ADN DESIGN in the Proyecta 56 Magazine
14 January 2015
"Design is not problem solving", the surprising and provocative article written by Carlos Alonso Pascual and published in the Proyecta 56 spanish magazine, has been one of the most visited entries in 2014. The 5 most read articles are:
1. Pratt: The shape of things, by Nacho Urbina Polo
2. Design is not problem solving, by Carlos Alonso Pascual
3. New airs in the Kitchen, by Josep Puig
4. Any recognition begins with an ovation, by Gravina
5. Industrial Design in London. Interview with Roger Arquer, Claudio Ripol and Óscar Díaz
Labels: Opinion, Publications
Design is not problem solving
10 October 2014
Projecta 56 is a digital magazine aimed at promoting reflection, discussion and learning of Industrial Design and intended to disseminate their significant contribution to economic, social and cultural development of enterprises and the whole society. The publication, that last October 9th marked one year of life, is a sparkling point of encounter and exchange of ideas and experiences between professional industrial designers, teachers and students. To celebrate its first birthday, the magazine has published a special issue on paper to make their content available to bookstores, university libraries, associations, and most importantly, in our hands! Because, as stated from the editorial team, «we want the publication to become a traveling companion, and something to show to friends, colleagues and family.»
Along with other leading professionals, Carlos Alonso Pascual has contributed to the expansion of this exciting initiative with an article with a surprising and provocative title:
Design is not problem solving
Abstract
Charles and Ray Eames, a renowned and influential couple of designers who created some of the most iconic products of the last century, used to say that «we are not artists, we solve problems.» This powerful statement has guided the development of design as a creative activity for decades. «Design is not to invent, but to solve» recalled recently communicologist Norberto Chaves.
However, other highly reputable voices are questioning this monolithic conception to direct their attention to the design as an exploratory activity of new possibilities. A process oriented to the creation of cultural proposals capable of transforming reality rather than finding solutions.
In an ambiguous and changing world, deeply influenced by uncertainty and crisis, identify and solve problems no longer helps us. The new creative player in the twenty-first century must be transformed from a mere problem solver to a visionary researcher, an explorer of new opportunities. Mr. Wolf of Pulp Fiction –the famous film by Quentin Tarantino– finally become a new Doctor Livingstone, an explorer open to discover the creative springs and the possibilities hidden in the confines of the problems.
You can read the full article in Spanish in PROYECTA56
Download Diseñar NO es resolver problemas
Labels: Opinion, Publications
Imaginaction: Beyond Problem Solving | Video
15 July 2013
Carlos Alonso Pascual Barcelona Design Thinking Week 2013 ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering
Imaginaction: Beyond Problem Solving
10 July 2013
In this ambiguous and changing world, profoundly influenced by the crisis and uncertainty, solving problems no longer is of any help for us. Entrepreneurs, companies, and organizations must stop focusing their attention only in solving definite problems and start adventuring a much more complex, interconnected, and rich territory that integrates research, knowledge, and creative exploration into a new synthesis: Imaginaction.
The new creative actor of the 21st century is no longer a simple troubleshooter, but an explorer of opportunities. Mr. Wolf, from the well-known Tarantino’s movie is a new Dr. Livingstone, an explorer open to the discovery of the creative springs and the possibilities hidden in the boundaries of the problems. This can be the inflection point of the design activity in the future and one of the springs for building radically innovative and competitive organizations.
How should we manage the complex problems that we have to face in order to avoid that they distort our perception of reality? In which way can we use crisis and chaos as a creative launch pad towards a more caring, responsible, and sustainable future? Which attitudes and which conceptual tools do we need to develop for exploring and recognising the opportunities hidden in the complex current situation? How can we turn this opportunities into radical innovative proposals? These issues will strongly influence in the evolution of design and creativity during the next years.
Carlos Alonso Pascual Barcelona Design Thinking Week 2013 ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering
This Is Industrial Design
06 May 2013
During the past April 25 and 26, the Andalusian city of Malaga has hosted the First National Congress This is Industrial Design in La Térmica cultural center. The initiative, organized by the Industrial Designers Association DIZ Málaga and supported by La Térmica and the Fundación General Universidad de Málaga, has been an interesting meeting point for professionals, academics and industrial design students who were able to discuss and exchange experiences through of a series of workshops, panel discussions and seminars.
Among the conference speakers were well-known top designers as well as emerging figures in the design scene. José Manuel Mateo, Gerard Moline, Carlos Alonso Pascual, Granada Barrero and Pablo Rohrssen offered his vision and experience of reality and future challenges of design in Spain and discussed the most appropriate strategy to promote, enhance and boost design culture. Creativity, innovation, competitiveness, engineering, reuse, sustainability, differentiation, solutions, biomimetics, functionality and optimization are among the concepts that have been discussed passionately on This is Industrial Design.
In a paper entitled Biomimetics & Design, Carlos Alonso Pascual offered his view on design as a problem solver activity and, what is more significant in this situation deeply conditioned by uncertainty and crisis, design as exploring new possibilities. In both activities, the study of nature is a very powerful engine for creativity and innovation, establishing connections, suggesting new solutions to human problems and fleshing transformative visions of reality.
From the chariots of Hephaestus "inspired by the bones of dead birds" that Homer describes in the Iliad, to the latest creations of the most renowned designers, Nature has been able to provide a framework for creativity and innovation extremely powerful. However, in the complex landscape currently configured, biomimetics must overcome to find solutions to specific problems to take nature not as a repertoire, but as a general framework for reflection and inspiration. As Carlos Alonso mentioned in an earlier interview:
Biomimetic research and Design research must evolve from simple emulation of living organisms into a more dynamic framework inspired by natural processes. They also must stop focusing on the solution of specific problems to venture into a much more complex, rich and interconnected territory: the exploration of possibilities.
Casa International features ADN DESIGN
10 April 2013
Casa International is a design magazine based in Beijing. Established in 2003, this bilingual publication’s features include architecture, interior design, product design and furniture. Casa has an established history of profiling the very best, most established architects and designers from around the world. In addition to this, Casa International is also focused on profiling the best emerging talents in the field of design from various countries. Casa’s readers extend throughout mainland China and includes several design bodies and educational institutions. Casa International provides an ideal platform for international architects and designers to profile and feature their newest and most creative projects to the Chinese reader.
Its last issue, dedicated to Spanish Design, reports prominently the most recent projects of ADN DESIGN along with an interesting interview that covers some of the most significant aspects of our work. The emotional values, the balance between function and seduction, observation, dialogue and empathy and attention to detail are among the interesting topics covered in this conversation that explores our concept of design and our work philosophy.
The attention to details and the search for a perfect balance between seduction and function on any product, no matter if high-end or basic, belongs to our DNA and differentiate us from many other design studios. Our passion for design, which has not diminished with the years of practice, fueled by endless reflections on design, is another element of our identity: passion and experience as design drivers. The easy-going spirit, open to dialog and transparency, the capacity for empathy, first launched by the founders, then adopted as a modus vivendi by our team, would certainly be another factor.
Download Casa International nº106
Labels: Opinion, Publications
ADN DESIGN: Design that seduces and thrills in Asia
17 January 2013
The portal Interiors from Spain, an initiative of ICEX Spain Trade and Investment, a government agency aimed at promoting design from Spain, just published a review of ADN DESIGN including an interesting interview on our experience in Asia:
Interiors From Spain: How has ADN DESIGN evolved since it was founded in 1990?
ADN Design: Throughout our company’s history we’ve had to overcome several challenges. The Berlin Wall fell only a few months before ADN Design was founded. This led to several important changes that radically transformed our understanding of the world. In 2002, we initiated a very enriching process of close collaboration with Chinese companies, which has given us a profound understanding of its business culture and technological and manufacturing methods.
IFS: What’s the current state of design in China?
ADN Design: China is now the world’s most important manufacturer of goods, and however the world’s economy evolves in the next few years, the importance of the country’s design sector will become increasingly crucial. Design education has developed spectacularly there, too: various universities in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai have seen their design courses become among the most renowned and prestigious ones in the world in a very short space of time. And Asia’s leading companies are making an intelligent, intensive use of their ability to research and of their creative resources.
In this interesting arena, our collaboration with Chinese companies has increased our capacity to adapt to highly dynamic, competitive environments far from Europe, and at a growth rate that requires that we be hugely flexible as we adapt to all the changes that occur on a daily basis...
You can read the complete interview on Interiors From Spain
Labels: Opinion, Publications
BAI interviews ADN DESIGN
08 September 2010
BAI Bizkaia Innovation Agency has conducted an interview with Carlos San Jose, Brigitte Sauvage and Carlos Alonso Pascual, founding partners of ADN DESIGN:
In 2010 this design consultancy, located in Bilbao, celebrates its 20th anniversary. Therefore we took the opportunity to review with its founders a path with which many of you have crossed in your daily life. Not only because the ADN DESIGN credit is the creation of over 300 everyday products, but also because of their participation in initiatives seeking to improve the knowledge of design.
Read the full interview in BAI Innovation Agency (Spanish or Euskara only)
Labels: Opinion, Publications
Evolution
28 May 2009
Carlos Alonso led off the interesting discussion in the Innobasque group, the Basque Innovation Agency, in LinkedIn:
You can follow this fascinating discussion in LinkedIn (you have to register).Is the theory of biological evolution an appropriate model for apply to the evolution of companies and organisations?
This year marks the celebration of the second centenary of the birth of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, as well as the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of his most famous work – The Origin of the Species. Many events, publications, exhibits and conferences are taking place around the world, shining a new light on this knowledge of the development and diversification of life on Earth and of the role played by humanity in nature.
A number of business analysts and consultants have used the occasion to highlight the interesting parallels and divergences between biological evolution and the evolution of companies and organisations. They tend to put special emphasis on the mechanisms and effects of innovation in the world of nature as well as business.
In his famous work The Selfish Gene (1976), the ethologist and evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins coined the term "meme" (analogous to gene) in order to describe how the principles of genetic evolution could also explain the spreading of ideas and cultural phenomena.
The most famous application of this to the business world comes from the consultant Geoffrey Moore, of TCG Advisors. In his book Dealing with Darwin: How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution (2005) he writes: "Evolution requires us to continually refresh our competitive advantage, sometimes in dribs and drabs, sometimes in major cataclysms, but always with some part of our business portfolio at risk and in play. To innovate forever, in other words, is not an aspiration; it is a design specification. It is not a strategy; it is a requirement."
What lessons can be learned from the theory of biological evolution and applied to our companies and organisations? Does the evolution of a company follow a specific direction, or is it a blind mechanism for adapting to the environment? What role is played by fate and necessity in the evolution of organisations?
Labels: Opinion, Publications
