Tech it up a notch: Q&A with futurist designer Yves Bhar

The Swiss-born/San Francisco-based product guru Yves Bhar may very well be the hardest working man in design.

The founder of Bay Area-based creative lab Fuseproject has devised some of the most useful and innovative objects in the marketplace.

Whether intended for mobile techies (like Bhars now-iconic Jawbone) or aimed at lifting the poor out of poverty like his ingenious One Laptop Per Child concept Bhar stands at the meeting point between impact and inspiration.

SodaStream Power in black.Photo: Moti Fishbain

But that doesnt mean Bhars creations arent also fun. How else to describe his latest designs for SodaStream, the DIY carbonated water-maker now in the midst of a global revival?

Bhar signed on with SodaStream back in 2012 to help develop its updated aesthetic. Now, for spring, Bhars newest SodaStream model the futuristic Power will include nifty touches such as three different fizz levels and a stainless-steel and aluminum shell. Bhar also helped update the design for SodaStreams collection of new flavors, which includes English Garden and Green Apple and Cucumber.

When not working with major global brands like Swarovski, Samsung and Herman Miller, Bhar can be found surfing with his three children or enjoying San Franciscos celebrated culinary scene.

We caught up with him this week at his Potrero Hill studio to talk travel, food and design festivals.

Japan and Europes Basque region are both destinations that inspire my sense of design. For me, they are each a place rooted in great food and a way of living that really spawns creativity.

There is not one specific product that I still wish I could design. I dont think in terms of something becoming my dream project. Because when I start a project even the most humble one my job is to turn it into a dream project.

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Tech it up a notch: Q&A with futurist designer Yves Bhar