Consumer Goods / Interior Design Trends 2010 at Ambiente: "real" design for "real" people

Interview with Claudia Herke and Annetta Palmisano from the design studio bora.herke: "Concentration and reduction to the essentials"

From 12 to 16 of February 2010, Ambiente will once again be the place to meet for the consumer goods sector the world over. High levels of international participation, innovative products and not a little design – that is how Ambiente creates the very best foundation for next season's trends. Design consultants bora.herke from Frankfurt and Berlin will again be presenting the trends for the coming season, within the framework of a display in the Galleria: the four stylistic strands, identified so as to give wholesalers and retailers some fresh and forward-looking ideas, are "genuine + sincere", "present + everlasting", "progressive + sensitive" and "crafted + original". Claudia Herke and Annetta Palmisano speak about the issues as regards trends for 2010, about how the current economic situation will impact on them and why good design has nothing to do with price.

Ms. Herke, what are the main issues for 2010 in the consumer good sector as far as overall trends are concerned?
Claudia Herke: "In 2010 we shall see an even more marked continuation of the trend that has been emerging pretty clearly over the past few years: products need above all to be credible, and to embody quality and durability. We are seeing an ever-increasing emphasis on the harmonisation of design, materials and the processes used in manufacture. Closely allied to this are the new versions of traditional design classics. This year's revival is all about handicraft skills, uniqueness with a home-made feel and an individual, improvised look. Plus, in 2010 there are strong architectural influences that can be felt, with progressive, transparent materials playing their part, along with the interplay of opposites.

Annetta Palmisano: ”There continues to be a strong desire for simplification, reduction, for things that are close to nature. There is nothing new about wood's playing a central role in this scenario. What is new, is the extreme simplicity of the look, the new sophistication and casual self-evidence of a purist, natural style. Sustainability, too, continues to be important and will remain so in the future. This feature is not a trend, it is much more of a new awareness, a measure of value and a duty towards the planet that falls to all manufacturers, buyers and consumers. No-one can shut their eyes to this issue if they are trying to look to the future."

What moods and social attitudes are hidden behind these trends?
Claudia Herke: "Modern society often lives with a surfeit; there is too much of everything. That makes products samey and the choice between them arbitrary. This then increases the desire for concentration and reduction to the essentials, as well as the desire for durable, quality products. Not least because of the uncertain economic situation in which many consumers find themselves, waste and obsolescence are no longer just accepted without question. More and more important are things like, quality, awareness of value and authenticity as well as the fact that products are hand-made."

The buzz word, durability, seems at first sight to be the antithesis of trends, standing as they do for innovation, for what is new and fashionable.
Annetta Palmisano: "The need for innovation and for what is new counterbalances the need for concentration and the desire to take time for things and to steep oneself in them. This development has intensified in recent years and is the basis for all four trend themes at the next Ambiente. Trends don't have to be here today and gone tomorrow: many things take time to develop and to establish themselves. Trends are not all over after one year, only to be replaced by something else. They go on to develop in depth and to mature. Besides, trends are not exclusively represented by new products: that is why long-selling items and classics are also a fixed element of our trend presentation."

Why have trends at all? Why is it so important for the consumer to know what is round the corner?
Claudia Herke: "First and foremost, trends are a way of helping consumers to avoid losing their way in the surfeit of information – they offer a framework for people's own personal taste. Product developers use trends to check their collections – am I on the right track? Is my collection up to date? Does it strike a nerve with the public? And, at the end of the day, they also serve to provide wholesalers and retailers with an important source of inspiration and ideas for creating their own selections, decorations and shop-window displays."

Good design comes at a price – that is what many consumers think. Are we really talking about an inevitable pairing here?
Claudia Herke: "The price of a product and its value are two quite separate things and cannot be equated – since last year we have been very much aware that more and more consumers are seeing it this way. Emotional appeal, individuality and personal relationship to the product are the aspects that really determine value. Add to that a strong current where the expression of emotion and creativity are of prime importance. Improvisation and spontaneity are key features of this informal design style. Collectables, objects with a vintage or home-made character are mixed in unconventional ways. Many designers inspire us by redefining, often with a humorous twist, every day designs, others are intensely concerned with re-designing and recycling. With creative and impulsive gestures, they embellish, renew and give a new look to the familiar.

Annetta Palmisano: “The most important way in which products acquire value is to become favourite objects. They can be products with the charm of the hand-made or a consummately honed, high-end designer item. It doesn't matter what our tastes and preferences are, it is the things that are credible and authentic and have emotional appeal that generate the abiding enthusiasm. And then it is often in the objects that we see and use every day that people find beauty.

The leading international trade fair – Ambiente
Ambiente is the leading international trade fair for tableware, kitchen products and houseware, gifts and decorative items as well as design articles and furnishing accessories. Some 4,300 exhibitors will be showing us, over a 5 day period at the beginning of the business year, what we shall be seeing in shops all around the world. Ambiente is the number 1 contact-exchange for the design scene: both new-comers and established stars of the design world meet the most interesting international niche suppliers as well as the global players of the consumer goods industry.

Ambiente
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