Stephen Bayley on Terence Conran
Ten things Terence taught me:
1. A magnum turns even rough old vin ordinaire into an indulgent luxury. The principle here is anticipatory pleasure: the large vessel speaks of generosity and promise.
2. Divorce is normally very expensive. As the old Chinese sage said, 'The way to win a battle is not to start it.'
3. Always tear basil with your fingers; never use a knife or scissors. Elizabeth David was the source for this, but it's not snobbish faddery. It's a matter of common sense and good taste. Cooks and designers are fundamentally linked at the philosophical level.
4. Ordinary is not the same as commonplace. The ordinary thing done extraordinarily well is at the outer limits of human potential.
5. The best way to communicate effectively is, simplify, then exaggerate. Or shout.
6. Be sure to charge appropriately for everything. Even a very short piece in Blueprint.
7. It really is never too early for a glass of decent white Burgundy.
8. When in doubt, confuse the issue.
9. Do not wait until your eighties before opening a NetJets account.
10. Lunch is important. But so, too, is everything else. Design is, most of all, an attitude. In fact, I increasingly think there's no such thing as 'design'... only designers.
