Modern Furniture Design with Yves Béhar
A groundbreaking designer, Yves Behar is as famous for his furniture and accessories as for his commitment to sustainability. But the Swiss-born entrepreneur discovered his design philosophy during childhood and from an unlikely source – the Turkish rugs around his house.
Who is Yves Behar?
Yves Béhar is a renowned Swiss industrial designer and entrepreneur. He was born on May 7, 1967, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Yves Béhar is the founder and principal designer of the design and innovation firm Fuseproject, which is based in San Francisco.
Béhar is known for his innovative and human-centered approach to design, blending aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability. He has worked on a wide range of projects, including consumer products, furniture, technology, and sustainability initiatives.
Some of his most notable works include designing the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) computer, the August Smart Lock, the Sayl chair for Herman Miller, and the Jawbone UP fitness tracker, among many others.
Yves Béhar’s contributions to the field of design have been recognized with numerous awards and honors, and he is considered one of the leading designers of his generation.
Yves Behar designs influenced by Turkish Rugs
“Being a child, and sort of crawling around the house, I remember these Turkish carpets,” Béhar said during a TED talks appearance. “There were these scenes, these battle scenes, these love scenes. I mean, look, this animal is trying to fight back this spear from this soldier. And my mom took these pictures actually, last week, of our carpets, and I remember this to this day.”
The intricate details and storybook patterns so characteristic of antique rugs left a lasting impression on the future designer. So much so that his career was shaped by the art of storytelling.
“What I remember today from this is that objects tell stories, so storytelling has been a really strong influence in my work,” he said.
With a portfolio that features lamps, furniture, and stunningly styled electronics, Béhar has been able to reinvent the aesthetic of antiques into modern designs.
Take Béhar’s C Collection chairs for HBF. Created as office chairs that are both recognizable and stylish, he illustrates how work styles are moving to casual collaborations mixed with new technological tools.
Other pieces, like the Fly Bench, play even more on our sense of familiarity. Created with oak and stainless steel, it is a timeless design that is contemporary and expressive.
Eco-friendly messages are also part of Béhar’s design philosophy. By creating products that tell stories, he creates an added value for customers. The LED Leaf Lamp for Herman Miller is a great example of this. It’s structurally expressive, and works as a power saving, long-lasting LED light without screaming ‘green design.’
By bridging storytelling power with a talent for creating stunning work, Béhar has illustrated one thing more. That through design, one can raise awareness for issues that transcend products.
“I think it’s the values that we put into these projects that ultimately create the greater value,” Béhar said in his TED Talk. “And the values we bring can be about environmental issues, about sustainability, about lower power consumption. You know, they can be about function and beauty; they can be about business strategy. But designers are really the glue that brings these things together.”
Watch Yves Behar’s TED Talk here, and let us know what you think in the comments below!
This design blog about Furniture Furniture Designed By Yves Behar was published by: Nazmiyal Rugs
