The Story:

Follow Function first discovered Mark McKenna's Designer Emulation Kits at the 2007 New York International Gift Fair. The DEKs could not fit more perfectly into our catalogue. In fact, if we had to hold up one product to showcase exactly what Follow Function is all about, we might very well hold up a DEK. A product steeped in the history of industrial design, it is also clever, fun, and comes at a low cost to the consumer and the environment (those LED bulbs will burn very little energy and last a reeeeally long time).

His next product line, the Betty Lou Lamps, just reaffirmed our suspicions. This was a person with great ideas, and the ability to see them realized.

When we first sat down to research Mark and his design history, we found surprisingly little. Not knowing much about him, or even if he was in fact a designer, we sent him a brief interview in hopes of sharing his story with you.

As it turns out, we must not be very good researchers. Mark is indeed a product designer with extremely impressive credentials. He also seems to be a very cool guy, with one particularly cool characteristic: he makes it happen. As a kid growing up on a farm, he loved his John Deere tractors. He loved them so much that he wanted to grow up and design the next generation of John Deere. So he did. And that is cool.

[Engine, Combine, and Articulated Grader concepts from the brain of Mark McKenna]

Our interview:

1. Where are you from and what school(s) did you attend? Were you a design student?

I was raised on a farm in central Illinois, and attended the Industrial Design program at the University of Illinois. Additionally I studied abroad at University of Northumbria at Newcastle, UK, for a year.

[Concept sketches from Mark at school]

2. What attracted you to the design world?

I wanted simply to make beautiful, useful objects. We farmed with John Deere tractors, which were one of Henry Dreyfuss' clients since 1938. Growing up I loved the tractors, and it was one of my dreams to help design them. This particular dream came true.

3. Could you tell us a bit about your career?

My first professional job was for Ingo Maurer. Two of the best years of my life were spent as part of his team in Munich. Also, I spent a couple of years at Henry Dreyfuss Associates as an Industrial Designer on the John Deere account. I loved the work! In fact, we are still primarily design consultants. One of our main clients is Humanscale Corporation, and our Liberty chairs are now featured in the Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt. Additionally, we do work for Caterpillar Corporation. We do all of the styling for their powerplants.

[Mark's work for Humanscale: the Liberty Chair and Liberty Side Chair]

4. It is clear you have a lot of respect and admiration for the designers you emulate. Is there one you find particularly inspiring?

Well, Ingo Maurer is of course a big influence. We remain friends. Same with Niels Diffrient. What I find most interesting about these two is they have found the particular niche in design, which is perfectly suited to their unique abilities. But of all the designers in all the world, it has to be Castiglioni.

5. You ask if it is possible to measure up to the "genius of Castiglioni, or the sheer concentrated emotion of Maurer". It sounds like you might have tried. Did you ever design your own desk lamp?

I think all designers compare themselves to the "greats". This is healthy. I believe the danger lies in trying to copy someone else’s style too closely. Only once a designer get past all of this and concentrate on the things he is uniquely gifted at, can he hope to make anything really good.

6. How many hours a week do you work?

I’m usually in the studio early, and leave late, and spend at least one day of the weekend here too. I've stopped counting the hours.

7. Have the DEKs opened up any new opportunities?

The best part is that I was able to meet Achille Castiglioni's daughter, Monica. She is a jewelry designer, very talented in her own right.