By Any Other Name
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
Farmers’ Markets are where I choose to spend the occasional weekend. Buying my family’s weekly fruits, vegetables and assorted baked goods directly from local growers and bakers. The perfectly shaped and uniformly colored items go first. The odd, misshapen ones sell last, if at all.
And I wonder: does the misshaped apple taste any different from the perfectly formed one next to it?
No. It does not. But many of my fellow market-goers are drawn instinctively to the shapes, colors, and textures that please them, that signal perfection. For shoppers young and old, the look and feel matter most. Others are actually drawn to the imperfections and unique markings that signal how each piece of fruit and vegetable is, in fact, different from all others. For these shoppers the distinctions are the appeal, as it confirms: we each have our own story to tell.
It’s not about the essence of the apple - its flavor, its nourishment, its fruit-ness. It’s about how the person eating the apple feels about it. The apple needs to serve as a food, yes, but also as a signifier, a visual messenger of wholesomeness, wellness, edible appeal, and the satisfaction it promises.
It isn’t just about fruit, vegetable and sundry perishables. Visit any old historic building, centuries old, and you learn to appreciate the lasting power of creativity married to utility, and designs that endure. You come to expect functional design that serves a purpose while it speaks to the culture and reflects on the people it serves.
I am imprinted more by the people choosing their produce at the market, the people going about their business in buildings that had served their ancestors, the people using tools to craft their lives than I am by the produce, the buildings, and the tools themselves. This connection is what impacts how I choose to forge my own way in the world, and it impacts how I design.
It is why I’ve come to believe that people are my passion, and product design is the medium I use to express my passion. It is one of the reasons that the concept of “people first, product second” is the founding principle of our design firm, Spanner.
Our team brings together a broad array of stories. We pull from a deep well of individual experiences. We share our personal histories of observing humans interacting with designs, and what they mean to us separately and collectively. And we approach our work from the perspective of that person - the one picking an apple from the basket, turning the light on in the office, reaching for the tools they need to make it through their day as a human.
We all have our own product experiences, but when we design, we keep our eye on the person using the product. With rigorous prototyping and testing, our teams work to make our designs as simple as possible. We engineer for the senses, for the id and ego, for the sense of identity and culture, to convey that same sense of satisfaction from the user as when they toss the heft of a perfect apple in the air, with the expectation of feeling its smooth peel in the hand and the delicious crunch of a first bite.
Let us help you reveal your story. Our team at Spanner is ready to listen.
Arne Lang-Ree is co-founder and CDO of Spanner.
An innovator, thinker and deconstructor, Arne challenges himself and Spanner’s clients to bring sustainable and responsible products to life. Born in Norway, Arne was inspired early by his engineer father to look at things twice. At an early age, he was imagining inventions that ultimately inspired him to earn both his BSME in Mechanical Engineering and MSE in Product Design from Stanford University. Arne has since racked up more than 30 years of product development and mechanical design experience in a wide range of product markets and with globally recognized brands. Arne is rarely without his trusted canine sidekick, Penny, and the duo can be found at the Spanner office creating together or walking the Silicon Valley for inspiration.
Interested in learning more about what it’s like to collaborate with Spanner?