Alessi Design

The “Italian Style” article was extremely short, but it was also interesting. It was about Alberto Alessi, a product designer, whose family has long been in the design business. For centuries, the Alessi family has designed house wares that have been used throughout Italy and the rest of the world. They have, in fact, been designing for so long that they even have an Alessi Museum containing an archive of all the designs they have created. The author makes a point to mention, “nothing much has changed” in the years that the Alessi family has been designing.
What I find interesting about Alessi design is the method used to create their products. Everything that they create is developed through a process of experiments. The “Alessi Way” claims to design by a laboratory approach. By conducting experiments to create the best design, a fusion of art and science takes place. The Scientific Method is used to create the most desirable result. I have always found this process of creativity very useful in my own work as well, particularly with the 3D animations and models that I create.
What is particularly fascinating about the “Alessi” approach though, is that functionality does not come first in their considerations of a design. Aesthetics is thought to be of much higher value than functionality. I find this developmental method of design very strange, especially for product design. Usually, I would think that the functionality of an object would be the primary concern of the artist. This appears to not be the case with Alessi design. Alberto Alessi designs his products by working on the aesthetics of an object first, then through experimentation, discovering whether the object is functional or not. I find this method to be completely backwards. I am unsure of how successful a design technique this could be I cannot imagine how many times Alessi has to go through aesthetic designs just to get something remotely functional out of it. Then again, if Alessi design has lasted through the last few centuries using this process and is still in demand today, it has to at least work for them.
I have worked this way before, valuing aesthetics before functionality. I suppose this technique can be useful in some areas of design. I am using it right now actually on my BFA project for the end of the term. I am creating a character that, at the moment, requires the correct appearance. So, for now, I am working on the “look” of the character. Eventually though, this aesthetic idea is going to have to be modeled and rigged for animation. When that time comes, the idea may not work so well as a rigged, animated character.
I have difficulty though using this method when thinking about product design. The point of product design is to create an object that suits the need of the individual. Usually this is through the success of the functional aspect of the object. An object can be made to be beautiful, but not work half as well as an object built for the purpose of being functional. I do not understand why this design process is valued to Alessi design.