After visiting Jasper Morrison’s small exhibition at Tate Modern last year, I have re-discovered the designer for myself. It is replete with his original works, from Punkt* mobile phone to December Chair. After viewing his works, it becomes very clear how one person can have an impact on the field, which he/she is working in – in Jasper Morrison’s case, it’s product design.
Besides numerous of objects that he had single-handedly developed, he also collaborated with another prominent designer, Naoto Fukasawa, on a book called ‘Super Normal.’ Evidently, Mr Morrison is not only a designer, he is also a forward thinker of the subject, which renders his works thoughtful and meaningful, which in turn, attracts customers.
Mr Morrison manages to combine ascetic and poetic qualities all at once. It is rewarding to see his products in real life. Primarily, you don’t realise and appreciate the ingenuity of them, since they seem so ‘normal’ and ‘archetypal.’ Yet, that is precisely the signature style of Jasper Morrison. He abstains from extravagance, ‘in-your-face’ kind of design; his main attributes are subtlety and cleanliness of the lines. It is evident that he aims to create products that are meant to be understood and used; there is no ‘mystical’ quality to them. Having said that, all of his works are of highest level of quality and finesse. I have never held Jasper Morrison’s products in my hands, but I can imagine that they feel rather ergonomic.
That is one of the principles of great design – objects should be suited to people, it’s users, not the other way around. Let’s take as an example the Punkt* phone. From the outset, it is rather simplistic, almost too much. But that is the precise idea. In the age of Mac products, where iPhone has become just as ubiquitous (in the developed countries), as a car is. The idea that expedited this product, in my opinion, is the radical desire to move away from distraction, social media and almost compulsory use of an iPhone. Punkt* phone ventured to move away from all that. It aimed to ‘go back to basics,’ – having specific functions that a phone should provide – call, text, alarm, and maybe a monochromatic game, inspired by Nokia’s once-beloved 1990’s ‘Snake.’ All this suggests that in the age of information and fast pace, there is a desire, particularly for business-oriented, or, put coarsely, efficient people, that wish to concentrate on other activities, rather than ‘scrolling kilometres’ on their smartphones. Despite that, the Punkt* phone is still very elegant; the shape reminiscent of first iPods.
Let’s also examine the ‘red and rubber bin.’ Under, what seems like a elementary, kitsch object, lies a delicate observation of human behaviour. Have you ever observed how some (presumably) young people, sometimes like to throw things in the bin, imagining that it’s a basketball net? They create a game out of it, the object now is transformed into something that is a fickle of imagination, yet it plays an important part of human experiences – imagination. The circle that is carved on the top surface of the bin, which acts an aim, a goal, a net, if you will; which, simultaneously, instigates a feeling of playfulness – whenever you would want to throw something in the bin, you would want to aim. The colour, scarlet red, also implies action and movement. Therefore, by observing human behaviour sometimes, a great project can be born.
It seems that all Morrison’s designs are heavily inspired by Dieter Ram’s approach towards design, and seem to be in accordance with his Ten Principles of Good Design. Especially, they are all easy to understand, are unobtrusive and seem to require as little design as possible.
As I mentioned before, Jasper Morrison, also is a thinker of design. These musings were echoed in the text provided to the exhibition, “Morrison believes that the role of the designer is not to invent form, but rather to be open to the world around him, adapting objects for new purposes, ‘through hard analysis, or, more satisfyingly, intuition and chance.’” What I referred to as ‘archetypal objects,’ Morrison calls ‘everyday objects.’ “He admires ‘the mysterious quality and naturalness, which anonymous objects, free of their author’s ego, so often have.’” Jasper Morrison was born in London in 1959, and has completed his education both in Kingston Polytechnic and Royal College of Art. From 1980s onwards, Morrison collaborated with leading furniture firms, such as Vitra and Alessi, Alias, among many others.
Alma libera 