"Modern has to be a mindset, not an aesthetic" say designers at Design Within Reach talk

Promotion: a panel of experts discussed the qualities of enduring design at a talk hosted by US brand Design Within Reach and Dezeen at Chicago Fulton Market.

Hosted by Dezeen contributing editor Dan Howarth, the talk titled What makes modern timeless? brought together British industrial designer Matthew Hilton, Design Within Reach (DWR) brand creative director Omar Nobil and Mobile Makers founder Maya Bird-Murphy to discuss the values of long-lasting design.

The talk coincided with an exhibition showcasing DWR's designs with Case Furniture from the past 20 years, including the Matthew Hilton-designed Kelston Sofa, in addition to the designer's newly launched Danbury Dining Table and Galera Bed.

"This exhibition is very much about enduring design, and we're conscious of not saying timeless," said Nobil. "It's okay for things to exist within a period of time. I love that you can see a Pierre Paulin product and have a sense of when it was designed – it's still relevant today, because it still has a use and a function."

"The goal is enduring, not timeless," he added.

Long-term collaborator of DWR, Hilton agreed that the best designs are rooted in their time.

"The classics of design are not timeless," he said. "It's just that we still love them. They're of their time completely and of a person – they are filled with a personal view of whatever was happening in the world. I don't see how timeless can exist."

Howarth kicked off the discussion by asking each of the panellists to select a lasting piece of design from the 20th century.

Hilton selected a coffee pot for Alessi designed by Richard Sapper, while Nobil picked Levi's 501 jeans and Bird-Murphy selected Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio.

With each panellist selecting a modern piece of design, the conversation moved to the definition of modern design and how that is evolving.

"Defining what modern means for our brand has been a big part of the early, torturous part of my journey with taking this role on," said Nobil. "We're on a real shift in our trajectory as a brand, working with people like Matthew, working with a whole host of really interesting, independent design studios."

"Globally defining modern with a lowercase m has been a really big part of how we've defined the DWR studio," he continued.

Nobil explained that at DWR, they are trying to build on the ethos of the mid-century modern designers who are a key part of the brand's history.

"For us, modern has to really be a mindset," he said. "It's not an aesthetic. What we've taken from those mid-century modern designers that are really central to our story as a brand is the spirit of modernity, and that mindset of really confronting the challenges of our time and meeting them with a sense of optimism."

Building on this, Bird-Murphy explained that she believes the key to lasting design is relevance.

"I think that optimism is really important, but I think it's also about relevancy," said Bird-Murphy. "And to me, if you're talking about an object that you've had for many, many years, that object is still relevant to you."

"I think that if design is relevant, then it's working for the people of that time, and it might even be flexible to evolve over time," she continued.

Bird-Murphy explained that aesthetics are important, but are often not the most essential part of design.

"We shouldn't make for the sake of making," she said. "Beauty is incredibly important, and for folks in communities, especially like in Chicago on the south and west sides, having beautiful furniture and spaces is incredibly important."

"But I think there are some ground-level issues first that need to be addressed, and then hopefully, we all can be sitting in rooms like this and having that equal access to just gorgeous pieces."

Nobil agreed that creating products that solve problems is the key to longevity, rather than chasing trends.

"We start with a problem to solve, a human need to address, as opposed to designing into a product category – like looking at your assortment and what are we missing?" he said. "Designing into a trend, that's really where the danger lies."

The talk wrapped up with the panellists picking an item from the past 25 years that they believe will demonstrate lasting design.

"There's something that's changed my life enormously, which is – and I'm sorry it's a bit of a cliche, but it's not the phone, but the iPad," said Hilton.

"It's just completely crazy – it allows me to work absolutely anywhere, and that, for me, has changed my life really quite significantly. I don't care what it looks like, I care how it works."

Nobil agreed that it was "super hard to predict", but also chose an Apple product.

"I mean, I hate to give Apple so much credit, and this is not sponsored by Apple, but the iPod, to me, was a small window of a golden age of walking around with music," he added. "I'm sad that the circular dial went, as I think it is just an incredible piece of design."

Bird-Murphy concluded by highlighting not an individual product, but a mindset.

"There's a huge shift happening in the design industry right now, and I think that all of us are going to feel it, whether it's climate change, AI or whatever," she said. "I hope that we as designers really understand our power."

To learn more about Design Within Reach, visit the brand's website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Design Within Reach as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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