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Five questions to Jeffery Bernett
Jeffery Bernett was 30 before he pursued a career in design yet in just 15 years he has become a leading figure in the industry, designing one of the most iconic chairs seen in homes and offices today – the Tulip. Counting dozens of international companies among his clients, including Virgin, YSL and Qantas as well as footballer David Beckham, Bernett was in Dubai recently to attend The Office Exhibition as part of his contract as consultant designer for B&B Italia. Emirates Business caught up with him to find out about his design philosophy.
What are your main design principles? Design is a three-way wheel (cost and quality, function, aesthetics) and it's easy to get two out of three but aesthetics is the most illusive component because saying why you like something triggers emotions. People are very good at designing functional things but producing items that are trendy and still value for money is the hardest part.
Are home and office designs getting closer? The lines are definitely being blurred. When I did the original Tulip Chair, it was a club chair for the house. I wanted to evoke emotions but make it contemporary too. Its design has now evolved to become a desk or dining chair and I'm pleased with that because it shows how it can work just as well in the office as in the home. Offices are becoming more of an extension of the home; desks are becoming smaller and walls are coming down. It's a 50:50 split between working at a station and meetings so when people need to get together, communal areas are starting to become very popular.
How is the credit crunch affecting the design world? I would say that things have grown very, very quickly. Part of the credit crunch is healthy and the reality is that people with good business sense always make wise decisions. Design is a long-term business and those involved are planning for that so it's important everyone has realistic expectations for the long term.
Do people change their tastes in furniture as much as they do in fashion? I hope our ideas continue to be valid for a long time to come because it costs a lot of money to furnish a home. The dot com era heralded a fast turnover but we try to design things that resonate for a long time and I wouldn't feel good if they didn't last.
What are you favourite pieces? I've done a lot of very successful seating; the Tulip Chair and Words Chair account for 75 per cent of turn over and grow more than 20 per cent a year. But I like what we are working on at present as I like challenges. I make decisions based on constraints but the great thing about B&B Italia is that I never have to compromise.
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