On Tuesday, Egyptian designer Karim Rashid lectured to a starry audience during BoomSPDesign at Belas Artes College, in Sao Paulo. Rashid, who came to Brazil at the invitation of Master Books publisher, of presenter Michaelichen Eliana, had among his distinguished hearers of Zanini de Zanine, Ruy Ohtake and Murillo Schattan, next to his sons Stefan and Pitter, who stopped by to hear the thoughts of the designer – one of the most respected in the area today.
* Rashid, who defines his own work as a "sensuous minimalism," talked about being a product designer, architect and artist at the same time – something that he feels is very modern – and criticized the bias of the art world against technology: "We have to use what modernity offers us, why not?". * In a curious moment, Rashid explained the meaning of the tattoos he has on his right arm. "Each of these symbols are small signs that I put on the products I designed, such as drills and vacuum cleaners, to know they were mine. Even if you have a briefing, you have to print something of yours in your work," he said.
* At one point, architect Ruy Ohtake asked the designer what he thought of the relationship between beauty and utility. Witty, Karim took off his shoes and said: "I think they’re beautiful. They’re also light, practical, comfortable and manufactured in 60 colors. And look, I didn’t even design them," he joked, saying that the two things have to be combined in one product, since beauty is the first impression, and usefulness is what lasts. And he sure knows what he’s talking about!