Interview with Joel Baumann (Co-Founder, Tomato UK)
Cindy: What does design failure mean to you?
Joel: The very idea of a failure only can be conceived in respect to a measurement, a comparison, some kind of scale.
You need to pass a certain amount of something, you didn't, you fail.
Cindy: How do you measure creativity? By success? By amount? By time spent making something?
Joel: If design is seen as a creative practice, I think there is no real possibility to measure.
But in terms of using your experience in designing things to communicate a message, you can find that it can be measured by the outcome. Still, this is a dangerous way to look at things, because innovation is often brought on by a design that at first seems to be a bit 'wrong', just because the way it communicates has not yet been adapted by the broad masses.
So, to finish up, as I believe in process, rather than goal driven work, I don't believe in failure at all, there is no such thing.
Cindy: Have you ever experienced a failure in your work that led to a later success or helped you to identify a new direction within your work?
Joel: Yes, I have had lots of work not being used for the initial purpose its creation was initiated by. I have ideas for things I want to make, I show them to people, some understand my ideas, some don't. Some like them, some don't.
So the failure to secure a job with a good idea allows the idea to be free. It might a much more adequate partner in some other client.
Cindy: Have you ever intentionally makes your work look imperfect? If yes, What techniques do you use? Does your artworks usually begin as accidental designs that, and you would decide to incorporate them into your work?
Joel: No, the idea of imperfection is similar to the idea of failure. I don't think there is perfection in something 'clean' or totally polished. Many things we set against each other and compare nowadays actually don't work in the same value-system at all. You can not compare a great rock song with an opera, just because they are both music. In your sense of perfection, the best rock song my have very rough sounds, not really perfect in harmony or timing, but great, while in other musical genres beat and timing must be spot on for them the music to sound good.
So, to answer the question: I have sometimes looked for a certain style for a piece I made, where the textures are rough and the spacing might be odd. But I have only done that because to me it was better that way, it communicated more, it was closer to what I felt was right.
If you mean that random generates accidental design, then yes, I have used generative design processes to make much of my work. Lots of random = lots of accidents.