Leading Ladies of Swedish Design (4): Cecilia Hertz
by Charlotte West
published in LOFT The Nordic BOOKAZINE Summer 2008 Issue, Volume #6
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While still a design student, Cecilia Hertz went to NASA and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and showed 8,000 engineers how to build a space ambulance. Hertz used design methodology and new thinking to solve what a lot of space engineers had not even thought of.
Name: Cecilia Hertz.
Family: Husband Carl and son Leo, 3.
Field: Space design and space technology transfer
Educational background: MA in Industrial Design in 2000 from Lund Institute of Technology.
Main clients: NASA, ESA, POC, Scania, NCC, Cycleurope.
Favorite object of design: “My” little space vehicle – the CRV Crew Return Vehicle. I was part of a team and designed the interior initially as my graduation project in Lund. It really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of space.
Sources of inspiration: If you haven’t experienced zero gravity, you can’t design for space. I have experienced weightlessness myself in a parabolic flight. It was an experience that gave me totally new perceptions of an interior. There is no ceiling or floor so you can use the whole area.
Design philosophy: My company, Umbilical Design, is dedicated to space design and technology transfer from the space industry to consumer products. We strongly believe that technologies and know-how from the space industry can contribute to the development of sustainable products that improve the Earth. I am interested in what I call volume management and ‘weightless thinking.’ We need to be brave – we need to challenge our clients so we don’t just create more products.
Favorite designer: The NASA architects!
Hidden talent/interest: I’ve trained in Aikido for 12 years.
The music you play while working: At the moment I like Maia Hirasawa, Britta Persson. An old favorite is U2!
What tools do you always have out on your desk in your studio? It might sound boring, but my computer and the telephone. My work is so much about communication.
Favorite material and color: A pollution-absorbing coating that can be applied to houses in order to create a better everyday life for people living in our polluted city centers. I think that is a really beautiful product.
This Report is part of an article that was published in LOFT The Nordic BOOKAZINE Summer Issue 2008 Volume #6.
It was written by Charlotte West, American writer and journalist living in Sweden. Please feel free to check out her website www.curiosity.se for further info.
