Deyan Sudjic and the parodic Puup

Deyan Sudjic, a writer on design who has just been awarded an RSA medal for promotion of design - and was also one of the contributors to Touching the State - has a think piece on design in yesterday's Observer, which is a version of his RSA talk.

In How Ikea sold us a Puup - referring to Ikea's parodic Van Den Puup advertising campaign - Sudjic argues that the design debate should move away from style versus substance issues: "we need both".

Sudjic discusses Dieter Rams, who "has devoted himself to designing perfect objects that could defeat fashion", but found himself designing objects, such as a calculator and a record player, where the entire category of objects became redundant. He argues that attempts to put design beyond fashion are just as doomed in terms of life expectancy as Starck's or Van Den Puup's creations.

I'd argue that what's doomed is any attempt at being precious, whether with regard to style or substance. Design serves many purposes: entertainment or pleasure, safety, ease of use. But in the end, society moves on, and new products and services are required. Just as well, or we'd all be out of a job.