“ We love thinking outside the box.” We are speaking to Ronald, one of the designers involved from the very start of the design process. “Of course the client sets conditions, but you first have to analyse them down to their essence before you start work. For example, the condition that the whiteboard had to ‘be movable’ was turned into ‘be mobile’ – a principle that exposes the essence of functionality.”
Colleague Bastiaan explains that in the subsequent brainstorming phase, anything can be ‘tabled’. Containers full of materials, construction sketches and above all, lots of rough drawings. “In general, you can divide the resulting ideas into functional and stylistic ideas. ”However big or small a thought is, every idea is expressed in a small pencil sketch. In the next phase, all the sketches are then reduced to 3 directions, which are presented to the client as a mood board. “Of course, we have a preference, ”Bastiaan explains. He then adds proudly that the client initially chose a different direction before coming back to GBO based on their arguments. “We felt that a slightly more industrial and robust design was best suited to Smit Visual and current interior trends. ”That is now reflected in the 2 whiteboard designs.” He compares the design for the Chameleon Portable with the leather strap with Scandinavian design. “The natural materials are the details that matter. Whoever uses real leather in a whiteboard! Amazing!”