Fax Quintus of design agency e27

While everybody talks about design, Fax Quintus puts it into practice: More than 20 years ago he founded design agency e27. Since then, the industry's requirements have changed. The Internet of Things is the new buzzword. Designers today are at the interface between hardware and software. Quintus has not only accompanied this development but early on recognised trends such as virtual reality as a visiting lecturer at Fraunhofer Institut or as the founder of several companies.

Mr. Quintus, Berlin is currently positioning itself as Europe's startup capital. Young and innovative technology and IT companies in particular establish themselves in the city. Being part of the design industry, to what extent do you benefit from the economic upswing? 

Startups obviously require a large amount of design work and through their innovative products present us with extremely interesting tasks. During the last year, we have supported many startups from product development through brand development to the entire communication design. Also, a strong "green" startup scene has emerged in Berlin, developing products in the areas of electric mobility, alternative food and product types as well as driving future issues such as water. New physical hardware products are being developed in this context, which I'm particularly pleased about as a product designer.

Do more and more companies attach importance to design matters or is this a misconception? Do you feel that clients appreciate your services more than they did a few years ago? 

I'm pleased to see that design is increasingly no longer considered to be "styling", meaning that designers are no longer used to create only a promotional product shell, but that due to the popularity of methods such as "design thinking" designers are consulted in the conception stage already. This opens up new and exciting areas of activity for us: We're no longer designers, but influencers. Last year, for example, we developed a revolutionary new charging pole for an Eon drop-off as part of this new role: We generated and rolled out a fully-functioning product including all services based on the idea to install charging poles instead of linear luminaires on the ceilings of parking garages. 

Which of your design products are particularly sought after at the moment?

Due to our brand developments we have a strong focus on digital and media issues which is why our Internet of Things products are especially in demand at the moment, certainly also because our combination of developmental expertise in the areas of hardware and software is hard to come by. A good example is the Palmetto water sensor, consisting of an app and a sensor which is clipped onto the water pipe. The app explains water issues in a playful manner just like a tamagotchi, triggers an alarm in case of a pipe burst and notifies a plumber.

Since 2006, Berlin has held the title of "City of Design" which makes it part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Through a variety of measures Berlin has shown that the title is not just an empty promise. Among other things, the funding programme "Design Transfer Bonus" provides financial support to the collaboration between design companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). What have been your experiences with the programme? How important are such funding programmes for the design industry in Berlin?

The interesting thing about the Design Transfer Bonus programme was that it helped us discover that a lot of products are actually manufactured in Berlin and that you get to know companies you wouldn't necessarily have considered customers. The programme helps designers get a foot in the door as it takes away the clients' fear of the "expensive" designers. Our experience in all cases has been that a longer-term partnership emerged, provided that the collaboration had been successful and positive.

Do you have an example for that?

Our first project with Hahnlicht generated a downright chain reaction of new projects. As a result, based on classic product design and furniture design we have managed to tap into industrial design areas. I think that especially in the Berlin-based design industry there are many design offices who never leave the bounds of furniture design. Firstly, because they think there's no manufacturing industry here, and secondly, because the demand in Berlin is weak. The latter is due to the fact that, on the one hand, established companies shy away from investments in services and instead choose to work with old designs and, on the other, that startups simply don't have the spending power to pay for designers. In such cases funding programmes such as Design Transfer Bonus are very helpful as they build bridges and eliminate inhibitions. The large amount of great young companies based in Berlin that have the ability to develop new products together with designers form the foundation for the Internet of Things. These small structures are much more agile than large companies, can react much quicker to new developments and have a much larger innovative capacity which is why they will be economically more relevant than corporations in the long run. We need to properly support the potential that is harboured in Berlin.

Mr. Quintus, could you please complete the following sentence: Berlin is...

... a nucleus.