From Graduation Work to the Creation of Everyone’s Own Chair

The Story of Breaking Apart, Shaking Up and Tweaking

With his 2004 graduation work, Spotlight the Music and Touch the Light, Lee Suk-woo became the first Korean university student to win a Gold Medal at the US IDEA Awards. Since then, he has founded a design studio, created the furniture brand Matter & Matter, and presented a number of exhibitions while working on client projects. He even put together an exhibition whereby each member of SWNA showcased their own unique chair design.

Moreover, this is not Lee’s first publication. Some people may be puzzled by the idea of a collection of works by an industrial designer, since it is commonly perceived that industrial or product designs are the results of merely adhering to clients’ commissions and requests. However, Lee believes that “designers must tell their own stories.” In other words, he respects each individual’s creativity rather than resorting to passivity for the sake of productivity. This is further highlighted in his statement “Creativity is the foundation of industrial design.”

As far as Lee Suk-woo is concerned, creativity is the ability to discern and then visualize contexts. He does so by combining “the storehouse of images” in his mind that he has tenaciously filled up by observing as many things as possible with information in reality. Therefore, creativity is not a God-given talent but a realm that can be reached by human effort. Even when an idea suddenly strikes like a flash of lightning, such an insight arises from “the process of persistently seizing upon possibilities, asking endless questions, and constantly exploring things that are fun.” It is the result of ceaselessly observing daily life and contemplating. The phrase “Breaking Apart, Shaking Up and Tweaking” brilliantly sums up the way SWNA puts those thoughts into action for the purposing of embodying creativity in industrial design. Why is this object shaped like this? What is its original use? Can it offer a different experience? With such questions, the members of SWNA look at familiar things with fresh eyes, undergo trial and error, and thus dismantle fundamental values. Through this, they aim to seek prototypes as well as intersection between the essence of the object and their own stories.

In order to create a book, there must be enough stories to weave together, not to mention an arduous yet inevitable process to share with readers. Showing not only flawless outcomes but also inadequate or insufficient unfinished products offers an opportunity to hear the stories that the designer has amassed over the years. It reminds us once again that SWNA values the process—that involves working with other people and using their hands and heads—as much as the result itself. This is in line with the studio’s previous practices with a focus on individual creativity. For the same reason, they display mock-ups and prototypes (easily produced and discarded during the design process) alongside finished products at exhibitions, and create a brand or a platform that unveils the designer’s individual identity. In addition to Inspiration for Everyday Life, SWNA, the exhibition and workshop platform “Liberal Office”, launched around the same time as the publication of this book, is another excellent example. Their stories illustrate what process inspiration from everyday life goes through to turn into an object, and how that object re-enters everyday life to give inspiration.

Those who have met Lee Suk-woo in person often describe him as “a steadfast person”. In fact, his writings and words conveyed through this book are reminiscent of a designer immersed in thought. Lee continues to ask some fundamental questions in order to create meaningful designs that contribute to making the world a better place, which is SWNA’s philosophy. At the same time, he strives to reach the closest point to the prototype of the object.