The notion of ‘reduce and refine’ is one I’ve pursued. I truly believe that by making things less complex, by finding innovative ways to make sustainability affordable, we can advance the notion that it is possible. – Yves Behar
Sometimes you can find peace of mind by transferring yourself to different situations. They’re just reminders to stay… calm. – Yves Behar
Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, ‘If it isn’t ethical, it can’t be beautiful. But if it isn’t beautiful, it probably shouldn’t be at all.’ – Yves Behar
The idea of designing something that is like something else is incredibly uninteresting and boring. – Yves Behar
The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business. – Yves Behar
I’ve been influenced by some of the greatest designers. Charles Eames. And Bruno Munari in the ’50s in Italy – when they had to retool the industry of war into an industry to help society. In a way, I’m influenced by designers that were there at a radical time of change. – Yves Behar
I imagine a future with no waste; material innovations have already become exponentially more vast, and I do think the future needs to be cradle to cradle. If designed properly, one product could be used for many years before needing to be recycled, or its components reused. – Yves Behar
I wanted to be a writer as a teen… so storytelling was my first love. In my late teens, design became an obsession as I realized that I could express myself through the medium. Much later, when I founded Fuseproject in 1999, our slogan became ‘design brings stories to life.’ – Yves Behar
What I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that design can have a primary role in how a business is shaped, how a company can be design-driven. In my experience of large industry in Europe, that knowledge has been lost. – Yves Behar
The biggest challenge is that when people look at low price point products, they essentially invest less money in development, innovation, and new technology. And in order to innovate at a lower price point, and make sustainability attainable to the masses, you have to invest more. But that’s counterintuitive for a lot of businesses. – Yves Behar
Part of my life is spent designing in urban centers, and part of my life has been spent in factories. But the other part of my life is spent in nature. – Yves Behar
Our principal role as designers is to accelerate new ideas and the adoption of new ideas. – Yves Behar
Having one foot in design and the other in sustainable and social projects, I hear this question quite often: ‘Why does the world need another chair?’ My answer is that the world needs another chair/bicycle/car or any new product for that matter, like the world needs another book. – Yves Behar
I think every business, really, has a unique reason for being, unique assets, unique attributes, a unique history. And that can be turned into a very attractive design story, essentially, that consumers can relate to. – Yves Behar
Design needs a new relationship with the world, one that is more focused on our planet’s needs. – Yves Behar
Fuseproject was founded in 1999, and the notion behind it, which is alive and kicking today, is fusing different disciplines. Our teams are absolutely incredible at their own discipline, but most importantly, they’re incredible at partnering with each other. – Yves Behar
When clients come to my design agency and say ‘I want to be the Apple of this or that,’ we say ‘Okay, are you ready to be the Steve Jobs?’ Few are up to the task. – Yves Behar
An ideal day for me is a combination of a fun-exciting creative moment with work partners, some laughs and games with my kids, a good surf session, and great conversation with friends around a meal. – Yves Behar
I want to work on things that aren’t self-evident, to propose things that are radically different and game-changing. – Yves Behar
When I first came to the Bay area, I worked in Silicon Valley in the early to mid-’90s, and I think what mattered then was our ability as designers to create a vision around people’s ideas. – Yves Behar