This past week, we had a large variety in the exhibitions, studios, and factories that we visited. However, I believe that the combination of visits were a true testament to quality control and longevity of design on the market. The Artemide factory truly emphasized quality of not only design, but materials and finished products as well. The tour demonstrated the extensive processes that are taken in order to control quality and consistency of Artemide products. While the market trusts high-name brands for quality and reliability, knowing the actual processes behind the trusted quality is incredibly important to understanding the steps behind making a good design into a great product.
The merging of good design and product quality sounds obvious, but so often today quality is sacrificed for expense, which only contaminates the market with deceptive products. Kartell’s showroom inly emphasized this point further. Everyone, including Kartell’s staff, knows that plastic is often deemed as a ‘cheap’ material and it can easily be used to make similar style products with significantly less quality. Unfortunately, it is undeniable that certain pieces of Kartell’s collection looks as if they could be found at either an Ikea or Target; however, they have not altered the material processes to compete with the prices of these look-alike competitors. Not only are they remaining loyal to their processes, but they are making a statement about the importance of quality in products. Yes, their products do have a higher price tag than look-alike products on the market, but their quality and attention to detail is unmatched by these ‘competitors’ and will be able to have a longer product lifetime.
Not only is this conversation prevalent to product design, but fashion design as well, which Kering reiterated throughout the visit to their product factory. Although the designs themselves are remarkable across the lines of Artemide, Kartell, and Kering brands, the attention to quality and consistency are what I believe have helped launch and maintained each of these companies success and prevalence on the consumer market.