Magazine B Issue 33 (Vitra) is available now at LOREM (not Ipsum). Started in 1934 as a shop fitting company, Vitra set a new turning point in the furniture market in 1957 when it acquired the license to produce the Eames Chair from Herman Miller. Since then, the brand has continued to grow through collaboration with contemporary designers selected based on its keen design perspective. Discover Magazine B Issue 33 (Vitra).
Welcome to Magazine B Issue 33 (Vitra). Here’s a story from one of the companies I used to work for: When we were a few hundred workers strong, we all used the same, ordinary chairs. A few of the employees had back problems and wanted to use different chairs, even if they had to pay for it themselves. I introduced one of those people to Herman Miller’s Aeron Chair, which stirred the attention of many other workers. From that small beginning management became convinced they should provide this chair for the whole company, which then grew to over 4000 employees.
For office workers, a chair is the tool they use the most and one that directly affects their health. Chairs are also an important element in office interior design. After I completed an office environment project based on my thoughts about working spaces, many people asked me about ideas for innovative working environments. I asked them about two things: their furniture tastes and budget. Most people are willing to pay a lot for flashy decorations for the ceiling and walls, but not for the furniture. In fact, I believe the design of an office is almost completed simply by selecting good furniture. Most people don’t seem to be aware of the importance of investing in furniture. Instead, furniture is usually the first item considered when cutting costs.
The truth is that it’s hard to get rid of and upgrade all the old furniture as the company grows and the number of workers increases, and so companies end up buying more of the same things. Therefore, a new company needs to be careful when choosing the furniture in its first office. While it may feel like good furniture is too expensive, when you factor in how long the furniture will be used and the future satisfaction of the individual workers and the organization as a whole, good furniture might be the cheapest way to generate the greatest workplace satisfaction and pride.
This issue introduces Vitra, a furniture manufacturer and distributor that began in 1934 as a small furniture store in Switzerland. There are two things about the brand that drew my attention. The first is that Vitra does not have an in-house team of designers, even though the company considers designers the most important part of the brand. Vitra always collaborates with independent design groups outside the company and respects their opinions. This enables the brand to bring about innovative change in the product life cycle and to be a commendable example of when manufacturing and design go hand in hand. The second feature is their perspective on how people work, which they apply to their office furniture designs. Vitra has expanded the concept of an office from personal working spaces to communal interaction spaces, and has brought new efficiency into offices by transforming systematic working spaces into something homier and more comfortable. Vitra has blurred the boundary between spaces to create “homes where you can work” or “home-like offices” that ultimately suggest the future of residential and office spaces.
The Swedish brand Ikea has also transformed the furniture field. The change was very significant as it allowed consumers to have practical and simply designed furniture at good prices. But furniture isn’t something that you throw away or replace often, and it becomes even more precious when it bears the traces of time you’ve spent with your family and friends. Furniture is always with you at home and at work, and the true value of sophisticated taste and investing in furniture is revealed as time passes. I’d like to encourage you to understand the brand history and design stories of your own furniture, down to the smallest pieces. Someday, that piece of furniture will be a time machine taking you back to precious memories.
Discover Magazine B – Issue 33 (Vitra).
Magazine B is an ad-less monthly publication that introduces one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe in each issue. Between its covers, Magazine B not only shares untold stories behind the brand but also its sentiment and culture that any readers interested in brand marketing and management can leaf through with ease. Magazine B attempts to discover truly good brands from today’s market where countless brand-named products are overflowing. Magazine B pursues its quest for true value of a printed medium by becoming a magazine that would be worth possessing, not affected by advertisements since it receives no financial support from the brand, and maintains a unique and independent perspective which is increasingly disappearing due to overflowing information mingled among different media outlets.
Magazine B dedicates each issue to the story of one specific brand, which is one of the well-balanced brands that JOH. discovers from around the world based on four standards: beauty, practicality, price, and philosophy. And each issue is packed with B’s unique insights and in-depth analysis. Magazine B will continue to search brands that it pursues to introduce cover-to-cover, such as Swiss recycled bag manufacturer Freitag and Japanese camping gear maker Snow Peak.
Content: Magazine B – Issue 33 (Vitra)
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
COMMENTS
Vitra comments and reviews from SNS and the web
INTO THE MARKET
Scenes from designer furniture stores
OPINION
Christina Schmidt, design select shop owner
SHOPS
Positions
The diverse shops that carry Vitra
LINEUP
Office System
Vitra office furniture systems
Home Collection
Vitra home collection lines
OPINION
Myeonghan Kim, CEO of aA Design Museum
BRAND TO BRAND
VS
Comparing Vitra product lines with those from other brands
OPINION
Patrick Seguin, designer furniture and architecture gallery owner
COLLAGE
Private spaces where furniture pieces from several distinct brands coexist in harmony
USER CHOICE
Premium Brands
Premium design brands recommended by Vitra users
OPINION
Jonathan Kim, Korean branch director of interior design consulting firm SL+A
ENVIRONMENT
Details
Analysis of Vitra furniture systems
Office Furniture
Working spaces set up using Vitra office furniture
VITRA SCENE
BRAND STORY
Vitra evolves from a European distributor of American designer furniture into a modern design leader
ALBUM
Scenes from the Vitra test process
CAMPUS
The Vitra campus reflects the brand’s design philosophy
COMMUNICATIONS
Vitra’s marketing campaign includes publications, exhibitions, lectures, and store displays
BUSINESSES
Other furniture brands with design approaches similar to Vitra’s
TIMELINE
History of major design trends in the furniture industry
QUOTES
Quotes from Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum
FIGURES
The global furniture market and Vitra
FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF
OUTRO
Details
240 x 170 mm, 160 pages
