What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

By: Dexter R. Matilla

KENNETH COBONPUE HAS always generated global buzz for his designs. His designs and awards have landed him appearances on European television and in editorial space in Newsweek, International Herald Tribune, Time, Wallpaper.

Lately the buzz or frequency he generates has been extreme, especially after he won top honors in the Design for Asia Awards, the region’s most prestigious award-giving body, and Hollywood actor Brad Pitt’s disclosure that he buys Cobonpue designs.

“Brad has actually been getting furniture from me for the past three years,” Cobonpue said. “I just never played it up because, to me, he is a client just like any other. The first pieces he got were standard off-the-factory-floor stuff. The later ones, in true Hollywood fashion, were of custom sizes and colors. Brad is known for his exquisite taste in furniture and architecture. In fact, he is planning to take time off soon from moviemaking to study architecture.”

Pitt will apparently get to appreciate more of Cobonpue’s works as Warner Brothers executives have asked the designer to produce a casino set for “Ocean’s 13,” the Brad Pitt-George Clooney-Matt Damon movie scheduled for release next year.

“I cannot disclose set details but Warner Brothers contacted my partner in the USA about a few pieces of furniture,” Cobonpue said. “We sent the set designers a catalog and they were bowled over. They ordered stuff to fill up an entire lounge for the set design, telling us that they have never ordered so much furniture from one company before.”

Movement 8

With Movement 8, an alliance of eight award-winning Filipino designers and manufacturers, Cobonpue shows new work every year in design shows from Paris to Shanghai. Having achieved so much never deterred him to pay homage to his roots. Following the example of his mentors, Cobonpue modestly shares his knowledge and skills with others who are interested in making a difference through design.

Growing up in a wooden Italian house in Cebu, Cobonpue would “wake up to the sound of nails and the songs of carpenters working” with his mother, Betty, making furniture in the backyard.

“She taught me the value of form and beauty,” Cobonpue said. “She knew early on that design was the key to making a difference.”

Cobonpue said he had no idea back then what being a designer meant.

“In high school, I designed everything from basketball uniforms to party invitations. I knew early on that I had an eye for design, but never dreamt where it would take me. I knew how to use design to get things I wanted. I was never good at sports when I was a kid. But I more than made up for that through music and design to get the girls.”

Cobonpue tried to banish the thought of becoming a designer at first. He had thought of becoming a writer, a sculptor, and, at one point, even a fashion designer. But he eventually chose to take up Industrial Design at Pratt Institute in New York.

“You could actually go to school to become an inventor, thinker, engineer and artist all in one,” Cobonpue explained. “It had to be for me.”

He added: “I remember sitting nights on my balcony as a student in New York looking at the skyline. I pictured the millions of tiny, lighted windows as people. I told myself that if I were to become a designer, I would have to make a difference in this world. And I wouldn’t stop until that window of mine becomes bolder and brighter than the rest.”

Awards

And this would be his driving force as he amassed an impressive lineup of awards including a Presidential Citation for embodying ideals of Asian Design given by President Macapagal-Arroyo; a Design Excellence Award during the 9th Annual IIDA/Hospitality Design Product Competition; and one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2003.

One of the more prestigious honors he got was the Design for Asia Award. In a field of over 500 entries from more than 22 countries and regions, 12 were selected. His entry, the Lolah chair, was judged by a group of international designers and CEOs.

The press played up Cobonpue’s victory with this headline: “Low-tech rattan chair shares design award with Sony, Nokia and Samsung.”

“It took me a while to realize the absurdity of the situation… a handmade rattan chair sharing an award with a technologically advanced highly polished handphone,” Cobonpue said.

“But that’s the beauty about well-designed products. They may look different on the outside but they are usually born from a similar design philosophy. Every element of the design is there for a purpose.”

Cobonpue said he got the idea for the chair from a softly dented Coke can. Working on the shape for half a year and experimenting with different materials, he sought to come up with a chair that was light, strong, and beautiful. He was able to achieve this by developing a technique of slicing rattan with knife cutters and bending it to conform to a shape.

Form, function, inspiration

Cobonpue believes the challenge of being a designer is to design not only a beautiful object but a functional one as well.

Take for instance, his first creation, the Yin & Yang chair. Cobonpue regards it as a personal breakthrough in that it is rare a design draws so much press notice.

The design also adapts to any style at home. Because of this, it remains as one of his best-selling designs even after seven years.

Cobonpue’s inspirations come from everything and everyone around him. Objects such as fishing nets, bridges, cracks on the wall, and even a piece of bread become part of his imagination. “I like to think that through my work, they (the images) have all taken a life of their own,” he said.

Cobonpue said he believed Filipino talent and ingenuity could make all the difference in the creative industry.

“We are still the perceived design leaders on our part of the world, but it’s a title we need to defend more vigorously with each passing year,” Cobonpue said. “Our schools need to partner with the industry to know what’s out there and what can be done.”

Cobonpue also stressed the need for Filipino designers to read up, travel and expose themselves to other design geographies.

“Designers need to travel more,” he said. “I can’t stress enough the importance of global exposure. I have seen designers transform themselves from spending a week in Milan. As long as the design industry puts education and exposure as its priorities, we will go far.”

Originally published on August 21, 2006.

~ by thegame121 on January 3, 2007.