Interview with Jürgen Seidler

Jürgen Seidler ("JS") interviewed on Tuesday, 21 May.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

JS : My journey spans several years, beginning with a background in mechanical engineering and automation technology. Alongside my technical expertise, I've always been involved in various business aspects throughout my career, which have shaped my view on how design works.

How did you become a designer?

JS : I started my career as a mechanical engineer specializing in fiber-reinforced plastics in racing sports, where I realized it takes two things to capture people's attention. First, it’s the performance of a product. Second, it needs to be well-designed so that the crowd likes to look at it. A racing car needs to be fast, light, and perfectly maneuverable. This makes design more complicated because not every functional design looks good, but it shaped my philosophy. If you get it right so that the crowd loves it, they will remember it for years. This mindset has carried me through careers in the sports and leisure industry, consulting, medical products, and finally, audio products.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

JS : It's a combination of life integration and artwork. For me, integrating into a customer's life means prioritizing functionality and upgradability throughout the product's lifetime. The principle of design following function creates good, functional designs. I want to shift this paradigm by considering potential future functionality as part of the present function. This led to our modular design.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

JS : Designing evokes a range of emotions for me, from excitement during the initial idea phase to fulfillment upon completing a project. The satisfaction of solving problems creatively and seeing tangible results is what drives my passion for design. There's also a lot of resilience involved, helping me through frustration and pushing me to keep going when I hit a dead end. Before presenting, I often feel ambivalent, almost uncertain, which only subsides when the first reactions from users with the product come in.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

JS : Interestingly, the aspects that shaped me most have nothing to do with engineering and design. One influence was my time in consulting. Observing the struggles of production and logistics to maintain high productivity gave me a different perspective on producibility. The second influence was a job in the finance field, where I learned that sustainability can only be achieved when it can be translated into something that improves financial indicators.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

JS : We are just starting to market our product. We are also working on ensuring that the smaller version of our latest product, Musegg, will feature a 360-degree lighting system. This will undoubtedly elevate the product to the next level, but it also presents significant challenges with light management, maintenance, and industrialization. The learning curve is quite steep at the moment.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

JS : Try to use your product and service designs in daily life and ask your partner and your friends to do the same. If they don't use it with the same joy, ask for the reason.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

JS : Please realy, try to use your product and service designs in daily life and ask your partner and your friends to do the same. If they don't use it with the same joy, ask for the reason.

What is your day to day look like?

JS : There is no set pattern for my day. Depending on what needs to be done, I plan each day individually.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

JS : I use my network and specialized social media channels to keep pace with trends and technology.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

JS : I'll try to describe it... When I visit some of my design-savvy friends and notice a new gadget in their living room, I ask myself: will it still be there the next time I visit, or even in a few years? If the answer is yes, then it's good design that has integrated well into their lives. In short, a good designer creates designs that last for years, not fast fashion.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

JS : I never decide if a design is ready. I always let others make that decision. Every time I present a status to the public, I look at the reactions and decide based on them if it's ready or not.

What is your biggest design work?

JS : The greatest design is Musegg, the reason why we are talking. It’s the first time I had the chance to contribute to various aspects of the design process. This involved creating artwork, incorporating feedback from market research, conducting industrial design, integrating feedback from production partners during Series 0, and finally, revising the product with all that knowledge gained to refine the Bill of Materials (BOM) and redesigning the architecture of the product. I think it’s a great product because it’s ahead of its time. It combines a widely accepted design with great functionality, and we were able to address the sustainability issue of this type of consumer electronics.

Who is your favourite designer?

JS : I would name Marcel Breuer because he has had the most influence on me.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

JS : I live in Austria, specifically in Graz. To describe the Austrian soul, I would like to play with stereotypes, not entirely politically correct. It's a country that lies in the middle between the emotionally appreciative South, valuing the good things in life, and the pragmatic, goal-oriented North of Europe. Being able to showcase both aspects makes Austria an exciting place to try out new things. I think this is also a big cultural influence on me, allowing myself to try things out but being strict enough to know when to stop.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

JS : I intend to work fact-based. It usually starts with a problem, either technical or procedural in nature. In a first step, I try to break down the problem into numbers to describe it. Yes, starting a creative process in Excel... not something you hear every day. After describing the problem, I like to outline the prevailing constraints. These can include dimensions, cost structures, quantities, main and ancillary functionalities, compatibilities, and more. Then, I assess the possibilities on-site. This is more or less the assets available for realizing a design. These can be manufacturing processes, systems, or other assets. With these, I draft an initial design.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

JS : I can only speak for myself here. Some time ago, I realized that individuals are not inherently interested in the environment. To put it pragmatically, their interest lies in fulfilling their needs. I see it as my task to design products, goods, and services that meet the needs of the customer and are still sustainable without aggressively conveying this. For the customer, I prefer to translate this as "value-driven" design instead of sustainable. That’s something an individual finds fulfilling and globally impactful.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

JS : A’ Design offers a well-designed process and workflow, as well as a nice personal service. I’m already curious about how this will impact my future life. In any case, it’s a big honor that makes me proud.

Jürgen Seidler Profile