PHILIPPE STARCK Philippe Starck was born on January 18 1949 in Paris, France. He has become widely known since the start of his career in the 1980s for his interior product, industrial and

architectural design work. After setting up his first industrial design company, Starck Product (later known as Ubik) he began working with manufacturers in Italy such as Kartell, Alessi

and Driade.

For the past thirty years Starck has been designing luxurious hotels and restaurants all around the world. One of his recent projects is “Yoo inspired by Starck” which is a complex

of luxurious apartments all around the world. On the contrary, Starck is known for his “democratic design” concept- well designed, quality objects that are affordable to a wider

range of population.  

 

             

 

PRODUCT Physical  His  products  are  usually  things  of  everyday  use.  Not  only  he  designs  pieces  of  furniture  such  as  chairs,  lamps,  room  decoration  etc.  but  he  also  designs  kitchenware,  speakers,  headphones,  bikes  etc.  So  most  of  his  products  are  quite  practical  and  functional.  His  designs  are  minimalistic  usually  of  an  organic  shape,  slightly  curved  and  we  don’t  see  many  sharp  edges  in  his  designs.  Most  of  his  work  is  made  out  of  artificial  and  light  materials.  Starck  uses  bright  colours  as  well  as  very  simple  colour  spectre-­‐  silver,  grey,  white,  black.    Adding  bright  colours  to  his  designs  creates  a  fun  and  an  interesting  look.  All  of  his  products  are  well-­‐made  and  of  a  high  quality.  

Symbolic  Starck’s  products  might  be  influenced  by  other  cultures-­‐  Japanese  simplicity,  Italian  Futurism  and  American  Streamlining.  He  is  also  interested  in  science  fiction  and  that  might  inspire  him  to  give  his  designs  more  of  a  futuristic  look.  

User Functional  As  he  designs  many  everyday  use  products  that  are  quite  affordable  it’s  possible  to  make  the  user’s  apartment  more  interesting  in  details.  For  example,  using  his  famous  lemon  squeezer  might  not  be  the  most  efficient  but  also  functions  as  an  unusual  decoration  in  the  kitchen.  

Emotional  His  products  will  say  a  lot  about  the  user’s  identity  since  he/she  can  play  around  with  different  colour  combination,  combining  Starck’s  minimalistic  and  some  over-­‐the-­‐top  products.  Starck’s  designs  offer  the  user  to  get  creative  and  express  their  own  personality.  

Culture The  Person  Philippe  Starck  is  defining  the  style  of  his  designs  by  his  personality.  He  is  creating  products  for  different  companies  under  his  name.  

 

Target Group

Starck  is  famous  for  his  democratic  design,  which  makes  his  products  more  affordable  and  mass  produced.  The  target  group  are  open-­‐minded  individuals  around  the  age  of  35  with  more  of  a  creative  soul  and  an  extrovert  personality.  

Reflection

Philippe  Starck  is  one  of  the  most  well  known  contemporary  designers  and  his  work  is  not  only  focusing  on  being  decorative,  some  of  his  pieces  are  also  showing  a  “political  message”  and  he’s  also  concerned  with  the  environment  and  ecology.  His  works  can  be  found  in  museums  in  Europe  and  the  USA.    

DESIGNS  

Louis  Ghost  Chair  (Kartell)   Wireless  Speakers  (Zikmu)  

Gun  Table  Lamp  (Flos  Lighting)   Juicy  Salif  Citrus-­‐Squeezer  (Alessi)