“I’m always the best when I don’t know something about a certain area,” says Dutch designer Hella Jongerius. “I’m very open to the new, but I must say that I need a player that is willing to take the extra step and is open to do something radically different.”
Jongerius’ collaboration with Dutch airline KLM exemplifies this. With no prior experience in aviation, she created a new cabin interior for the Boeing 747-700 fleet's World Business Class cabins.
Jongerius was initially commissioned to design the textiles and carpets, but she couldn’t resist throwing herself entirely into the project and developing an extensive vision for the entire cabin interior, forging new ground in design in the aviation industry.
“I received a master class in aviation from KLM and they received a master class in design from me,” Jongerius says.
Jongerius believes that colour and material selection are some of the elements that form the backbone of good product design. “I am not designing object’s, I am designing the relationship between an object and a human being,” she says.
When does an object communicate to somebody? asks Jongerius.
The Dutch product designer says this question is her guiding principle when designing products for companies and for people. Jongerius believes that the “newness” of a product isn’t what communicates to a consumer. She believes products that espouse good design and production principles communicate most effectively to the consumer
Watch the Talk with Hella Jongerius
