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Karim Rashid has been one of the most visible figures of the International Design Forum on the first day. And that’s not only because of his pink pants, cool boots and weird glasses. He was the most outspoken at the opening session and he had the floor all to himself in the evening to deliver a long rant, accompanied by a slideshow of his work, about his vision of anti-nostalgic design, technology and the virtual world.
I shot almost his entire show using my phone, but somehow the file was lost when the phone rang in the middle of shooting!

But here is a little clip I managed to shoot after losing the first file

Karim’s anti-historical technologically driven vision provoked a number of people in the audience. This was evident in the questions asked after the presentation: what about cultural identity and what about practicality. On practicality Karim shot back that manufacturability and cost considerations are a major factors in his work. He emphasized that manufacturing processes today have become so good, so precise and so affordable that it baffles him why some designers (and most people) still try to live in some “past”.

On the issue of cultural identity, Karim acknowledged the need for the search of some deeper cultural codes. But at the same time, every designer, in his view, should be even more concerned with the “palatability” of the design language to a global market.

If Karim is staying in the same hotel I’m staying in, I actually feeling sorry for him. He’s probably being tormented by all the excessive historicist ornamentation that simply cannot leave you alone in this hotel!

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2 responses to “Karim Rashid and the immateriality of consumption”

  1. manal y Avatar
    manal y

    i love everything about this designer, but not his pants, damn they are too tight hehehe

    i hope u had more to share, and thanks

  2. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    If only someone could comment about the rude and ignorance of Karim Rashid upon him connecting culture in design to an example of an Israeli using the Falafel dish as HIS cultural plate…