advalorum:

theessentialman:

I spent this morning interviewing my friend Kristen Wintrcek for alwaysnever. She designs at Wintercheck Factory in Brooklyn-everything from tables, chairs, dresses, sunglasses and jewelry.

The full interview will be up soon, but I have to share this great line she said when we…

Design should add value. Why would I pay more than $5 for a t-shirt when uniqlo exists?

Note to peter and other designers: fuck off with the expensive t shirts and other trash. Your failure to communicate what you value to your consumers is your failure alone i.e. if the value isn’t obvious then find a way to communicate it or quit bitching.

15$? When you make something comparable to something worth 15$, it’s worth 15$. Cost and worth are different.

Make nice shit. Add value.

That was the topic of the conversation we were having. The difficultly to balance quality/perceived quality and brand value and cost as designers. This quote is a snippet of a longer conversation, where we discuss the two paths a designer can choose; make better products or make a product cheaper. (Though there is a point of crossover) In the end, there will always be someone there to “out-cheap” you.

And when consumers buy something because it costs cheaper (at a purely cost/production level, not value/worth), someone is getting screwed (the consumer themselves and/or someone on the production line). And unfortunately it isn’t as easy as saying stop bitching, make nice shit and figure it out.

(Source: peternyc)