A mixture of method and magic: Sven Rudolph, Carsten Schelling and Ralph Webermann are the founders of Rudolph Schelling Webermann, and they've made the extraordinary their speciality. They met on the stairs at Hochschule Hannover, the university of applied sciences, on the day of the entrance exam for the product design course. They founded their studio straight out of university in 2005, still under the name Ding3000, and have since made a name for themselves as an award-winning product design and innovation agency.
Thank you for your time! Tell us, how did you get into product design?
S: I was already drawing trainers at primary school, and I was interested in designing products. I started the product design course without much prior knowledge and discovered that it isn't just about form at all – the course actually offers far more possibilities. You can invent products and solve problems. That was a revelation for me.
C: I also designed lots of things myself from an early age. I went to a Steiner school, so I'd already had plenty of creative lessons. After school, I went abroad and worked at a pottery in Canada. The workshop leader there had studied product design in Japan and thought the course would suit me. In the end, one thing led to another. It was like a nudge from outside that pointed me in that direction.
C&S: Ralph is a qualified master cabinetmaker. At some point, he realised that he was missing the design side in what was essentially a purely craft-based training. So he came across the product design course with great interest.
What's everyday life like as founders and managing directors of RSW?
S: Our work is varied and differs from project to project. Whether it's a small project such as designing key rings or a large commission such as developing a complete concept for a chain of shops, it always stays exciting – so we're happy to go to work every day. The actual working day is usually similar, unless we're away at trade fairs or meeting clients. Otherwise, we work a fairly normal 40-hour week and try to avoid working through the night (laughs).
Your agency is based in Hanover in Germany. Why Hanover?
C: None of us is originally from Hanover in Germany. We came here to study at the university, and we simply liked it here. We wanted to set up our own business together straight afterwards. Luckily, there was a funding programme at the time for start-ups founded out of Hochschule Hannover. That funding helped us a great deal, especially at the beginning.
S: Hanover is really green, and you don't need a car to get anywhere quickly. I like the people here because they're very down to earth. You don't have to be someone or play a role – you can simply be yourself.
Your core expertise is designing consumer goods. What does that involve?
S: In product design, there's a term: "low-complexity consumer goods". It covers anything that one person or a small team can design.
S&C: We do product design as a team – we're team players. Sometimes, at the end, you can't even say who had the original idea. We're always discussing things and developing them further together.
You're convinced that successful products have to meet real user needs. What does your design process look like?
S: The process usually starts with looking for problems. In principle, that's already a big key to a successful product: identifying one of those problems and solving it convincingly.
C: Examples include the whisk for Normann Copenhagen and the Charge Box for Konstantin Slawinski. We look at how a product is used and what it's for as a whole, and develop a solution that makes real sense for the user – in these cases, a whisk that folds flat and a charging box.
Together with designer Christian Stapelbroek, you designed the Mood pendant light for yunic. What inspired the design?
S: Smart lighting controls have been around for a few years, and many of them work via the light switch. We felt they often make things more complicated, serve a purely decorative purpose or aren't an improvement in terms of handling. Christian Stapelbroek is a designer from Hanover whom we enjoy working with time and again. The Mood pendant light was a great challenge, because we were able to approach the project together without any specifications at all.
C: We wanted to create a design that doesn't depend on apps, that anyone can use and that will still work in 50 years' time. The golden dimmer, which changes both the brightness and the colour of the light with a simple turn, isn't just beautiful to look at – it adds real value. Whether you're having dinner, working or doing crafts with the children, different situations need different light, and the Mood pendant light makes that possible.
What do you particularly like about the Mood pendant light?
S: For me, it's the interaction. You want to use the dimmer. The action itself becomes a pleasure.
C: What I like is the contrast between the simple form and the wide range of functions – that it offers so much added value, even though it's quite a simple product.
What do you value about working with Connox?
S+C: We often have clients based abroad, so we can't just sit down with them for a quick coffee and talk about a product. The best ideas come from talking face to face, and that's possible with Connox.
S+C: You also know that the products will be presented in a great setting, alongside lots of other good products. Connox is an agile company, and product development moves forward because the people there are motivated. That's fun. You can tell that you're working with people who have drive and want to achieve something.
You also teach the Sustainable Entrepreneurship course at Hochschule Hannover. What's it about?
S: The course is about helping business students develop ideas and business models with a focus on sustainability. It's great fun, and it's a completely new approach for the students, too: not just building a financially successful company, but also making sustainability a high priority.
How do you put "sustainability" into practice in your own work?
S: By now, we know what makes a product sustainable and what doesn't. So we only want to put products into the world that make it better, not worse. Of course, that's never completely in our own hands, because we mostly work for manufacturers. But we want to be even stricter about it in future.
C: We aim for a certain cradle-to-cradle standard. Our products should be recyclable, or even made from recycled materials. We encourage companies to think about sustainability right from the first consultation. We also place great importance on quality and durability. Ideally, the products we design are ones you keep for a lifetime and perhaps even pass on.
What would you like to see in the future of the industry?
S: Sometimes I wish designers were seen more as part of the whole. In principle, the products we design are at the heart of it all. A more family-like approach would be nice – for us to be seen as an integral part of the whole process and involved earlier on, even though we're external designers.
Thank you so much for these fascinating insights!
