[Design Indaba 2015] Dutch designers talk design inspiration

Before the talk, Houben told me exclusively that the KLM redesign had thus far been a journey of inspiration, that's why he loved the fact that he got to travel to Cape Town to attend the Indaba - it's an example of how he's been presented with the opportunity to explore and absorb the best of what he sees globally into his own experience.

BizTakeouts presenter Warren Harding then MCed the afternoon talk in a preview of the weekend's expo, centred around the fact that KLM lives in the heart of Dutch people, which is why the redesign was strongly centred around Dutch aesthetics.

Houben then explained that as global brand and design director, he's seen KLM come a long way in inspiring people as the oldest airline in the world, as it is "96 years young".

KLM's four main brand values

Topmost is that KLM is proud to be Dutch, so the brand only makes use of Dutch designers, chefs and DJs. The second brand value is openness, both in transparency of what they do and in offering passengers onboard a true welcome with an open attitude. Third is that the brand sees itself as inspirational, setting high quality points throughout its passengers' experience. KLM also aims to be seen as reliable and consistent in what it offers its customers.

Jongerius in action during her talk on day one of the Design Indaba 2015 conference

These values don't just live in a vision and mission statement - they're incorporated daily into serving customer needs and adapting to the world around them. Back in 2011 they decided to update the business class experience of their 747 aircraft, which is when Jongerius was asked to "add a feeling of home" for their frequent fliers.

Making travel away from home feel like coming home

Jongerius then spoke of her process of giving KLM's passengers a feeling of privacy and comfort away from home, which segued into a Q&A session. Harding asked how Jongerius had implemented her design in the strict confines of an airline. She said she first felt she needed to find out what KLM stood for and dove into what was possible, constantly asking 'why'. Harding also asked about the challenges of designing in such a tight space, to which Jongerius said she actually "felt free" based on her research and that she kept pushing boundaries. It was a new culture for her and the corporate alike, so they "gave each other a masterclass on what was possible," which she found to be a nice way of working. What made the collaboration unique for Jongerius was the fact that the team she worked with shared her values - they were new in their positions so wanted to push boundaries and take the extra step, which is often missing when you work with seasoned professionals who try cut corners. This is important as there's a high level of craftsmanship involved and a redesign of any sort is usually a big investment for a company.

Jongerius explained that she started with the carpet, which actually incorporated the discarded stewardess uniforms, so in walking on airline's carpet, you're actually walking on a bit of its past. As it proved difficult to judge colours on the ground, they realised they would have to take the seat covers to the sky to see what they really looked like in the environment they were created for, and so the KLM seat covers were actually rolled out on a Lufthansa flight, to see them in the true light on the aircraft. You can watch Jongerius explain more of the process in the video embedded below:

Harding ended the session by asking what comfort means to Jongerius - she laughed and said she made sure there were no obvious plastic-y elements and that as much as possible was done to increase the ability to sleep in comfort on board. It's not just business class that benefited as an economy class redesign is also on the cards - Jongerius is set to relish the challenge as it brings even tighter deadlines and more rigid space limitations - but ultimately, the sky's the limit.