Vicki Matranga, Design Programs + Services
Retailers and media looking for trend-setting, high-design products at the 2014 International Home + Housewares Show head for Discover Design in SouthBuilding. The inspiring Discover Design Gallery, accessible to buyers and media, features products submitted for the Global Innovation Award (gia) for Design.
Specialty retailers, editors at influential websites and print publications, trendspotters and independent designers serve as Discover Design judges. They review exhibitors’ entries to choose six products as finalists, three of which will be honored as Global Honorees. They also select three companies as gia finalists for best product collection; one will be named the Global Honoree.
Let’s get acquainted with some of the industry experts who will determine the winners of the Show’s gia product awards. Today we are speaking with Marco Perry, who heads Pensa, a design consultancy located in Brooklyn’s DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood. DUMBO has become a magnet for artists, designers, hot new restaurants and shops. It is also has the highest concentration of technology firms by neighborhood in New York City.
Pensa develops successful products, brands and strategies. Inquisitive, empathetic and engaging by nature, Pensa designers are forever optimistic in the belief that the world can be continuously improved through great design and a bit of clever invention. This year, Pensa won the Made In Brooklyn Awards for the design category as well as judge’s choice in Engadget’s Insert Coin Competition for DIWire, a desktop wire bending machine. Recognized with the “DUMBO’s Dozen” award for being one of the area’s 12 most innovative companies, Pensa also designed Street Charge, a solar-powered mobile phone charging station, now set in New York’s public spaces.
Marco, what is the most fun or rewarding part of your job?
As a designer, I’ve always wanted to create products that people want to buy and love to use. The most rewarding part of my job is when I see my own work in someone’s home and they are enjoying it. It is very exciting to see a product comes to life.
What motivates you in your work?
I am always interested in solving difficult problems by inventing something. There is no greater rush than the “aha” moment – the instant that I find the right answer to a problem.
In the past few years, what has changed most in your business?
Over the past few years, the definition of product design consulting has expanded from delivering designs to providing full service layout to include strategy, design, engineering, user interface, manufacturing support and so on. The list keeps expanding as the years go on. It is more challenging, but it’s also more rewarding to provide more help to our clients and play a bigger role in the creation of a product.
How many years have you been coming to the International Home + Housewares Show?
I have been coming to the Show for 15 years!
What do you find exciting and inspirational at our Show?
My favorite part of the Show is the student exhibit. It is always great to see the eager faces of young designers who are passionate about design. Their presentations are full of fresh and surprising ideas. And every year, the quality of the ideas gets better and better. Because the students aren’t part of the industry, they’re not bogged down by constraints like many of us are, so they are freer to think in new ways.
What do you like to visit while you are in Chicago?
No matter how many times I come to Chicago, I fall in love with the architecture. New York has so many of the same stores and shows that other cities provide, but the one thing that is truly unique in Chicago is the city’s aesthetic.
Thank you, Marco, for sharing your inspirations with us. You’re sure to see refreshing new designs at the Show and in Chicago in March. To learn more about Marco and Pensa, see www.pensanyc.com.
Visit Discover Design and See the Products Chosen by the Judges
In these final weeks before the Show, our blog introduces Discover Design and Design Debut exhibitors to give you a glimpse of the inspirations, influences and ideas that go into creating the exciting products that you’ll see in March at McCormick Place.
Discover Design is the premier design destination at the International Home + Housewares Show. Located in the South Building, the invitation-only category features more than 100 exhibitors from around the world. Companies driven by innovation and design present distinctive products and collections in Tabletop, Gift, Textiles and Home Décor categories. Learn more about Discover Design exhibitors and their products by visiting www.housewares.org/discoverdesign.
