CHRISTOPH KÜMMEL
Mr Reeg, der schwarm offers external product development for the furniture business. What is new about that?
LUTZ REEG
Its simplicity.
CHRISTOPH KÜMMEL
This is a very simple answer. Can this do judgement to what you are doing?
LUTZ REEG
Please do not get me wrong: “simplicity” has nothing to do with “being simple”.
Actually, we are, unfortunately, surrounded by simple, trivial and random things. Speaking of furniture this means you are confronted with it almost on a daily basis: an advertisement in your newspaper or an advertising poster in the street. Mostly, these are meaningless and not our thing.
True simplicity does not have anything to do with that. Think about furniture classics. They often are simple: formally reduced and intelligently designed. Which is one of the reasons why these pieces are still well-sold today.
CHRISTOPH KÜMMEL
How do you explain to your clients that you give simplicity such a high priority? Is that all?
LUTZ REEG
You see, our clients are specialists. They know about product development being a complex and difficult matter. They have to accommodate numerous interests and combine diverse points of view.
A committed designer can be guided by inspiration, outward requirements and instinctive feel. Whereas a technician or a business administration engineer handle hard facts. It is common knowledge that this may lead to complications. Because every department wants to defend their proper and untouchable competence.
All that tends to be quite difficult at the beginning. However, we help to make it easy.
CHRISTOPH KÜMMEL
I.e. you are looking for the smallest common denominator?
LUTZ REEG
No, not at all. We do not want to break down the important contents – no false compromises. This would inevitably lead to the loss of exactly this type of quality which is to render the project successful.