Clicky

A BLOG BY THE CREATORS OF

About us

We are an internet software company based in NYC. Our product, Convos, is a professional, web-based collaboration tool that helps organizations communicate, plan and share with members.

Learn more >

Recent posts
Convos on Twitter

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter
    This area does not yet contain any content.
    Test
    « Launch Convos from your dock | Main | Public Arts in NYC »
    Monday
    21Jan2008

    Creative people will never retire

    DateMonday, January 21, 2008 at 10:23AM

    When working on a web-based product, I always find it valuable to seek guidance from some of the historically great industrial designers and architects

    One of my favorite industrial designers is Jacob Jensen. If you've ever found yourself in a Bang & Olufsen store, chances are you've seen his work in some of their classic, high-end electronics. Most of their new products are inspired by the precedence he set at B&O in the 70s and 80s. Although he has since retired, he stated in an interview with BeoWorld, "I think that creative people will never retire." His studio, Jacob Jensen Design, is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year and I always enjoy reading his perspectives on product design.

    Here's a favorite of mine:

    16JacobJensen.jpg"In my view, constructing a fountain pen, writing a poem, producing a play, or designing a locomotive, all demand the same components, the same ingredients: Perspective, creativity, new ideas, understanding, and first and foremost, the ability to rework, almost infinitely, over and over.

    That "over and over" is for me the cruelest torture. The only way I can work is to make 30 - 40 models before I find the right one. The question is, when do you find the right one? My method is, when I have reached a point where I think, okay, that's it, there it is, I put the model on a table in the living room, illuminate it, and otherwise spend the evening as usual, and go to bed.

    The next morning I go in and look at it, knowing with 100 per cent certainty, that I have 6 - 7 seconds to see and decide whether it's right or wrong. If I look at it longer, I automatically compensate. "Oh, it's not too high", and "It's not so bad".  There are only those 6 - 7 seconds; then I make some notes as to what's wrong. Finished. After breakfast, I make the changes. That's the only way I know." 

    I'm sure anyone in the process of building a product can relate.

    To learn more about Jacob Jensen and his work, stop by his site here.

    AuthorTrush | CommentPost a Comment |

    PrintView Printer Friendly Version

    Reader Comments

    There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

    PostPost a New Comment

    Enter your information below to add a new comment.

    My response is on my own website »
    Author Email (optional):
    Author URL (optional):
    Post:
     
    Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>