There are not a lot of designers for whom I have more respect than Marc Newson. What I appreciate in what he has delivered so far, from salt and pepper shakers to spacecraft, is the consideration with which he approaches each project and, really, his life. Watch the five-part BBC documentary about him and you'll get a sense of what I mean. This is a man who is not designing to litter the world with pretty things that bear his signature, even though that is certainly a byproduct; this is a man who is not designing to change the world, even though that is certainly a byproduct; this is a man who is not designing to make statements about where we've been or where we're going, even though that is certainly a byproduct. This is a man who is designing to solve problems, an all-too rare intent in those who would rethink the way we brush our teeth...

For too long, and still today, the word design has been mistaken for a term of form, of look, feel or worse, marketing. In fact, it is a term of function. And Mr. Marc Newson is one of its most prominent, and talented, evangelists. An evidently thoughtful man, he is even, in my opinion, misunderstood by the talking heads in the aforementioned short documentary.

It is easy, and frankly disappointing to all involved, to speak of the gifted as simply "different," the way some speak of Newson. I tend to believe that we all are different, great even, if caught at the right moment, in front of the right audience. Marc Newson just happens to be great more often than most. There are few substitutes for those moments of total creativity. And yes, again, we are indeed talking of greatness in the form of salt and pepper shakers. And of his latest and greatest Character Approved design--a boat.

[Image: Marc Newson]