C.H. That’s an interesting perspective, especially as workspaces continue to evolve. Today, 44% of people globally work remotely either full-time or part-time, compared to just 15% in 2019. COVID accelerated that shift, but it also raised some key challenges.
Collaboration is one of them. It’s hard to be creative in isolation. At the same time, this shift impacts product design. During 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen, we ran an interactive session where people shared their vision for the future of work chairs. The biggest themes that emerged were longevity and modularity.
Savo Spine captures modularity beautifully, but before we get into the product itself, how do you approach product design in today’s changing workspace?
J.L. We don’t know what’s going to happen – but from the outset, we acknowledged that uncertainty. Instead of designing for a fixed future, we focused on adaptability – not just by creating a flexible product, but by developing a platform.
This concept isn’t new in the furniture industry – the car industry has been doing it for decades. But it makes sense for certain types of products.
Industrialisation plays a key role. We’ve never had access to such advanced technology and production methods, and as industrial designers, our responsibility is to use these resources to create high-quality, efficient products that meet real needs.
At the same time, we’ve never had so many people on the planet, all with different needs, preferences, and expectations. Platforms help by allowing for customisation, updates, and repairs – so instead of discarding a product when something small needs to change, you can update or replace specific parts. Too many products today are designed to be disposable, but they don’t have to be.