Importance of functionality and longevity in design of everyday products

This talk by Olavi Lindén is part of the Design Interrupted talk series organized by the Department of Design, Aalto University

In his talk, Olavi Lindén will reflect on how, in a world with limited resources, it becomes more and more irresponsible to develop and produce products for profit only. The present and future is a challenge for design, but also an opportunity to concentrate meaningful efforts on the essential needs of people and the society.

About the talk:

In a world with limited resources, it becomes more and more irresponsible to develop and produce products for profit only. A new product must perform better and use less resources to produce to be justified. In the global supply chains of today, production, R&D, and design tend not to be co-located. This presents challenges that require thorough audits of manufacturers and strong quality control systems. Outsourcing of production is common, but it is not always taken into account that the skill to develop and design production systems tends to be at the production sites, meaning that this strategic skill is often lost. Individual companies, even whole countries or continents, have lost or are at risk of no longer having this know-how. Evaluation of ethical treatment of the workforce, including the whole supply chain and the environment, is also becoming mandatory in parts of the world. Overall, the challenges businesses face today mean old truths can and should be revisited.

The present and future is a challenge for design, but also an opportunity to concentrate meaningful efforts on the essential needs of people and society. One can hope that wider insight into future raw material and ecological limitations will ultimately change the culture in favor of sustainable systems.

We should develop products aiming for them to be copied. Despite patents and other means of protection, good products will always be copied. Good product concepts live a lot longer than the about twenty years patents cover before they expire. In a sense, this also benefits humanity, as any company is free to use the concept and improve upon it. An example of an excellent product, which is virtually unaltered after 150 years of its design, is the Stanley plane. It has been saved from restyling, and you can still buy a spare blade fitting your generations-old Stanley plane. The more we as designers can develop products that last and don’t go obsolete in vain, the more we can contribute to a sustainable world.

About the speaker:

Olavi Lindén is a designer and engineer who was active as the Head Designer at Fiskars for decades. He has designed a significant amount of tools that are still in production and use. Being an innovative and down-to-earth designer, he believes that the simplest solution is always the best. Lindén underscores that the three most important things in product design are functionality, production cost as well as quality. With a strong focus on sustainability, Lindén stresses that a tool, when in normal use, should last for at least one generation and that timelessness in design is key. A believer in playfulness and freedom, he values the possibility to take risks and try new things while also basing new innovations on historical technical knowledge. He has found great advantage in working in an environment where product development is close to manufacturing and production technology and where teams cooperate to find the best solutions. Designers have a responsibility when it comes to the brand, he feels; any new product needs to enhance or support the brand, never weaken it. And in the end, feedback from satisfied customers makes it all worthwhile.

Even after retirement, Lindén continues to develop and design on a daily basis. In addition to creating a significant and much-loved portfolio of tools for the kitchen and garden, he has designed and built both traditional and new, ground-breaking musical string instruments and human-powered vehicles.

Olavi Lindén was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University in 2013 and has received multiple awards,including the Pro Finnish Design Award (1997), State Prize for Design (2002), TKO Designer of the Year (2005), Kaj Franck Design Prize (2006) and Asko Avonius Award (2022), as well as developed numerous international patents.

Host:

Simo Puintila is an industrial designer and lecturer specializing in industrial design, with a strong focus on product design, aesthetics, and materiality. He is deeply interested in the relationship between products, spaces, and architecture, exploring how design can create meaningful and visually cohesive environments. Beyond form and function, Simo is passionate about addressing broader global issues such as ecology, the balance between nature and urban development, and the future of transportation. His work and teaching emphasize the role of design in shaping sustainable, thoughtful, and human-centered solutions. Drawing from both academic and practical experience, he encourages students to approach design holistically, considering its impact on both individuals and the planet. Constantly exploring new materials and innovative approaches, He seeks to push the boundaries of design, ensuring it remains relevant in an ever-changing world.

Panelists:

announced later

About the talk series:

www.aalto.fi/en/design-interrupted

Today, the study and practice of design are in great flux. We are amidst the biggest socio-economic transformation since the 1750s, experiencing the fifth Industrial Revolution. There is a growing pressure to transition economies driven by extractive, wasteful and polluting logics towards systems designed to fit the planetary limits. Such transformation requires the design of new types of products and services, as well as new systems and approaches to large-scale changes.

At the same time, design as a practice area is also changing. It is shifting away from a more rigidly defined practice of professionally trained designers creating graphics, objects and spaces towards a practice that is loosely defined, fuzzy and seemingly omnipresent. Many have been calling for democratizing design and recognizing the efforts of non-professional designers. Design thinking, methods and practices have entered many contexts, including governance, jurisprudence, sciences and activism. The design community has been grappling with the ever-expanding definitions of what design is and who a designer is.

This talk series invites design professionals, students, academics and anyone interested in these challenges to a series of conversations. Each event features a scene-setting lecture by a leading practitioner and thinker followed by open discussion. Three themes give focus to the series: digital, societal and material transformations. What is design’s role in these transformations? How do we generate new know-how to support the needed transitions, and what examples already exist that we can learn from? What stands in the way of progress towards equitable, diverse, and sustainable lives, and what is the role of design in removing such blockages? What are design and designers in this new context?

Department of Design at Aalto University invites you to join our conversations to explore what design is, can and should be in the 21st Century.

Host or Publisher Design Interrupted