Things I'd Like to Design

In interviews, I am often asked what I would like to design next:  a strange inquiry, considering that we designers are rarely given a choice in these matters.

Last evening, I was re-reading old texts by Alessandro Mendini, a visionary Italian master and my one-time mentor, who himself often marveled at design’s limits and possibilities. In homage to Mendini, I have compiled my own partial list of things I’d like to design, if I had a chance. Here it is:

Tools, cast in bronze, for cultural work

Trays and cabinets where to put those tools

Objects to relieve spiritual pain

Objects to provoke thought

Objects glimpsed in a dream

Hilarious objects

Timeless objects

Sub-objects

Objects my parents could understand

Objects that carry message

Objects that hold memories

Objects that keep a secret

Buried objects

Unconscious objects

Objects to throw into the sea

Objects to leave on top of the mountain

Things to keep in the attic

Briefcase for the ultimate journey