Interview with the best designers of the red dot design award 2007: Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbæk

Danish designers Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbæk of Tools Design have redesigned the classic waste bin for Eva Denmark. The waste bin is not only appealing because of its sleek, exquisite profile but also because of its intelligent design. The expert panel of judges for the red dot award: product design 2007 awarded the red dot: best of the best for this outstanding design achievement. Designers Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbæk reveal to us in an interview, what inspired them for this product.

Mr Jensen, Mr Holbæk, what inspired you to create this particular product and what was the intention behind it?

We get inspired when we find a problem.

It’s the small everyday tasks you perform thousands of times over the years that can be really annoying.

The main problem with a waste bin is the lid. Pedal bins seem popular and functional at first, but they present many problems. First of all they can be fragile and noisy with many metal parts scraping against each other. Secondly the lid of a pedal bin cannot stay open. Thirdly pedal bins are difficult to operate sitting down – which is the case in toilets and offices.

It is difficult to fit the liner inside bins of any kind without the top of the liner hanging on the outside. And with most bins the bag is difficult to remove once it is full.

Keeping a waste bin clean inside and outside also presents a problem with many hard to reach corners and details.

The Eva Solo waste bins are a real joy to use because they eliminate a handful of very annoying problems in a very simple and almost playful way. Suddenly a low-attention product becomes your favourite home or office accessory.

What does being awarded with the “red dot: best of the best” mean to you?

When a design gets the approval of the client, the first battle is won. When the consumers buy it, the success is made. But certain designs – especially the very simple ones – involve an amount of work or achievement that only fellow designers fully understand. This award is our proof that at least someone out there appreciates every aspect of the work involved.

What particular challenges do you think designers have to face these days?

There is no “design” without art. The general opinion among design promoters is that user groups should be the centre of all product development. But a designer that forgets to develop artistically, will soon loose his intuition – the sense that makes you take the right decision when everything else is equal.

As a designer, what would you still like to accomplish in the future?

While we hope to work with new problems most of the time, we now would like to have the opportunity to make the same product three times over. Simply because you get so much knowledge and experience the first time you design a certain product that it can fuel several redesigns – hopefully better than the first one. In short: improvement.

What do you think is the economic significance of design?

“Design” in general has no significance in itself. It’s not a magic word. However if “design” is considered as a creative, innovative and artistic process, it will be invaluable in any product development.

Sculptural and intelligent: the Eva Solo waste bin 

The Eva Solo waste bin is a good example of how the sterling qualities of a really already aged product are reborn thanks to its outstanding design. The clear-cut style and stainless steel material lend the waste bin a sculptural character. At the same time it is appealing in its high level of functionality; upon opening the lid it balances on the edge of the bin by means of an ingenious functional mechanism. This mechanism enables the waste bin to be opened on either side.  The lid closes again by itself with minimal contact.  

Another functional aspect of this waste bin is the bag retainer, which is of a rubber coated metal ring design. The bag is folded around the ring and is dropped into the bin. There are no hinges, corners or edges on the ring, making it very easy to clean. If the table is full of kitchen waste, remove the cover, turn it over and carry the waste in the bowl which is thus created to the bin. The Eva Solo waste bin is available in three sizes for the kitchen, office or bathroom. Its shape is the euphemism of everyday life and the intelligence of its functionality is used to captivate its users time and time again.

Tools Design was set up in 1989 by Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbæk. Today the design studio is located in an old factory in the north western part of Copenhagen. With more than 130 awards and prizes Tools Design is one of the most successful design houses in Denmark and has become a hallmark for Danish design.