The History of KIWI：Interview with Italian Designer Donao D’ Urbino
Interviewer: Wang Yun
Could you share with us your creative source?
The careful scrutiny of all the aspects related to the subject we face or of what already exists in the field of design may
both generate new ideas. But an idea may also originate from our daily experiences, by observing our use of different
objects. A sense of curiosity about the world around us, along with the observation of the everchanging behaviours of
other people as well as of ours’, lie at the core of our creativity. The process of observation should be carried out with
a critical eye and a creative mind. Uncreative people could repeat the same action hundreds of times in a wrong,
unsafe or fatiguing way, without even thinking about how they could achieve the same goal correctly, safely and easily,
through the use of a new, more suitable tool…… But this is still to be invented. Actually, our ideas have always
different origins: the availability of a new material or the use of a new technology may open new creative routes.
Therefore, it is difficult to list all the sources of inspiration at the basis of our creative process.
After conceiving an idea, which is the path leading to the creation of a product?
The paths are numerous and very different. Sometimes it takes just a few weeks to create a product, sometimes it
takes years. It 's rare, but it may happen that the initial idea comes along with a full set of formal choices, choices of
materials and technologies. This enables us to produce the piece within a short period of time. But it often happens
that a definite route undergoes various deviations in path direction due to the critical analysis of early prototypes that
makes you want to experiment and take different directions. The discovery of a malfunctioning element may stop the
development of a project for months; the control of the manufacturing process along with the relevant production costs
may also interfere with the project in a decisive way. It is interesting to note that the study model, which we always rely
on, if too defined can even discourage any changes of route, because we may feel restrained by it. Therefore a study
model only roughly sketched, but through which we can verify the accuracy of our approach, is much more useful for
the development of a creative idea than a defined one.
Could you tell us, for example, the path followed for the creation of one of your products?
With pleasure. I am personally very interested in the mechanisms of creativity and love to keep the sketches, the
drawings and the study models used during the different phases of our creative process, from the very first attempts
to create a product to the final result. This is aimed at documenting a product’s evolution. I don’t want to make people
think that the experience we have gained through the years has led us towards embracing more linear paths, without
encountering any surprises or mistakes along our way that usually require abrupt changes in path direction or even a
stepoff. These latter elements, indeed, should be regarded as a kind of “richness,” not a “weakness.” Herein, I would
like to focus on the wateringcan KIWI whose creation was successfully carried out, even if its creative process has
embarked on those complex journeys cited above.KIWI is a small watering can used for houseplants manufactured
by Alessi, a wellknown design company, leader in the field of household goods particularly in the area of gifts. The
first idea for this product derived from a technological choice: we knew that the plastic containers used for detergents,
being thrown away after their use, are produced using the blow moulding technique at a very low cost. It seemed a
good starting point to adopt the same technology for our product, also because a closed volume, such as that of
bottles, would allow us to enrich the few free edges of the product with steel finishes. In this way we could limit the
cheep effect that always characterizes plastic objects. Influenced by a bottle that we had in our studio (1) we started
exploring the possibility of developing our watering can in the same way, but tried to give it a strong formal connotation,
in order to make it suitable for Alessi’s high level catalogue. The first formal hypothesis consisted of a horn with a
small side funnel, a long spout to pour water and a handle obtained using the blow moulding technique (2). In Europe
the horn stands as a symbol for good luck, so what element could be better for a gift item?
Seeing the final result it seems that there are just a few traces of the horn from which you started.
Exactly. Analyzing the horn we designed we became aware of the fact that its shape was not the solution for our
problem, especially because the spout covering the whole top of the object seemed to occupy too much volume in
comparison to the body of the watering tank. Furthermore, the position of the small funnel was too high, making it
difficult to put KIWI under a standard home tap.
These considerations led us to think that working on a horizontal form could help us solving these problems. Without
the use of any sketch, but only by working in our laboratory, relying on our own craftsmanship we created a model, or
better half a model made of clay, that reflected in a mirror (3) gave us the impression of finally being on the right track.
The clay object was then transformed into a 3D drawing, trying to optimize the continuity of the curves. The water
entrance hole was positioned on the opposite side of the spout. After providing the mathematical formulations to a
rapid prototyping machine, this produced a model using a material suitable for water and ready to be tested. (4)
So everything was fine?
I would not say so. The balance and the handling of the watering can were good. Well guessed the dimentions of the
spout for the out coming water. The handle was comfortable and well positioned in relation to the centre of gravity of
the water contained. It seemed, however, that the belly of the watering can could be further inflated to enhance the
contrast with the thinness of the spout. This was not a problem. But during the test a user, being afraid that the water
would come out during its transport, tended to raise the front of the watering can and by doing so the water come out
from the back !! (5).
Did you have to start from afresh?
This episode meant disappointment and a little distress, but this phase lasted for a short time, because we
immediately got the idea of positioning the water entrance hole or holes under the handle in central position. In that
position the groove for the hand would act as a funnel (6). Therefore the outer funnel could be eliminated! The design
would thus gain simplicity and compactness. During the creative process, people find it hard to abandon the solutions
proposed, we became affectionate to them as if they were our children. The small funnel, in fact, was present in all
the previous models and only in the end did we realize that it could be eliminated. At this stage we also understood
that it would not be possible to create the handle in a single cast (7)
Perhaps the idea of designing a vertical manageable object got lost on its way?
After the market tests assured Alessi that the public liked this idea, the design of the watering can underwent some
formal changes. One of them, consisted of cut a platform allowing KIWI to maintain a vertical position when not in use.
We owe this solution to a famous pipe designed by J Colombo 40/50 years ago (8).
Some people after seeing KIWI in a standing position (9) affirmed, "Great! It is totally related to the topic! It looks like a
drop of water." I have to admit that it was completely unplanned, since no one has realized this similarity before. At this
point, the planning phase was successfully completed (10).
For those who think that creating a good product means to think about its design at night, draw its sketch at dawn,
then obtain the final product it in the evening, this short story is perhaps a surprise.
D O N A T O D ‘ U R B I N O
durbino@durbino-lomazzi.it
www.durbinolomazzi.it
