Evolving Creative Thinking

Markus Gogolin is the founder of Design Spotter, an architectual designer and owner of an interior design store called CubeSeven.com. He co-founded DesignSpotter.com in 2005 with Gunnar Schmidt. He's also a frequent visitor to Trend Hunter!

11 Questions with Markus Gogolin

1. Why did you start Design Spotter and what motivates you to continue?

For years I have been working intensively with design of all kinds and with designspotter.com I could turn my passion into a profession. The internet, my window to the world, allows me as a designer to research exciting design ideas from every corner of the globe and be inspired by them every day anew. It is also the internet that I use actively every day to provide international designers a platform and therefore allow them to present themselves to the whole world. Call it lobbying, my work has brought a lot of interesting contacts about over the time. And it is precisely this networking effect that highly motivates me to extend designspotter.com

2. You seem to be very involved in design shows. Tell me more about your involvementin the design community.

Our involvement in the design community starts with our everyday work. Product design, interior design, visuals arts/motion design are our focus. While working with and for design we have realized some exhibitions already. We were four times at "Passagen" in Cologne, twice at "Designbiennale" in St. Eienne/France and four times at blickfang/Stuttgart + Wien. This year we will take it a step further, that we deserve to be proud of. For the first time designspotter.com realize their own exhibition at the "International Furniture Fair imm cologne 2007" in Cologne. On 350 sqm we give over 40 international designers the opportunity to present their design ideas to an international trade and general audience.

Over 100.000 visitors are exspected! Get out of the internet and into exhibition hall 1! We are anxiously anticipating the exhibition and preparing some innovations for it. Watch out!

3. How significant are the topics of cool hunting and trend spotting in the world of design?

Design is a very broad field that you find throughout all genres and all over the globe. Our daily input of innovations and design possibilities is nearly unlimited in the digital age. That is why institutions and platforms that fulfil the essential filter-function are increasingly important . With a categorization system we guide the visitor through design related topics. The focus on trends and news is as vital as the "classics" section!

4. How do you define a trend?

A trend starts small scale, as the idea of some individuals, maybe one. This idea is reflected and starts to make a bigger impact until it is "discovered" by trendscouts, who translate it into a bigger scale and make is accessible for the masses. This year is marked by ornaments, flowers and deer in all variations. Designers are always the beginning of a trend. They give the first impulse in the chain, they create the spark and constantly have to think ahead of their time - ahead of the trend and "state of the art".

5. How do you define cool?

Everything new and at the edge of what is possible with our current technique....that is cool.

6. What are the qualities of a good designer?

I am convinced that the surprise elemente makes a good desinger and good design. Even common things that we are used to can be turned into something funny and new through a shrewd subtlety. "Design is superficial from the deep" says the well-known media and design scientist Norbert Bolz. Functionalty can along with good design be as important as simple aesthetics that touche me and make my heart miss a beat. A good designer explores the depth in order to work on the surface. This is the primary qualification that sets him apart from others.

7. What is the best way to create a design that becomes infectious / extremely popular?

The best way? Do what you do best and love it. Pay attention, raise your view and look beyond things. Try to discover new currents, fine hues, that bear potential and filter them through your attitude. Hang on, it is really desirable to be popular? Pop-ular contains pop, and pop is short lived as we all know. Do you want that? Nowadays in the age of the "digital boheme" Guerialla marketing the the thing to do. My insider tipp ;-)

8. What are your ambitions for DesignSpotter?

In 2007 we want to develop our status as European design platform with a reputation. A website relaunch will equip designspotter.com with additional features. Beyond that we are currently putting a lot of energy in to developing a twin platform that will go online at the end of January. We will let you know more about that later. So far just the name: designspotter.tv

9. How do you reset yourself to be creative? (e.g. do you have any rituals, do you set aside time for creativity, etc.)

Creativity is no permanent condition. There are days where the ideas are sparking and those where they won't come full stop. I try to stimulate my creativity by staying in touch with inspiring people who reflect and with whom I can bounce ideas back and forth. Travelling as much as I can keeps my head open and opens up perspectives that feed back positively to my creativity.

10. Professionally, what do you want to be doing or studying in 10 years?

I am working on positioning Designspotter.com and new born Designspotter.tv in globally and plan to establish them during the coming years. My work is a lot of fun. Somehow I managed to turn my passion into my job. I know that this is a great luxury nowadays and hope that I will be able to busy myself with design and related topics sucessfully in the future.

11. What are your most important hobbies?

Design, travelling, swimming, wine.