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EVOLUTIONARY
DESIGN by Bryony McCabe
Having forged a career entering new markets and disrupting them through design, the American designer is responsible for some of the most iconic and successful product designs of the last two decades
Above left, the closed-loop legs of Spectre lounge chair for Dune reflect integration, continuity, and seamlessness – recurring themes in Forakis’ work. Above right, made from marine-grade stainless steel with solid teak surfaces, Forakis’ ‘Main Deck’ collection of outdoor yacht furniture is designed to withstand the rigors of the sea but complement contemporary settings
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J
ozeph Forakis’ earliest exposure to architecture and design came at a time when modernism was the predominant force in the creative and cultural landscapes. Born and raised in New York City to a family of fine artists,
he witnessed the transformation of an urban landscape that was dominated by modernist principles. This, along with regular visits to the Museum of Modern Art, coloured his understanding of design from a young age. To this day, the utopian values of modernism remain etched in Forakis’ mind. “I hold onto the promise of solving everyday problems and contributing to our everyday sense of joy,” he explains. “In its full democratic potential, design has the capacity to touch everybody’s life with at least a small slice of utopia.” Unlike other modernist ideals, however, Forakis believes that the concept of progress is no longer relevant to design. “Progress has allowed us to achieve so much as a society, but it now poses an existential threat, and evolution is our only future,” he adds. “Designers must help create new sustainable eco-systems that produce our objects as by-products, as in nature, rather than beginning with what industrial logic hands us. And as in nature, I envision products as highly evolved organisms, brought about by holistic thought processes and iterative development. While evolution does not have a particular style, it can be expressed, and for me this expression should be essential, integrated, seamless, meaningful and poetic.” Studying Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, Forakis discovered Industrial Design and was immediately fascinated by the challenge and possibility of shaping so much in the everyday landscape across so many different areas. And this desire to solve new problems, combined with a curiosity about technology, materials and processes, has resulted in works spanning a diverse range of industries and disciplines. One of Forakis’ earliest successes, the landmark Havana lamp, established Foscarini as a preeminent producer of contemporary lighting and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The lamp is a simple and holistic expression of Forakis’ interpretation of evolution: its warming presence was unusual for contemporary lighting at the time and the research into alternative materials beyond Murano glass helped Foscarini grow into a major player in lighting. In 2001, as European Design Director for Motorola, Forakis lead the design team of the V70 phone: the world’s smallest mobile phone upon launch and an early example of his interest in using behavioural design to guide form. The closed-loop legs of the Spectre lounge chair, designed for Dune in 2010, reflect integration, continuity, and seamlessness – a recurring theme in Forakis’ work. His innovative product design also caught the attention of a key player in the yachting industry when Martin Lo, director of shipyard CL Yachts, saw Forakis’
Clockwise from top left, some of Jozeph Forakis’ most prolific design projects include the V70 cell phone for Motorola, the Healbe GoBe watch, The HELI-X aircraft for Leonardo Helicopter, Plugg smart accessories for +Plugg, the CLX96 motoryacht, branding for CL Yachts, the Havana lamp for Foscarini and the MEEM Memory Cable
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The CLX96’s iconic profile and innovative features result from original thinking and smart design. The unique double-reverse-angled house allows more exterior and interior space than any vessel in her class, including an industry-first lounge deck forward of the pilot house
award-winning HELI-X aircraft design for Leonardo Helicopter.
project, he approached it as a challenge of exploration and discovery,
“Recognising his capabilities across a wide range of projects, Lo
rather than creation. “Designs are like aphorisms; I strive to achieve
asked Forakis to reinvent classic flybridge motoryachts, resulting
a certain inevitability,” he reflects. The result has been a fresh
in the design of the CLB88 and the innovative CLX96, the latter
perspective on the yachting experience. As Forakis explains; “I
to be launched this year at the Fort Lauderdale International Yacht
wanted the feeling of being on the ocean to follow you everywhere
Show, with more on the way.” While the collaboration with CL
on board and capture the sense of the limitless possibility we feel at
Yachts was Forakis’ first foray into yacht design, as with any new
sea from the expansive horizon.”
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