YVES BEHAR

Consumers want products that tell stories, have magic, and inspire.

My mantra is: 'Good design accelerates the adoption of new ideas.'

When clients come to my design agency and say 'I want to be the Apple of this or that,' we say 'Okay, are you ready to be the Steve Jobs?' Few are up to the task.

An ideal day for me is a combination of a fun-exciting creative moment with work partners, some laughs and games with my kids, a good surf session, and great conversation with friends around a meal.

The biggest challenge is that when people look at low price point products, they essentially invest less money in development, innovation, and new technology. And in order to innovate at a lower price point, and make sustainability attainable to the masses, you have to invest more. But that's counterintuitive for a lot of businesses.

Part of my life is spent designing in urban centers, and part of my life has been spent in factories. But the other part of my life is spent in nature.

Design is a tool that either allows us to create new markets or disrupt existing ones.

Design needs a new relationship with the world, one that is more focused on our planet's needs.

Steve Jobs changed my life. He also changed the life of every designer.

I want to work on things that aren't self-evident, to propose things that are radically different and game-changing.

I wanted to be a writer as a teen... so storytelling was my first love. In my late teens, design became an obsession as I realized that I could express myself through the medium. Much later, when I founded Fuseproject in 1999, our slogan became 'design brings stories to life.'

If you don't love something, it's not functional, in my opinion.

The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business.

Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If it isn't ethical, it can't be beautiful. But if it isn't beautiful, it probably shouldn't be at all.'

I've been influenced by some of the greatest designers. Charles Eames. And Bruno Munari in the '50s in Italy - when they had to retool the industry of war into an industry to help society. In a way, I'm influenced by designers that were there at a radical time of change.

Sometimes you can find peace of mind by transferring yourself to different situations. They're just reminders to stay... calm.

What I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that design can have a primary role in how a business is shaped, how a company can be design-driven. In my experience of large industry in Europe, that knowledge has been lost.

The notion of 'reduce and refine' is one I've pursued. I truly believe that by making things less complex, by finding innovative ways to make sustainability affordable, we can advance the notion that it is possible.

I'm interested in technology for the masses. Good tech design should not just be for enthusiasts but for the general public. It should be something that touches everyone.

Advertising is the price companies pay for being unoriginal.

The Swiss can be very difficult.

Kodak has always represented innovation that is approachable while delivering the craft of filmmaking.

The role of designers and product makers is to really become much better editors. What kind of functionality is actually needed - and truly delightful - to consumers? Remove all the extraneous stuff.

I am always looking for ways to move technology away from being over-featured. Moving to Silicon Valley in the mid-1990s meant I grew up as a designer in an environment where technology is a tool and not a means to an end. I believe that design should be driven by ideas, not style.

Every tech product on the body like Jawbone or in the home like August is different. But there are definitely principles that apply across the board for me, such as integration in everyday life and discretion.