He is the mastermind behind the Umbra Garbino trash can, the Bobble water bottle and Kenzo’s Amour perfume bottle. All 3 of these well-designed products are all bold, colorful and organic, characterizing the designer and his style. He is a true patron of ‘designocracy,’ a portmanteau of design and democracy, which signifies constantly exploring new ways of making good design available for everyone. Above all, he is known as the "man in pink." This key figure in today’s design world is star-designer Karim Rashid, whose solo exhibition Seoul Art Center has the privilege of showcasing until October 30th.
The exhibition entitled Design Your Self is composed of 7 different sections beginning with a visual display of Karim Rashid’s history at ‘Karimstory’ and continuing on to ‘Beautification of Life’, ‘Hall of Globalove’, ‘Into the Scape’, ‘Digipop’, ‘Era of Mass Production’ and last but not least ‘Mission for the Humanity’. With over 350 pieces of works including furniture, sketches, sculptures and objets d’art, Design Your Self is an intensely dense show with an abundance of colors and fluid shapes.
Every corner of halls is covered with what can be described as visual bliss. From the wall papers that were designed by Karim Rashid himself (some of which resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs) to the many chairs each with a distinct aesthetic, you will be bombarded with vivid colors and even the all-familiar plastic shine. Karim Rashid may not be a household name but many of us have perhaps seen his works in pictures or on display. What distinguishes this exhibition and makes it extra exciting is that visitors encouraged to interact with many of the pieces, truly indulge themselves in Karim Rashid’s design language and philosophy. After all, Karim Rashid once stated that “Design is about 'experience': not just visceral or visual, but tactile, emotional and Omni sensorial.” Pleasurescape is one that highlights such an intention. A 5.4x5 meter artistic landscape resembles a room filled with furniture, yet covered with a large pink cloth. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the shapes that seem to fluidly grow out from the pink floor.
Although Karim Rashid’s works are in great quantity—which allows the viewers to understand the designer’s unique approach to sensual design—it is still, to some degree, unclear as to why and how his ideas are developed. Perhaps, choosing a few important pieces and demonstrating and in depth explanation of the process and context behind them would not only have been more informative but also helpful in offering a more holistic picture of why and how Karim Rashid’s explicit design thinking is beneficial to the world already filled with enough beautiful trash.