Addendum - Newsletter chairs.ws n.8 August/September 2008

DESIGNING PATH OF A MASTERPIECE
by For Use / Numen



Under For Use, founded by Sven Jonke, Christoph Katzler and Nikola Radeljkovic we just realize product design. Nikola, Sven and the two graphic designers (Jelenko Herzog and Toni Uroda) studied in Croatia. Sven studied at the same time with Christoph in Vienna.

During our study we tried to make our first project which was big fun and a nice experience. Half a year later we had a meeting with Giulio Cappellini at Milano fair (it was in April 1998) and he decided to develop our project: we brought a huge prototype into the showroom in Via Statuto, and he liked our oversized, overdesigned, crazy mutant-chair. We thought we were on top of the world. Although in the end the project was never realized, we gained the necessary self-confidence.

Together with the graphic designers we run projects which include more fields than just industrial design. So we founded, like in the field of electronic music, a new label called Numen. Under Numen we design exhibitions, fair stands, interiors, public spaces, set design and so on.



Our influences are first of all Mies Van Der Rohe and the Eames, design and architecture from Bauhaus to Archigram, then art, for instance Malevic who was extremely important, Mondrian, then Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt and Rothko. In the music field, J.S.Bach, Coltrane, but also electronic music, Pole and Herbert. The works of carpenters and metal workers. We are often amused with anonymous objects that we find around as we try to be as open-minded as possible.



As a multinational team it is difficult to reflect any national characteristics, and anyway design is in general a rather global discipline. We are from Austria and Croatia and we work for Italian and German producers, in a meeting of Mediterranean and Middle European cultures mixed with all our personal influences.



Through time our cooperation became more and more intensive. We did not have any explicit aim, our push was the joy and fun to work with each other and to learn from each other (also graphic versus industrial design).

We have two studios, one in Vienna and the other in Zagreb. During our dynamic cooperation over seven years, permanent travelling between these two countries is representative for it, the borders of space and different fields started to disappear, which seems very interesting and vitalising to us.

In fact we don't consider trends while we work, but there is inevitably an unconscious media impact. In any case, due to the limitations we feel compelled to respect (for example rational use of material, function etc.), we usually end up with rather timeless pieces.

Concerning our projects we are always trying to keep our design reduced. Overdone details and overdone shapes are what you will never find in our work. Therefore the pieces always have very clear and simple shapes, which are focused to show the idea and the concept in a clear and obvious way. We try to reach a team statement, but it is in most cases a team solution, made with a lot of discussions over each end every detail. We believe that the name of the designer is irrelevant for the quality of the designed object. Our objects are just signed "for use", which is actually what they are, things to be used. Up to now, in the furniture field, mainly chairs and systems.

Since we love the field of furniture design we will definitely go on working consequently but won't keep us from exploring other fields of creative work. Our visual language could be applied very well to industrial design, but also conceiving an interesting interior for a good client is always a challenge we like to engage.

What can make our frustration rise is the bad prototype execution and lousy presentation at fairs, unfortunately this is almost inevitable due to general overproduction and the producers' tight timetables, but we are quite ready compromise, as long as the client's requests make sense. We did and will always search for subtle solutions, which intelligently merge technical, functional and formal aspects of the project, and still provide power and idiosyncrasy.

CLIENTS: Cappellini, Centro Dramatico Nacional, ClassiCon, Desalto, Interlübke, L’Abbate, Magis, MDF Italia, Moroso, Österreich (daily newspaper), Orange (mobile-phone net provider), Rado Watch, Zanotta.





Christoph Katzler, Nikola Radeljkovic, Sven Jonke
designers


Contacts:

For Use / Numen

Canisiusgasse, 13/16
A-1090 Vienna, Austria
Tel. + 43 664 2607447

Trg Bana Jelacica, 3
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel. +385 91 5001183
Tel. +385 91 5862275

www.foruse.info
foruse@foruse.info