On a particularly warm day in the scorching heat of the NSIC Exhibition Center in New Delhi, I took refuge in the shady pavilion of the 14th Indian Art Fair. A sensory overload, the art fair stimulates international dialogue about the arts and culture of India and South Asia through ephemeral crafts, immersive exhibitions and cultural discourse. When I entered Rado’s experimental pop-up store at the fair, it was almost impossible to ignore the high presence of the Swiss-Argentine designer Alfredo Heberli – visitors, enthusiasts and curious observers flocked to the stage. As I approached the booth and patiently waited for my turn for an interview, Heberly nodded and smiled shyly as I happily entered.
        Alfredo Heberly, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1964 and moved to Switzerland in 1977, is known for his innovative and playful approach to product design. While his extensive portfolio includes furniture, lighting, textiles and stylish design, his products are characterized by simplicity, functionality and attention to detail. “If I had to describe my philosophy, I would try to use less material, fewer tools and get the most out of it. So it’s not necessarily ‘less is more’ but using the least amount of material to achieve maximum product movement and function,” he said. Heberly draws inspiration from his travels and the world around him, as well as his childhood memories of living in Argentina. His numerous clients are Cappellini, Vitra, Artemide, Iittala, Andreu World and others.
        For purveyors of gossip columns and fashion magazines, the Swiss watch brand Rado is the epitome of cosmopolitan city life. In 1962, Rado introduced the world’s first scratch-resistant DiaStar watch at Art Basel in April, setting off a wave in the design world. Rado CEO Adrian Bosshard met with Haeberli to discuss possible changes to Rado’s iconic products. Sixty years later, Häberli is revisiting a model made from the brand’s favorite material, Ceramos™, and is celebrating its 60th anniversary with small but significant changes.
       STIR met with the influential designer at Art India 2023 to discuss the redesign of its predecessor and answer the most important question: what has changed?
        Nitiha Immanuel: Your work seems to be deeply inspired by your childhood in Argentina. What aspects of your background and upbringing have shaped your design philosophy?
        Alfredo Haeberli: Yes, my culture is important for my growth as a creator, but no matter what I design, I want to add some value. I don’t follow fashion as I do now, and I don’t follow “trends”. I try to anticipate the possible future and try to make it happen. I don’t want to do something obviously inconvenient or not working properly. Looking back at tradition, it’s always important to take a small step forward – that’s why I know history and respect it, and in the case of the Rado DiaStar, I redesigned a 60-year-old watch so that it wouldn’t be a problem. this is a completely new product, made more elegant, lighter and using more durable materials – probably larger dials, new interpretations of sapphire and glass – that make it today and tomorrow. , ETC.
        Alfredo: I got a call and I said yes in less than a second! I remember one of those watches in my personal collection. Of course, then I started designing watches in 10 days, but I have to say that I worked very quickly because I had been collecting since I was 18, so I really thought about it. I collect watches for a reason, I know what I’m looking for and I know why I should add another watch to my collection. So that helped me a lot, but that dream came true when I started studying industrial design and achieved a lot of things that I wanted to change. However, I respect the DNA of the original DiaStar.
        Alfredo: I would choose a company that I would like to work with. Now I understand that this may sound arrogant, but I only work for people I like. I spend a lot of time with people and since I started my career 30 years ago I have been choosing companies where I can work together in a collaborative spirit. But of course you have dreams – and sometimes they come true and sometimes they don’t. I can’t give you a real “only” answer to this question.
       Nitya: What principles do you follow when it comes to designing at any scale or for any functional purpose?
        Alfredo: The smallest things I create are watches or jewelry, and the biggest ones are hotel designs. And the most difficult project I’ve worked on is car design. I do jump between dimensions a lot – even in architecture. But if I had to describe my philosophy, then I try to use less material, fewer tools and make the most of it. But instead of saying “less is more”, it could just be a line, an endless line that could create new designs, it could be my attempt to use less material. Thus, the minimum reaches the maximum of movement and function.
       Nitya: What was your inspiration/idea for the Rado DiaStar Original 60th Anniversary Edition?
        Alfredo: In my work as a designer, I always try to combine tradition and innovation, joy and energy, and this anniversary edition is no exception. Basically, the focus was on taking the features of the original DiaStar and giving it a modern twist. Therefore, subtle geometric adjustments have been made to the case to make it look more elegant and lighter. The cut of the crystal is reimagined as a hexagon, designed to highlight the 60th anniversary. The hands and date indication are made as modern and abstract as possible. With each product, I try to add value, which lies in the everyday practicality of the design. For the DiaStar, that means you should be able to wear it on different occasions, which is why it comes with two extra straps and a leather pouch for travel protection.
        Alfredo: Architecture is measured in centimeters, industrial design is measured in millimeters, and watch design takes into account every mu (mk) – every micron -. You should be able to see this clearly at first, but we quickly adapted our approach to this scale.
       Nitija: How has the pandemic affected your models and collaborations, and are there any radical perspectives on your creative process after the pandemic?
        Alfredo: I mean, it was interesting what happened in the last two years, and it’s good for me because I took the time to write a book about my work in the last 30 years. But this is my biography, so in Milan I really met wonderful people, wonderful designers and architects. I first visited the Salone del Mobile when I was a student. I fell in love with this wonderful world. I wrote about these people because, as I said, at the end of the day, it just works for people and I work for people. This is my biggest motivator and is the amount of energy I can come up with for someone I envision.
       Nitya: What do you think about today’s creative economy and what changes would you like to see?
        Alfredo: Of course, now in India, seeing a huge contrast in the economic world, there is a lot of contrast on the streets, and of course I would be happy to make a lot of changes for that. I do this as a designer, so my designs need to be accessible. I try to do it for everyone, everyday things that people can afford is my problem. 20 years ago I designed a glass for a Finnish company and we make 25,000 glasses a day, so I saw it and then I thought about making things and objects that people could hold in their hands every day, which is great.
        Alfredo: I don’t have a specific material, but if I had to choose, it would probably be wood, because you are free to experiment, given that it is a renewable resource – straight from spoons, tools, boats, we made an airplane – from wood, so it was fun. I also love glass and wires. You’re painting what you can get with wire, so it’s a very light material, and that’s fine. In this case (Rado), I like Ceramos™ because it’s a hard material, even harder than the metal we make. But yes, every material has quality, but if you ask me about it, I would say that it is wood.
        Alfredo: We currently have two new projects with Rado that I’m very happy with, and of course I have a lot of projects in the studio at the same time. For example, I’m working on an art car for a German company, we’ve just finished a sofa, and I’m working on a new golf club invention that I’ve been working on for seven years. Everything will be completed in the coming weeks.
        Nitya became STIRpad Content Manager and STIRworld Lead Writer. As a former girl group frontwoman, she has over six years of professional experience in the digital content industry. Her strengths lie in digital marketing, content management systems, SEO, social media and strategic planning.
        Nitya became STIRpad Content Manager and STIRworld Lead Writer. As a former girl group frontwoman, she has over six years of professional experience in the digital content industry. Her strengths lie in digital marketing, content management systems, SEO, social media and strategic planning.
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       teamLab takes on the scenography: after the Geneva premiere, Giacomo Puccini’s latest opera, Turandot, directed by Daniel Cramer, will be shown in Tokyo.
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