DESIGNING

 

DESIGNING   |    DANWARD

Designing is a mystery.  How from thin air, do we put pen to paper to birth something original?  From where does inspiration come, and how is it channeled? 

For me, designing is a highly personal experience.  Form and function are absolute in good design and ultimately; the process of designing is about striking a balance between the rational and emotional.  Depending on the category or gender, I let one dominate and the other follow.

Good process is an absolute for good design and before I can even begin to allow myself to be creative, I must find the answers to some key questions.  Who am I designing for, how with this product affect their lives / routine, in what context it will be used in? 

Answering these functional questions enables me to start off on the right foot and make intelligent choices.  For example, while designing a swim short or brief – knowing our customer key as I want to be sure that there is enough cover to be sexy – but refined.  Prints need to resonate with him, be sophisticated, yet powerful.  Colors must to be reassuring, yet combined in an unexpected manner.  For longevity, it is mandatory that materials resist the wear of the sea and chlorine, have memory and hold their shape and be treated protect the body from the suns’ UVs.  These are all a part of the functional puzzle.

The emotional element of design is more intangible.  Early when I created my brand, I established key design elements that are always present in every DANWARD product. These visual markers are born from my personal aesthetics. While working Hermes, Calvin Klein, and Bally, I had to design to those brands’ aesthetics.  It is an absolute luxury to now have the liberty design to my own personal taste. 

A passionate collector of 50’s industrial design, I love the pared down functional, which I like to juxtapose with more conceptual modern art; this contrasts feels eternally fresh to me.  At DANWARD, our designs are graphic, linear, asymmetric, and sophisticated.  Less is definitely more – that is, when less it done well.  This means using the best materials and craftmanship, combining a tailored yet comfortable fit, with excellent execution and unexpected design details.  This attention to detail creates product that increases in personal value with every use.

At DANWARD, our mission is to designs garments that are highly functional, – ageless, cool and eternally relevant.

Dan Ward