Aeranauts 03

Joe Doucet

[ AERANAUTS Q&A 04 ]

Joe  Doucet,  Designer,  Entrepreneur,  Inventor. 
Join us for the fourth instalment in our Aeranauts series, an exploration of inspirational people, from all walks of life, in their own words.

Joe Doucet is a New York based designer of, well, you name it. A lifelong hunter of design solutions, his work runs from large scale public installations to furniture to useful tools and tiny gadgets all of which are elegant, entertaining and life-improving. All of them share a sense of elegant simplicity borne out of addressing a very specific function. And, from self-composting milk cartons to concept projects for electric cars, postal delivery karts and even zero-emission planes, sustainability is never far from the surface of what he does. We sat down with Joe to explore his design process.

'I think it's not so much what I do, but how I do it, that defines me. In other words, I search for an elegant solution to complex problems'

Joe, how would you describe what do you do?     

That's a million-dollar question! One of the biggest challenges I think, of working across so different fields, fields loosely defined by the word “design”, is that it's really difficult to actually describe what I actually do. In fact, I think it's not so much what I do, but how I do it, that defines me. In other words, I search for an elegant solution to complex problems. By “elegant solution” I mean in the way a physicist might use the term. There are many different ways of solving a problem, and typically the bigger the problem, the more complex the solution. But an elegant solution is really about removing anything that's not solving the problem. So, it really is about a reduction of complexity, as opposed to, taking a minimalist approach. I'm often confused with the minimalist designer, someone for whom the object is the aesthetics of simplicity. Personally, I don't care at all about aesthetics. When you have a perfectly elegant solution to a problem, it's always going to be aesthetically pleasing.

Is design a physical process or a mental one?     

I think 90% of my work doesn't happen in the doing; it happens in the thinking. I think searching for inspiration is actually a passive act. You’re waiting for something to come to you. You're waiting for a moment that strikes you in the shower or in an art gallery, or in the street, you’re a passive participant in the act of creation. I think my approach is about ignoring inspiration and searching for insight. I’m actively looking at a problem or a challenge in as many different ways as I can. And at some point, there is a connection that I make.

Personally, I don't care at all about aesthetics. When you have a perfectly elegant solution to a problem, it's always going to be aesthetically pleasing.

Does it always start with a sketch on the back of an envelope?     

Actually, I rarely sketch. Instead, I write. I try to work out in words the problem that I’m trying to solve. If I can answer in one sentence what I’m trying to do I can usually get to a clear answer. You don't even need to read anything else about a project. You could just read that one sentence, look at the object and ask, ‘is that successful or not?’

So, the problem always comes first?     

You know, it’s very interesting. You push aesthetics right to the back of your mind, and just focus on whatever the problem is. How something looks is almost the final proof at the end the process, that you have solved a problem. It’s beautiful if it's right, you know, not right if it’s beautiful.

Does it get easier with time?     

It's a connection you make by applying all your mental faculties to the problem at hand. Again, it's the difference between passivity and activity. And everything happens, through research and thought. The longer you do it, the easier that process is. Sometimes, not always I can be in a briefing with a client and I have the answer halfway through the meeting. And that just comes from, you know, the experience of actively solving problems, as opposed to waiting for solutions to present themselves.

New tech, new material science must have transformed design immeasurably.     

Modern technology has changed the design process without a doubt. It’s given us so much more power and control over every aspect of a project. My 20th century counterpart would simply be responsible for handing over drawings that would then be taken to a manufacturer and they’d then figure out how to make it. You would maybe have some input in that process. Now, technology has given us control over literally every stage of the making of a product, from its inception to its final output.

A good example of that would be the public seating you developed for New York’s Times Square.     

Exactly. That was a process that from inception to installation took just a matter of months. And the reason is that everything was completely digital. The first time I physically interacted with it was when it was actually being installed in Times Square. So, I presented the concept, did some 3D prints in the studio, some renderings and a couple of movies. Rather than ask ‘what should a bench look?’ like I asked myself, okay, ‘what does public seating do? What are some of the challenges that public face, other than a place to put their ass?’ I wanted to do something more than just make a beautiful place to sit. Well, at the time, there were vehicles being weaponized and used against crowds. I thought, could this bench actually protect the people using it? The problem with all the things that are currently out there, all giant, concrete blocks and stainless steel, they only serve to remind people how vulnerable they are and that's disheartening. So, I tried to create an object which silently protects, and, rather than creating something big and bulky, I made something that worked more like Kevlar; the fabric – in this case concrete - wraps around you and absorbs and dissipates energy.

How something looks is almost the final proof at the end of the process, that you have solved a problem. It’s beautiful if it's right, you know, not right if it’s beautiful.

Do you find the research you do in one project has resonances in a completely different one?     

Definitely. One of the benefits of working across many different categories is that you develop this body of knowledge that you're able to cross-pollinate between various projects. It can solve challenges in ways you might never have considered.

Do you find new technology leads you to new solutions too?     

It's like when 3 x 1 Denim asked me to design a pair of jeans for them. My first question was, well, what are jeans? I didn't want to just redesign a pair of jeans. Jeans are perfect, both aesthetically and in what they stand for. They're basically an ancient technology; they’re riveted, made for real workmen. Everything's put together in a certain way, to address the requirements of 19th century workmen. But times have changed. Workmen didn’t sit around a lot then, and jeans were really designed for standing up. We made some adjustments to the cut to make them far more comfortable when sitting. And then there’s the details, like the fifth pocket. We don't carry pocket watches anymore. What do we carry? We carry credit cards. I decided to line all the pockets with Faraday cloth to make them impervious to data theft. There were no electric lights in 19th Century America either. So, we lined the inside with 3M reflective material, so that if you commute, at night on a bike or walking around, they protect you by making you visible in the dark. But all of these innovations are tucked away on the inside. You don't really see them, they're just there. I think a fashion designer would never consider these things, because they're just they're so embedded with the history of denim.

Which begs the question, as a designer, how to you approach your own style?

I have uniform. It changes, but typically it’s a black t-shirt and jeans, and I'll put a jacket on in the fall and spring and then add a sweater in the winter. That's pretty much it. I have a lot of clothes that are exactly the same. I have a lot of identical pairs of socks so that I don't have to match them up. I have a lot of the same pairs of jeans, and a lot of the same t-shirts.

Sustainability is hot news right now. Does that inform a lot of what you do?     

It's trendy now, of course, but it's been at the core of what we do ever since we started. You really can't start a job now without thinking about sustainability in terms of materials and in terms of energy. Around 70% of the environmental impact of any product you design that goes out into the world, is decided in the design phase. So, as a person who does that for a living, it’s my responsibility to take that into consideration, to try to reduce waste, reduce complexity and materiality, as well as thinking about an object’s second life, after it has ceased to perform its primary function. It’s all part of the process.

You really can't start a job now without thinking about sustainability in terms of materials and in terms of energy. It's trendy now, of course, but it's been at the core of what we do ever since we started.

What’s the best time of day to think?     

I’m much better in the morning, so I’m always up at five am. I don't get out of bed at 5:00. Those first 30 minutes, when I am in that that sort of state where I’m not really fully awake – I’m never fully awake by the way until I’ve had my third cup of coffee - I'll just mull over the projects I'm working on at that point, and often that's when the insight strikes. It's a deliberate use of the moment. I take advantage of that sort of natural semi-groggy state. I'm not really a morning person, ironically, but is it is very effective for me to work that way.

Does time stand still when you’re in the zone, thinking about a project?     

When I'm working, I can literally lose hours and hours. So, I’m deliberately quite regimented in my use of time in work and in my family life. I don't work a lot of hours, maybe five hours a day. But in those five hours, I do far more than if I worked a 12-hour day, because it’s just focus, focus, focus, just me getting the work done. I find that far more productive, although the sustained attention, takes a bit of a toll, so those five hours can be draining. And then I go to the gym.

Those first 30 minutes, when I am in that that sort of state where I’m not really fully awake – I’m never fully awake until I’ve had my third cup of coffee - I'll just mull over the projects I'm working on at that point, and often that's when the insight strikes.

So, when everyone else is just getting to work you’re pretty much done. What do you do with the rest of the day?     

I read voraciously. I wish I could say I read deep literature, but I don’t. I read as many different and diverse topics as I can, which can be a bit of a challenge, because I'm pretty severely dyslexic, but often, my dyslexia is really a useful tool. Because of it, I often misread things or think the information I'm getting is one thing, and it's actually something else. And my brain tries to make sense of it, and then creates something new out of it. Sometimes that dissociative thinking by circumstance, leads to new and different ideas.

You work with a very small team that’s unusual in your business.     

I find that having a very lean team is always much more productive. At some point, people tend to just end up with a big team, and they put people on different projects, so they become sort of more of a creative director, as opposed to being an actual designer. I really love doing the actual work. I love solving the problems and finessing every aspect of it. That being said, I’ll bring in different experts as I need them, engineering teams, material experts, scientists, writers. I prefer to bring in those specialists as I need them, as opposed to having staff and try to find things for them to do.

You must be in a position to pick and choose your projects for clients. Do you set non-negotiables for taking on a project?   

We have three criteria for who we work with. We ask three questions. One, will this project make the world a better place?; two, will design make a material difference to its success or failure? And the third is, are you an asshole? We just don't work with assholes. Whenever I bring up that third point with people looking to work with us, they tend to look a bit sheepish. But it’s a rule you can never break. That, to me, is the ultimate luxury.

You work with a very small team that’s unusual in your business.     

We have three criteria for who we work with. We ask three questions. One, will this project make the world a better place?; two, will design make a material difference to its success or failure? And the third is, are you an asshole? We just don't work with assholes. Whenever I bring up that third point with people looking to work with us, they tend to look a bit sheepish. But it’s a rule you can never break. That, to me, is the ultimate luxury.

You must be in a position to pick and choose your projects for clients. Do you set non-negotiables for taking on a project?     

We have three criteria for who we work with. We ask three questions. One, will this project make the world a better place?; two, will design make a material difference to its success or failure? And the third is, are you an asshole? We just don't work with assholes. Whenever I bring up that third point with people looking to work with us, they tend to look a bit sheepish. But it’s a rule you can never break. That, to me, is the ultimate luxury.

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