ABOUT

"A Cassina product is the fruit of different competences and professionalities, from which spring results which are always original and exclusive. Products from the Cassina collection hark back to different inspirations, sometimes even contradictory. But a common feature is revealed: the courage to seek quality across different types and languages, quality that has made the Cassina product a point of reference for the international culture of design."
— excerpt from www.cassina.com

IDEAS

Presentation

• Luciano presents Cassina and brand: made its history around design
• Project vs. Product: Cassina works on projects, not products
• Cassina not only produces a project, but receives ideas from different designers for different styles of life; however, outside designers are still thinking in the mindset of “designing for Cassina”
• Awareness for the user: understand what people need in terms of value, not function; objects should communicate some sort of philosophy, emotion, and/or feeling
• Cassina believes technology is very important and each project has a representation of technology
• A person is not only “on” the sofa but “in” the sofa; it is as if one is living in that space

Main Points

• Technology plays a significant role in design as it is part of the process of production and design
• That is important to today is not making a few thousand different types of chair, but about creating a new type of feeling in the philosophy of each design – why is the Starck Sofa important? What is its comment on life?
• It is often more important to understand the history of the design rather than the history of the designer
• Often, “idea editors” are necessary between designers and the market

HERE IS WHAT WE LEARNED

The processes and beliefs behind Cassina, as an idea editor, are important to the market and design movements in general in that it is like the filter between artists and theory and marketability.

KEY QUOTES

That is Cassina [clip 1]

What is Cassina? Cassina is someone who is capable of understand what people need to know today, in terms of value no in terms of new seating place, chair new table, but what is important to have today, and it’s important for me, for example, today is have some product or some objects that talking about some philosophy, emotions, feelings. That is Cassina.

Technology Setting Time Apart [clip 1]

I think what can be different between yesterday and tomorrow can be different technologies. If we develop technologies very new and certain, very novelty, we can put difference between yesterday and today. For example, in the 60’s was the something for foam, that technology changed a lot the years around the project because it gives us new opportunity to develop different shapes, different choices, different sections, and weight, light, it’s more complicated, more easy, very strong.

Working with Designers [clip 1]

Cassina is very different than the other company because we work with the philosopher, not with the project, at last the designer all designers are friends. How or why you choose the designers--because our good friends. ‘Ahh I have idea I talk to you, do you like it? Why not, okay we can try,’ and that is standard of work. Of course, sometimes I come out of the house to talk to find a feeling before everything, to talk in the same language in the same direction because if we don’t have feeling it’s very impossible to develop some of the ideas. It’s not you are a good designer you make for me 10 pictures and then can develop 5 of this one. No, no.

Idea is Important [clip 1]

The difference for me for a good designer, is a good designer talk about not technology, not materials, not dimensions, not fabrics, not foam, because each one you cannot find it in different complex. What is different from designers is the idea. Never I talk about in this case with foam with different density. No, not important for me... I think that for you [Mr. Russell Taylor] the best is developing the good ideas, but I think about not strange idea but good ideas. What is good idea? What is true, is necessity to do. It is not important, new. Why new, what is new, new is different? New is … what?