Meet Peter Bristol's Inventive Lighting and Furniture

Q. What are some tools you use in your work?
A. Of course your head is the most important tool. The rest of the tools tend to help comprehend, iterate, refine, define and communicate the work done upstairs. Thumbnails capture thoughts and explorations; physical mock-ups help understand scale and ergonomics quickly. Computers are invaluable for creation, refinement and communication along the way.

Q. How did your American Standards Light come about?
A. I was doing an exercise looking at everyday icons. At first, the switch and wall plug were the icons. But then I realized that the way in which most 2-by-4 walls are made is also recognizable. Referencing the whole drywall construction approach became interesting. Putting elements together, the extra socket and known switch approach combined to make a pretty neat light.

Q. How much do older designs and new trends come into play?
A. You cannot help but be affected by what you know. The context of what has happened and is happening is always there. However, it seems good solutions tend to be less about what others are doing or have done, and more about what should be done now.

Q. The Cut Chair is so sculptural. It looks like it's floating. Can you sit on it without tipping over?
A. Yes, it is pretty stable. The carpet is part of the piece, and there is a steel plate underneath that allows the seat pan to cantilever off the one complete leg.

Q. It seems like a departure from your more practical designs.
A. Yes, I agree. Not practical. … I guess it is a bit more art than product. That line is always a little fuzzy.

Q. Do you distinguish between design that serves a specific purpose and design that is great to look at?
A. That is sort of the classic form-function discussion, right? I am not sure that those two can ever be separated. Context guides good design, but there are many interpretations of context. Something like a medical product must be functional first, while other areas of design can let the product character take the lead. Function is beautifully distilled in the work of Dieter Rams, but there is a whole different type of beauty in the more opinionated work of Marcel Wanders. While the approaches vary, there is awesome work at both ends of the spectrum.

Q. Is there a particular balance you like to strike with experimentation, research, collaboration and other processes?
A. I think each project takes on a life of its own. Those processes all exist to help generate and find the right ideas. The way in which they are mixed along the way is always different. It’s tough to try and force a rigid structure around such a fluid type of work.

Q. How much does manufacturing affect your designs?
A. How things are produced and how they go together always affect a design, just like use always affects a design. Sometimes manufacturing methods define a product, and sometimes they enable it. It is usually hard to separate the design from the engineering on nice products. Ultimately, the product that is produced is the design.

Q. Is it sometimes hard to talk about your work?
A. Sometimes it is difficult to talk about attributes without sounding sales-y. I guess I feel that design should speak for itself, so any communication about the work should just confirm your natural intuition.

Q. So, just to torment you, here's the dreaded question. How would you describe your perspective on design?
A. Honest? Succinct? Appropriate? These are things I strive for.

Q. Is there a Seattle or Northwest style?
A. There are probably a few perceived Northwest styles. I am hesitant to describe any, as the web world tends to allow things to happen anywhere and everywhere at once.

Q. How do you approach designing and decorating your own home?
A. (Laughs) No real time to worry about it. We naturally curate with items we like. Set up your home to suit the way you live, and the result will be great. It will be more enjoyable for living and an accurate representation of you.

Learn more about Peter Bristol and his work