1 October 2011
On Wednesday 28th of September, Buymedesign attended the 2nd edition of LeSalon a great initiative hosted and organized by well-known design agency Marc & Chantal at their ultra-cozy office especially arranged for the occasion.
LeSalon is an initiative to promote Art & Design around Hong Kong and get insightful comments from professionals of the industry. It is also a unique moment where people from the industry gather around a glass of wine to mingle and chat about Art & Design all in a very relaxed setting. Thanks for that!
LeSalon this year was about a controversial topic that is ‘Individualism in Mass Production’.
Arnault Castel, founder of Ka-pok and Chi-wing Lee, design director of Milk design were invited to discuss “the relationships that individuals may have with products designed for the masses’’.
We were curious to hear from a retailer and a designer their point of view on this particular subject. We are pleased to share with you the vision and learning from both experts:
Arnault runs a retail store that is focused on showcasing young creative designers’ products from all around the world. He is very selective when it comes to the brands he sells in his store in Wanchai. As he mentioned during the conversation,
“The products we sell at Ka-pok need to have a “uniqueness” featured and a story the consumer can connect to”,
especially when the store is targeting a group of individuals seeking creative and original products to make them stand out from the crowd.
Moreover, Arnault notices the evolving and shifting preferences of consumers towards craftsmanship and flexibility of products.
“People are genuinely inquisitive about the brands we carry and they seem delighted when hearing about the brand’s story, its origins and the people behind it” Arnault stated.
On the other hand, Chi-Wing Lee acknowledges that mass production satiates the needs of consumers through efficient production of goods at lower costs.
Being a designer himself, Chi- Wing Lee’s challenge is to ‘’offer design solutions and products that fulfill the basics needs of our daily life’’. He stresses that product design needs to combine functionality, user-friendliness and ergonomics.
“Industrial modernity and mass culture gave birth to mass producers and mass consumers”. Ching- Wing Lee explains.
And as technology emerged and spread among the masses, consumers suddenly had a great exposure and access to information about a variety of products which led to frequent buying of products consumers do not even need.
“Due to perennial rising of material and labor costs in China, factories are replacing manpower by monstrous machines that can offer a massive array of products at competitive prices. Therefore, companies are wisely persuading consumers to buy more as so they can clear their stocks’’ Chi- Wing Lee revealed about the industry of mass production.
As some individuals might be comfortable belonging to the mass-market phenomenon, some others are shifting back to craftsmanship and product durability praising the efforts of their makers. In Hong Kong, where the culture is particularly brand and status conscious, Arnault Castel discussed the “lack of independent retailers in Hong Kong due to high rent in elevated traffic areas and the absence of Government actions to foster start ups, allowing them to expand and providing support on the long term run”.
Evolving consumers’ preferences and technology will shape the design industry, with hopefully more people expressing individuality and shopping for “self-expression items”. Understanding and being aware of the environmental impact of the products we consume is also crucial. Consumers need to develop a green and eco-friendly behavior towards the products they are buying.
This interview can also be found here
