Pablo Picasso maintained that “lesser artists borrow, great artists steal”. Whether or not we agree, the truth is that in design, too, immaculate conception is rarely to be found.
After all, design is a way for designers to express their personal view of the natural and man-made world around us, one that aims to meet our everyday needs while also satisfying our aesthetic ones.
Designers have both the duty and the right to draw inspiration from everything. Especially today, when sources of inspiration, the work of designers and artists, and design products are all easily accessible to everyone online, the greatest challenge for them may be to present something already familiar with a breath of originality.
From one generation to the next, we often see designers present a different take on a product, from another angle or using different materials, but always with familiar references to the shared source of inspiration. Technology provides new materials and techniques that can be put to “inspired” use, contributing to the “evolution” of the original creations.
So it is not uncommon for contemporary designers to present their own personal “version” of a subject that has already become a point of reference for others. A classic example is Marcel Breuer’s famous CESCA chair of 1928, his own take on the tubular cantilever chair, when the original version of this type of chair had been presented by Mart Stam only three years earlier.
In the world of design, there are quite a few striking examples of objects with obvious similarities, evidence of a tendency to “borrow” elements and transform them into a new design proposal. To prove the point… we have put together a small collection of furniture and light fittings by well-known designers that fall into this category.
Isamu Noguchi, Freeform sofa,1946 __________ Piero Lissoni, Bubble Rock sofa, 2005
George Nelson, Marshmallow sofa 1956 _____________ Matteo Thun, Tantisassi sofa 2005
Dali, Mae West lips, 1938 ___________________ The Studio 65 Bocca sofa, 1972
Verner Panton C1, 1959 _________________________ Pierre Paulin, Little Globe, 1960
Gaetano Pesce, Feltri chair 1987 ____________________ Inga Sempé, Moel Arm chair, 2007
Eero Aarnio, Tomato chair, 1971 ______________________ Karim Kashid, Blobulus chair, 2010
Ruth Franken, Homme chair, 1970 _______________________ Fabio Novembre, Him chair, 2008
Verner Panton, S chair, 1967 ___________________________ Joachim King, Stripe chair, 2010
Maurice Calka, Boomerang desk, 1969 ______________________ Philippe Starck, BaObab desk, 2007
Arik Levy, level bookcase, 2008 ________________ Benjamin Hubert, Foundation bookcase, 2010
Alvar_Aalto, Screen model 100, 1933 __________________ Charles Eames, Folding screen, 1946
George Nelson, Saucer lamp, 1947 _____________________ Moooi, Eurolantern lamp, 2009
Poul Henningsen, Artichoke lamp, 1958 ____________ Pavel Eekra Crimean Pinecone Lamp, 2011
Text and photo editing: Teta Kouloygeri
