BECKER: The principle of always questioning things and looking for the best possible solution is a clear maxim and part of our daily work. That’s why I think we succeed in combining tradition and innovation. We are aware of our responsibility towards our founding values, yet we always remain open to new things.

Can you give an example of this principle?

HEILER: You can see this principle, for example, in the way F. A. Porsche thought about the design and material of watches back then. In the 1970s, stainless steel, gold or silver were the preferred materials for watches. The material determined the color scheme. However, the Chronograph I created by F. A. Porsche was black, which was completely new and unusual at the time. He chose this color precisely because it cited the dashboard of a Porsche sports car, whose displays, kept in black, remained easy to read by the driver even in extreme situations. This should also apply to the watch. In addition, he was already thinking at the time about what material would be even more suitable than stainless steel, for example. It had to be light, not react with the body, i.e. hypoallergenic, and yet resistant. And so the material titanium came into play, which was used for the first time in 1980 with the Titan Chronograph. Processing titanium was extremely difficult, however, and the tools at the time wore out quickly, but F. A. Porsche insisted on its use because of its special properties. Today, all our watches are made of titanium. At the time, it was a pioneering act.

BECKER: Incidentally, the Chronograph I is still my favorite Porsche Design object. It combines our values almost perfectly. At the time, this watch was absolutely novel in its design and it was technically innovative. Its design is still at the cutting edge today.

In recent years, the topic of mobile working has increased in importance. Do you think you’ll still have offices in a few years?

BECKER: We will definitely still have them. I don’t think you can continue to develop and redesign products if you can’t get together at all. You have to
physically see the model, hold it in your hand, feel it. That’s only possible to a
limited extent remotely. In addition, it is essential for collegiality, for cohesion, for marching together into the future that you see and exchange ideas in person. Discussions simply take place differently via digital channels than when people actually look each other in the face. There are often fewer requests to speak, fewer exchanges.

HEILER: Of course, you can do certain things remotely, and you can have wonderful exchanges with employees who are in other countries. But especially in the design process, you need face-toface discussion, and even all the digital tools we use can’t completely replace that. In addition, physical models still play a major role in our design quality. Nowadays, digital applications can be used to
visualize many topics well before the first prototype - yet the human eye on the real model remains the decisive criterion. Nevertheless, these tools have changed your work quite a bit and will continue to do so.

How is this making itself felt?

BECKER: We reach more customers, but at the same time we have to respond to them more individually. However, we will not be doing so without our stores. In our view, digital channels are not a substitute for brick-and-mortar retailing; rather both combined in a sensible way offer an ideal range of products and services for our customers worldwide.

Why?

Because customers who want to buy a high-priced leather jacket, for example,
also want to know how it feels and whether it suits them. We want to give them the opportunity to experience our products with all their senses. So e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail are intertwined for us. In our retail stores
we create a brand experience. There, our customers receive excellent advice
and can try out products. It’s up to them which channel they then use to buy their watch, jacket, or sunglasses. We offer our customers different touchpoints and they decide which channel they use to get in touch with the brand. That is the focus. The omnichannel orientation of the company is very important to us. We will focus even more on this in the future, as we want to connect the different channels in the best possible way to provide customers with an end-to-end shopping experience. We want it to be “seamless.”

What new types of Porsche Design products that didn’t exist before will be delivered in these boxes?

HEILER: In the area of consumer electronics and gadgets, there will certainly
be some innovations. Our younger target group is particularly interested in these.

BECKER: The development of consumer electronics is of course different from
that of watches, for example. Our smartphones are very popular with younger
audiences, and we know from our customers that they keep them significantly longer than the average. We are very pleased with that because we want our
products to be a lifelong companion for our customers. Purely digital products, such as apps, are also very interesting for us in this context.

Where else could Porsche Design become a life companion?

BECKER: I think the topic of living is very attractive for us. With our reduced and functional design, we can certainly reach some people in this area. If we then combine that with digital products, the Porsche Design Smart Home is not far away. We already have experience in this area thanks to our Porsche Design Tower in Miami. However, we are proceeding very cautiously in the area of branded real estate, as the challenges and risks involved in such projects are nothing to sneeze at. We are very selective in choosing our partners and
carefully check who and what meets our requirements and philosophy. This also applies to one of our next projects.

But with such adjustments, we in no way violate the core values of our design language.

Let’s talk about your design approach
again. It’s striking that for Porsche Design there is hardly a product category that you can’t serve. You have already commissioned
Learjets, yachts, skyscrapers, washing machines …

HEILER: Even roof tiles! … in other words, many products.

How do you still manage to remain recognizable?

HEILER: In these cases, we work together with clients, for example, in the case of the roof tiles with the Wienerberger company from Austria or with Panasonic, for whom we developed an innovative washing machine. The design concept always originates with us in Zell am See, where we deal intensively with the respective products and their requirements. In the design approach
we always follow our principles and core values. Clear shapes and lines, functionality, best material, ensuring that the products are durable. This has resulted in a design philosophy that is easily recognizable. Already during the conception phase we involve our partners, especially the engineers. We discuss with them whether what we have in mind is at all feasible. We produce a realistic model, and the customer then checks whether and how it can be implemented. And we accompany them to ensure that the original design is not lost in the process. That’s sometimes backbreaking work because there’s already a certain rivalry between design or engineering, sometimes the shape doesn’t match the way the device works and vice versa. But we actually always manage to get that rivalry resolved in the end. So if you don’t forget about engineering during the design process and dive as deeply into the subject matter of the respective fields as we do, then there are no limits.