that there will be struggles and disappointments. They are constantly put down but through criticism but grow and benefit from it as Starck is honest, up front and rational with his criticisms.

Getting inspiration for a design project can come from unusual or normal things, for example, plants nature, living or everyday things. Starck believes in designing for everyone. 'It is about creating objects that benefit everyone through value, are sustainable and function,' This is called demographic design.

The winner is decided in the last episode and it is based on how well the developed throughout the series and there overall successfulness. The contestant won due to her ambition to succeed while sticking to the brief and her original creative way of thinking and design.