Yves Behar
Yves Behar
Yves Béharis a Swiss designer, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate. He is the founder and principal designer of Fuseproject, an award-winning industrial design and brand development firm. Béhar is also Chief Creative Officer of the wearable technology company Jawbone, and Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of August, a smart lock company...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionDesigner
CountrySwitzerland
designing life nature spent
Part of my life is spent designing in urban centers, and part of my life has been spent in factories. But the other part of my life is spent in nature.
agency clients design few steve
When clients come to my design agency and say 'I want to be the Apple of this or that,' we say 'Okay, are you ready to be the Steve Jobs?' Few are up to the task.
business company design experience industry knowledge large learned primary role silicon valley
What I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that design can have a primary role in how a business is shaped, how a company can be design-driven. In my experience of large industry in Europe, that knowledge has been lost.
conversation creative games good great ideal laughs moment surf work
An ideal day for me is a combination of a fun-exciting creative moment with work partners, some laughs and games with my kids, a good surf session, and great conversation with friends around a meal.
love
If you don't love something, it's not functional, in my opinion.
attainable biggest challenge innovate invest less low lower money order people point price technology
The biggest challenge is that when people look at low price point products, they essentially invest less money in development, innovation, and new technology. And in order to innovate at a lower price point, and make sustainability attainable to the masses, you have to invest more. But that's counterintuitive for a lot of businesses.
became brings design express founded late life love obsession realized slogan stories teen writer
I wanted to be a writer as a teen... so storytelling was my first love. In my late teens, design became an obsession as I realized that I could express myself through the medium. Much later, when I founded Fuseproject in 1999, our slogan became 'design brings stories to life.'
life steve
Steve Jobs changed my life. He also changed the life of every designer.
work
I want to work on things that aren't self-evident, to propose things that are radically different and game-changing.
best design founder incentives mindset opportunity spend time work
The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business.
aesthetic aims certainly design relevance
Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If it isn't ethical, it can't be beautiful. But if it isn't beautiful, it probably shouldn't be at all.'
design needs relationship
Design needs a new relationship with the world, one that is more focused on our planet's needs.
consumers
Consumers want products that tell stories, have magic, and inspire.
advance believe finding innovative less notion truly ways
The notion of 'reduce and refine' is one I've pursued. I truly believe that by making things less complex, by finding innovative ways to make sustainability affordable, we can advance the notion that it is possible.