architect: Johan Lindstén
year: 2012
What is your favourite colour? What color does your products identify with the most?
My favourite colour is one of those that it is hardest to use efficiently in the world of design and architecture, namely yellow. I think that is why it looks so good when it is in the right place, if the environment is pretty. It is impossible for me to choose one colour that distinguishes most of my products, perhaps it is the combination between different shades and colours that defines my identity.
Light, material, colour: how do the three elements dialogue in your projects?
It is essential that these three elements work together. None of them could function without the others. In my designs, each of these three elements is carefully balanced with the other two, to create a harmonious aesthetic effect.
How much does the colour count for the commercial success of yours products?
Today it is really important. The right colour could be the crucial element that makes the balance tip in your favour, that makes the difference between a sales success or failure. It is also a “popular” strategy for modernizing old products, i.e. to propose new and trendy colours and thus lengthen their lives.
What role does colour play when designing a product, and in particular for your actual “Meltdown” lamp?
At the beginning of my design processes I try not to think of any specific colour, other than white, because colour is a strong factor, that makes an important contribution which will influence the form and the structure of the product in a very personal way. When I am satisfied with the design of the product in white, then the research of the colour begins. A product may seem truly cool in one colour, or with a lively fantasy, but if this is all the product has to offer, then it is likely to become outdated very soon. For Meltdown I have begun to make the first prototypes in white and transparent glass, just to find the final form and design. My intention with regard to Meltdown has always been to have alternative colours, and together with Cappellini we have found different colour combinations which, put together, make it really beautiful.
