From Aeron to Airstream, Things That Work
9.13.06 | New York Times | I [Allison Arieff] was saddened to learn of the passing of industrial designer Bill Stumpf over the weekend. He’s best known for the ergonomic Aeron chair (which he designed with Don Chadwick) . . . . Equally significant was Stumpf’s thoughtfully articulated philosophy on the purpose and importance of design in our culture, exemplified by his collection of essays on how design shapes our lives in his book, “The Ice Palace That Melted Away.”
When lecturing or writing about design, I’ve often referred back to
a particular quote from Stumpf: “If your shoes are comfortable you’re
not aware they’re on. If the water is pure you can’t taste it.
Similarly when a chair is a perfect fit for your body, it becomes
‘invisible’ and you’re not aware of it at all.”
. . .
Stumpf opted to demystify design. In both his words and the objects
he made, he highlighted design’s potential — to do good, to be socially
responsible, to be comfortable, to have a sense of play, to be useful —
while avoiding its perils. . . . Take, for example,
Stumpf’s notion of sustainable furniture: not something crafted from
sunflower seeds or wood reclaimed from a high-school gym floor, but
simply something beautifully designed and well-constructed that you’d
enjoy for years before passing it down to your children and they to
theirs. . . .
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