VernissageTV is talking with Norbert Wild, curator of the Design Collection of the Museum of Design Zurich and the current exhibition “Take away – Design for eating on the move”. In the first part of the interview Norbert Wild talks about his job at the museum, the aesthetics of fast food utensils, eatable dishes, the producers of take away utensils and the Sigg bottle. Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, December 20, 2005.
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00:00 Norbert Wild, you are the head of the design collection of the Museum of Design Zurich.
00:07 Can you introduce yourself? What is your function here and your daily business?
00:16 My main job is to be the curator of the design collection here, which is one of four collections
00:27 the Museum of Applied Arts in Zurich does have. We sometimes do exhibitions as well
00:34 in order to represent what we have in the collection. We focus on themes which are closely
00:42 linked to everyday life as takeaways. This for instance is if you walk through a city
00:54 like Zurich, you realise very quickly that the takeaway has improved, has an impact on
01:01 our everyday life. It is like observing and then trying to find an answer to questions.
01:09 How important for you is the design of the dishes, the tools you eat?
01:23 It becomes very important. Personally I don't really care as long as it is not environmental
01:30 badly. But as you can realise the restaurants do a very good job and they do invest a lot
01:38 of money to bring up the aesthetics of the cups and dishes. This has to do because the
01:51 influence of Asian food is becoming so important and Asian food is in itself very aesthetically
01:58 done. So this has also changed how it is wrapped and packed.
02:07 Did you ever eat eatable dishes? Things you can eat?
02:18 This is a fashion ten years ago. They tried to do that. They had for instance the railway
02:25 service had this kind of food, had these cups which would actually be bread and they served
02:34 a soup in it and then you were supposed to eat this bread after. I didn't like it.
02:47 I think that's the reason why it didn't make any impact.
02:49 It doesn't work now. You do not like to eat something everybody has touched.
02:56 Are there any companies specialised in designing fast food tourist dishes?
03:02 Yes, there are a lot. It's a huge business. They are located mostly in Italy or in the
03:13 north of Europe. They have some very big companies to do that. There is another section of companies
03:20 who are distributing them which in itself is a very big business as well. But mostly
03:31 they are connected with a company who does packaging. That's a very close link together.
03:43 Are there any companies specialised in that?
03:45 Yes, there are quite a few.
03:47 Are there SICK bottles?
03:49 Yes, I actually wouldn't know by heart but I think it's in January. So we have invited
03:56 the inventor of the SICK bottle, the person who designed it, but also the manager who
04:11 was responsible at that time to bring this object on the market. One thing is the idea
04:18 to make this bottle a lifestyle product but then you still have to do it. The marketing
04:28 boss at that time did a very good job.
04:35 I think it's a worldwide known company.
04:38 It's very successful.
04:41 It's almost like the Swiss Army knife.
04:45 Not quite but it's close to it.