Design As A Language

Whenever I admire someone’s artistic endeavours I try and look at more than the one work that I have stumbled upon.

I always look for context. 
Where is the designer from?
In what period was it designed?
What was the cultural significance?
How come the work in question had some kind of following or even the opposite question, why was there a lack of recognition..?
Was the designer more likely to have his work made under license by a big manufacturer or was he or she more engaged with the actual craftsman ship?

I find it always very exciting when I come across someone I admire and I can do a bit of digging to unearth interesting back ground info that gives me a clearer picture. If one looks at a longer period of the output of a designer or artist one can see a development that gives clues and can be very informative.

Some designers have become household names and there work has been distributed far and wide. However the number of pieces sold of a particular item is no prerequisite for its uniqueness.

Often I do admire a furniture item that has longevity and is hard to put into a time period.

These days it takes great foresight on the part of the crafts person to forge ones own path and come up with a unique design language that can stand the test of time.