Uncovering the design philosophy of Lu Yongzhong | Braun | British GQ

In our fourth Braun ‘Design for Life’ documentary we meet Lu Yongzhong. After 20 years teaching interior and industrial design, Lu Yongzhong quit academia to open up a furniture design studio and brand, Banmoo. In this episode we find out about his approach to the craft, and learn more about his design philosophy.
Subscribe to British GQ►► bit.ly/BritishGQSubscribe
CONNECT WITH BRITISH GQ
Web: bit.ly/HomepageBritishGQ
Twitter: bit.ly/TwitterBritishGQ
Facebook: bit.ly/FacebookBritishGQ
Instagram: bit.ly/InstagramBritishGQ
Newsletter: bit.ly/NewsletterBritishGQ
ABOUT BRITISH GQ
British GQ is the premier channel for men’s style, lifestyle and entertainment. Every week brand new series, original documentaries and essential style guides make it the first port of call for living well and looking good for men.
Uncovering the design philosophy of Lu Yongzhong | Braun | British GQ
/ gqrecommends

[@bramcopermans7494]

5:11 "Technology without a human element disrupts nature." What. A. Quote.!

[@parkerwong2532]

Hi, I'm a native Mandarin speaker and although I'm not a translator, I could offer you some help with some explanations about what the designer had said. 'Without a human element' is an reasonable translation. He was referring to technologies that are not truly based on human nature and not designed to benefit people, which means they're not what we call 'people-oriented' or 'human-oriented'. In terms of 'disrupt nature', he actually said that those technologies cause unnecessary difficulty for or break the order of our life, literally referred to as 'cause trouble for people'.

[@8thousevirgin]

@@parkerwong2532 thank you...

[@nordfresse]

I dont like how this guy starts every video with some beauty shots of himself.

[@leovera4396]

Yes. Overpowers the whole message. Beauty in design, not in himself.

[@brucewayne7422]

nordfresse Yeah we could do without the narcissist nonsense display in the beginning

[@l8nitevibe812]

@@leovera4396 I've seen this a million times... Average man looks out a window at the world, and we're supposed to think he's clever and knows something we have yet to discover.

[@snoozimation4966]

I think its a sponsored video by Braun and ofcourse there arent any interrupting adverts here coz the intro is an advert itself?

[@adriantutuianu7290]

It's a commercial and they have somebody using their product. It's a pity they dont have skip intro:))

[@temudgin62]

You know what's NOT good design? Yellow text on white background.

[@heibaigui]

temudgin62 Hope your life got better after you wrote it.

[@temudgin62]

@@heibaigui it's marginally better knowing that possibly--just maybe--someone will read this and next time they will find a better colour for the subtitles so it's not such a struggle to read. It clearly doesn't affect you though as you have better vision than I. But for my less-than-perfect eyesight, yellow on white is not easy to discern and because I believe good design is about functionality as it is about aesthetics, I thought I'd comment on that, you know, because this is the comment section. I hope that response satisfies you and I apologize if I somehow overstepped the line demarcating worthy comments from the unworthy. Thanks for your concern.

[@nickfreeman9378]

​@@temudgin62Yellow subtitles have been used in Black and White films for donkey's years. Obviously, as you stated, it doesn't work when you're shooting in colour. I think they probably wanted to go for a classic, vintage feel to give it a level of sophistication and prestige. Haven't really pulled it off though as it takes you out of the interview. Style over substance.

[@BalboskiCinema]

@@nickfreeman9378 if were gunna get real technical here, wouldnt it be a bad design decision to use a method that works for one medium but not another? for the sake of functionality?

[@nickfreeman9378]

Will Currier listen to how he says whimsical

[@matt-lang]

I love the wide chairs for the tea setting. It doesn't allow for squeezing in of too many people like a bench or a traditional chair does. So each guest has an equal and comfortable amount of space. Brilliant.

[@MJRachelle]

Love this serie so much ! We need more ! Please continue doing such things, the esthetic is addictif !

[@pooch7449]

The CQ guy is like a movie character from 90's

[@philipc7273]

90's? more like 70's & 80's

[@chenifeanyi]

The whole interview sinks of simplicity, class, and style. The outfit, the interior designs, the camera angles, and the choice of typeface-all immaculately put together 🥹.

[@j.d.4697]

This guy speaks directly to my soul.

[@lenzfliker]

love this series. please change the font weight or darken the background card of embedded cc. it's hard to read.

[@TheusoGlass]

are you a designer?

[@couldfulrial6208]

I agree

[@markgalura2891]

The guy got a lot screen time for an interviewer lol. Then again, he is GQ AF.

[@xinxuanzhou1343]

Love these series ❤️

[@FrankJAlejo]

I love this! DONT STOP!

[@jevincox166]

"If the image is the inspiration, then the chair must be as happy as the man sitting in it." Loved this, did this guy make that or is this a quote from someone?

[@fatoomgierdien2181]

I love ," Nowness". The most interesting, innovative and creative channel. Thank YOU 💕

[@MissJoyceMartin]

love this series !

[@jackpaul1828]

Nodding along like he understands

[@DavidBridle]

Jack Paul isn’t that just respectful active listening. What you don’t see is the interpreter off camera!

[@benvids]

It’s considered polite.

[@atticustay1]

What makes you think he doesn’t understand?

[@Xander785]

@@DavidBridle No. It's just silly. He's a dork.

[@user-lv5jr6st6h]

awesome video. All about future furniture designs. Wow.

[@ayomikunfagbemi3165]

Love the sound design on this!

[@fatoomgierdien2181]

British GQ is very interesting. Thank YOU.

[@davidgreg8750]

I pray to God to give you a lot of beautiful days and you know God loves us so much,So where are you originally from? I am David originally from Spain but currently living in Texas and you?

[@WilliamGWatson]

Gentlemen thank you both for this awesome video !

[@heibaigui]

5:48 awesome 👏🏼

[@nicksoons3240]

I do like this series, but find it somewhat ironic that in a video about design, you can't read the subtitles because a lot of the yellow font is sat on a white background making it difficult to read.

[@Benedict_XII]

you can change the color and even add bars around the text, but i get what you mean

[@JoffreyB]

@@Benedict_XII no you cant. It's not built in subtitles.

[@tranzco1173]

It's design for the future, and in the future, nobody can or will read anyway, so you are complaining about something they consider unstylish and obsolete. Just corporate logos/brands/names/emojis will be taught or learned in the future, and now. Just hook up your Tesla Nuerolink helmet, reading is for cave people.

[@nicksoons3240]

@@tranzco1173 but the video is in the now, not the future, and unless you can speak the language then the subtitles are very much part of the design language. If you can't read them, then the design is fundamentally flawed.

[@arqist]

But I had no issues reading it

[@Timbape]

Most inspirational part.

[@aarond9563]

WOW! Such a fantastic thinker.

[@whale87]

who in the world store their shoes like that in a suitcase, on your shirt?

[@matt-lang]

A madman for sure

[@theAadi47]

Would it be acceptable to keep it upside down?

[@krio99]

A pseudo intellectual

[@tranzco1173]

Patricians. They have the bottom of their shoes steamed every morning by their manservant. It's a commercial, they are brand new shoes, and the stand-in for the hand model probably made the decision. Oh wait, that was a rhetorical question wasn't it?

[@saudkhan1767]

Mr. Bean

[@charlesm835]

Beautiful video.

[@Paul2nis]

Repeating a comment from the GQ Oki Sato video but the : "Is simplicity the key to good design" while wearing a 30 buttons coat really makes me cringe

[@caol-]

He said simplification, not extreme reduction!!! Why he HIDES The buttons 😉😂

[@spanishjohn420]

simplicity absolutely is the key to design

[@user-oo1po6qz7r]

YES

[@HilarioGalan]

Very interesting man.

[@Alexxactly]

omg Lu's shirt is bomb. so good

[@RoyY369]

What a master of design. I feel like I want to daydream in that studio.

[@OdanMAGRO]

Tuff legend to read.

[@scottericwilliams]

This is a series of design and someone chose yellow for the text. Good heavens man

[@henrietta9206]

吕师父，谢谢您2016 椅子 的设计！非常欣赏

[@1ClassicalMusicFan]

0:03 -- 0:16 "Make beautiful things. Make things to be used. Eliminate everything (anything) that is unnecessary." --- Yanagi Sōetsu, Japanese Philosopher. Yanagi Sōetsu (柳 宗悦, March 21, 1889 - May 3, 1961)

[@douglasyong6939]

Always wondered about the origin of the wishbone-ish chair design...and now banmoo's take on it

[@Ghc902]

Trying really hard to listen to what the Chinese guy is saying but got distracted by the way the GQ guy walk lol

[@katztomhe6545]

I suggest you to change the subtitles color

[@archchina4705]

他的设计很棒感觉。他给我留下来很大的印象。而且，请改一下这个视频字幕的颜色。觉得它有点儿看不清楚。谢谢您！

[@sowmyaj1971]

from 4:27 real words spoken

[@laowu830]

I really like this series. But please remove this interviewer.

[@TheXeeman]

that yellow text on a very very opaque grey box is very hard to read at times.. increase the opacity of the box to 78% please

[@BenjaminScottfromFrance]

I like how he says "eliminate anything that's unnecessary" while putting on a suit with unnecessary garments. I guess it is his answer to the question "is simplicity the key to good design".

[@jakubjezovic]

Amazing content marketing BRAUN, well done!

[@chenjoseph735]

I really like how the GQ guy dressed.

[@MrTsa1992]

i've watched like three of these now and love that literally none of these designers believe in the Braun founder's motto "Less, but better" 🤣

[@h.b6463]

I don't know what you're talking about. After seeing this interview and the one with Oki Sato I see A LOT of minimal and simplistic aspects of their designs.

[@jonb.9372]

Nowadays Braun themselves don't follow rams rules.

[@phumezasakman8871]

The font colour disappears on the white backgrounds.

[@vincentmeyrick1466]

You would think GQ editors would know how to make contrasting subtitles. A series that is about simplicity and practicality has too much of an ego to use black subtitles as well as yellow ones.

[@flavialima5815]

I am loving the series! Amazing designers! I really like the interviewer's presence. He's classy and looks expensive, if you know what I mean. ;) Cheers from Brazil

[@KLEON-em8gb]

it feels like the video is more about the style of the host than the virtue of the designer.

[@Anonymous_Pi]

I can't believe this designer is 50 years old, I was thinking 45 tops.

[@inoueli20]

Deep deep deep

[@yunlongliu3061]

There is a mistake in the name，it is Lv 吕，not Lu.

[@danielpaulson3631]

I love these videos. I must say though, much of this furniture looks beautiful, but not especially comfortable.

[@aqtharhussaintp5444]

The designer gave the exact answer to your curious question. Not only vision, But all other senses take part in a design process.

[@abrarsiddique9256]

The study table - There is not laptop ? No mess of wires shown ? Is this for people of today ? Seems very elegant can anyone imagine using it with a laptop or desktop which is a must. How to study today without these technologies , with a book and a pen ?

[@brandofhero]

Suit game strong

[@batchint]

always had a thing about the kneeling chair but seems to be trapped in a production nightmare because the science wont go evenly...

[@MrNabil-mk1bl]

designing any object without words thinking perspective is wrong #britishGQ

[@amyding]

Why are there so many unnecessary and jarring shots shoved into the interview, while the interviewee is talking? This video egregiously disrespects Lu Yongzhong by framing him as a supporting character to the interviewer's aesthetic. From body language of the interactions, to thumbnail choice, to how this video was cut, at each point throughout, it's as if the interviewer should feel honored that he was invited at all. Disappointed by this, British GQ.

[@andrewmorrisondesign]

Good insight into the designer, but get this interviewer out of here haha

[@TatiKarpa]

Great! Unfortunately, some subtitles are hard to read... for the non-Mandarin-speaker... I could only catch a few sentences, when the background is light. What leads us to another question: why (almost) every design office has to be white?

[@studioadnan4392]

Get Jony Ive!

[@juddmutua]

Comment.

[@David-om5hc]

So much perceived negativity in this comment section...

[@ponygracian]

lots of unstylish people

[@tranzco1173]

It's the dudes punchable face. When I waited tables dudes that looked like that could be awful. I like Braun, and these are fine, and the designers are great, the dude just rubs people the wrong way.

[@rainboworchestra8998]

yellow font, really?

[@chalseal2033]

He said 美妙, it isn't equal to beautiful.

[@jadedshinobi7904]

maybe use different intro next video?

[@benisturning30]

What is the name of the interviewer?

[@JimmyCedilleins]

Richard Biedul

[@ryanwang6091]

this is guy is copying the braun shaver logo, what the heck? Try searching braun on youtube.

[@8thousevirgin]

Daydreaming, yes, that's the answer..

[@alexl160]

極簡這個詞及其概念現在似乎更多的有些教條般的味道，有點要被玩壞了的感覺。 簡約這個詞所傳達出來的意義更符合以簡馭繁，以少勝多，大道至簡的觀念。

[@Matiberve]

lol the interviewer got "less is more" wrong. This shows how you can have all the fancy shots and clothes in the world but still not know much about design.

[@kimyee2010]

well, his company recently got into some scandal by forcing a pregnant employee to write a 600word reflection of what she learn about sales, daily, and every wrong word will have some pay penalties, and any repeated sentence will also have pay penalties. This is some kind of a workplace torture so that she will quit by herself. Cause you can't fire a pregnant person here in China even with good reasons... of course didn't know the real story behind it... oh by the way, it's 1 hour - 600word, handwriting cause they want to protect the pregnant lady's eyesight so no computer...

[@vitamenwater91]

is the interviewer's face the result of Lu's philosophy

[@markbusch5907]

A video about good design that has badly designed subtitles..

[@jakewinkle9346]

I'm sorry, but are they wearing shoes inside the house?

[@alexliu5806]

It's probably a workshop.

[@arnoldleonmugagga3387]

The test in your videos is yellow. C'mon guys!

[@jeykim1511]

1st?

[@zaccomusic]

good content wanna be friend?

[@PalinuroRex]

You’re about to interview a master of design and you bring your white Converse. Epic fail.

[@MongoHallo]

What would you wear?

[@charlestalleyrand5505]

Stop emphasizing the interviewer.

[@matthewbrooker]

If only, more Chinese products embraced these principles. So much if its output is still copy or inferior or both.

[@makeyourown_film]

Next time : Lee Sangyeop, Hyundai designer in Korea

[@looppp]

Never seen a more self absorbed interviewer

[@peanutbutterjelly582]

google how this company treats pregnant employee during the Covid pandemic

[@LD-bj4xc]

Link?

[@peanutbutterjelly582]

@@LD-bj4xc you read Chinese?

[@WelfareChrist]

Lol, in every one of these episodes this white dude is so well dressed it almost hurts my eyes.

[@uriurielle56]

The reporters face makes me uneasy this is suspicious. Help

[@xiangli4717]

Why the Japanese designer speaks Chinese？

[@1ClassicalMusicFan]

This designer is Chinese and in this video he spoke Mandarin Chinese when he was being interviewed. His Chinese name is 呂永中 (His last name is 呂 /lv-3/ and his first name is 永中 /yong-3 zhong-1/.) In 2006, in Shanghai he founded 半木 (BANMOO), a contemporary Chinese furniture and lifestyle brand. banmoo.cn/en/brand-story baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%95%E6%B0%B8%E4%B8%AD/15438147

[@andraznovak6735]

why does the presenter always ask that question less but better? it just screams: i ReAd a bOoK AbOuT dEsiGn AnD i LiKe tHiS QuOtE aM i An eXpErT nOw?

[@el_micha]

Quote is by famous german designer Dieter Rams, who mainly worked for and heavily influenced the design of Braun products. Its their heritage and identity they are trying to transport with this...

[@User-wt9jk]

Does red turtleneck actually understand Chinese or does he just nod to not destroy the flow of the film? 😅

[@SuperAlphabetagama]

The red turtleneck is reacting to the translator. It's edited well so you can't tell

[@hussamm9605]

Is he speaking Cantonese?

[@janexxx_]

He's speaking mandarin

[@krio99]

Why is everyone in this trying too hard to sound like a deep intellectual, it's almost cringy

[@tranzco1173]

Germans (Japanese as well) aren't exactly known for keeping things light, in general (exceptions: see Japanese game shows. Octoberfest puke-age). And, they all went to RISD or the Sorbonne or something, and kinda are intellectuals, and it is design philosophy, which is pretty academic. You are right though, they needed to lighten these up a bit, taking themselves too seriously, gets corny. Kinda like Dieter from 90's SNL. The dude is kinda over the top.

[@lilc8335]

😅😅 here comes the self obsessed interviewr dude in his dracula hair who uses designers as props in videos of himself again🙄

[@fritz4345]

What does this has to do with Braun Design? What is wrong with that overstylish "presenter"?

[@MongoHallo]

He grooms with Braun probably xD

[@etienne7774]

Japanese is such a beautiful language.

[@charc3674]

He is speaking mandarin

[@brucewayne7422]

I could do without the narcissist nonsense display of the interviewer in the beginning

[@yijinwang98]

Wasting of life