He had ventured into just about the entire spectrum of Industrial Design but watch design was new to IWCs creative director Christian Knoop. Yet he has been doing this for over a decade and successfully. Afraid of a challenge, he is not. Not even on a sailboat or in the kitchen.
Text Karine Bloem
Who is Christian Knoop?
The border region between the Netherlands and Germany is where I grew up, in Kleef/Kleve. When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I was already sketching and building. I was always creative and active. After secondary school, I first studied furniture making, then I studied Industrial Design in Essen, Germany. A highly regarded course, one of the few university courses in industrial design. During my studies, I already worked a lot for design agencies. Then I worked partly in the Netherlands and partly in Germany as an industrial designer and brand consultant for a variety of industries and clients; from furniture to electronics to household products and even medical products.
Before joining IWC, I had never designed watches, though I had designed almost every other technical product you can think of. But I wasn't afraid to take on this challenge as well. What fascinates me is that I first looked at watches as a technical product, but then I became increasingly aware that it is actually an emotional product, compared to any other technical product. I still enjoy working in this field.
You should have an eye for detail and understanding of engineering; the materials, the way you construct an engineering product. Especially with a durable product which will last for generations. Technical know-how is an advantage, but you also have to be able to empathise with customer emotion and the rich history of the brand. In the case of IWC, that's more than 150 years of tradition. You work within a context that demands a lot of respect for the brand and the continuity of its DNA.
What I love most about the creative process is having the 'idea'. Every new product has a guiding idea. You can't solve it with details alone. Having the idea first and then determining the core aesthetic of the product is what I like best.
Contradictions are also beautiful as part of a creative process; diving into small details but also taking a step back and trying something different. Zooming in and out on a project is something that happens a lot, which I find helps you to get a different perspective on things and get energy out of it.
Inspiration
Within my field, there are three designers whose work I greatly admire:
Mies van der Rohe - In particular, how he combines minimal aesthetics with rich materials and details.
Antonio Citterio - The master of classical lines (especially furniture). I admire his interpretation of classical and strong archetypes translated into modern aesthetics. His work is contemporary, he may have some form of crisp aesthetics to the fore.
Naoto Fukasawa - A Japanese designer who works in many product areas and has a fascinating take on design. He has yet another way of combining minimal and archetypal forms with rich materials and details than Citterio.
Luigi Colani is a childhood hero. As a designer, he was a real wild guy. At the time, I found him very inspiring because he was designing in so many areas. Sometimes he came up with very wild and crazy things within almost every discipline. And he really contributed to the future and shape of the world with his designs.
I don't have a specific film favourite, but I do find the work of certain directors inspiring. Especially directors who can create very strong, epic images, integrate fantasy and creativity into their work. Two of them are Ridley Scott and Guy Ritchie.
When I think of art, I find artists who can make very strong statements with simple forms fascinating, like Donald Judd, for example.
Something I would have loved is to be able to play an instrument! Preferably the piano. I always find it impressive when someone can play the piano well, it has a connecting factor in a room of people.
Clothes make the man
I would say my clothing style is clean and timeless. Classic shapes, with attention to quality and details. I don't actually own any garments with big prints or texts. I am relatively minimalist in that too. I love wearing shoes by Santoni. We have also been working with them for a long time. Drake's London is my regular address for ties and knitwear, but I also really like brands like Orlebar Brown (which IWC also collaborates with -red.) and Zegna.
Arm candy
Which brand it was I can't remember. I must have been about six years old when I got my first watch. A Swiss quartz watch, with a blue leather strap and a white or silver dial. While I wasn't really a watch collector, I did wear a watch every day.
In recent years, there was not a day I left my house without a watch on. Although I see myself more as a wearer than a collector. Which I think is the most beautiful IWC watch is a tricky question for a designer; it's almost like asking for your favourite child... In my work, I'm mainly concerned with watches of the future - which ones will we be wearing in two or three years' time? That has my biggest focus. One model that has guided me over the past 13 years at IWC is the Portugieser Yacht Club. I currently wear the new model on steel band the most.
Smart watches is something we look at with great interest. When smart watches came on the market, we within IWC were also making initial concept studies, but we never went to market with them. In recent years, though, we have learned a lot about them.
Firstly, IWC customers have a strong affinity for tech gadgets and are also wearers of smart watches. Secondly, we have customers who like 'best in class' products; so never from head to toe in one brand, but from the best brand the shoes, from the best brand the shirts and so on. They want the best smartwatch for running, hiking or golfing, but that is not one smartwatch. They don't choose either a smart watch or a mechanical watch, they choose the best watch for every moment.
Bottom line is that a smart watch is a disposable is, something you buy for a year or two. A mechanical watch lasts for many years, even generations, and there is emotional value attached to it. We are not afraid of competition from smart watches. I have not met a collector of smart watches to date!
What an ultimate watch should be is ultimately very personal and also the fun part when you look at all the variety on the market. You have all sizes, all colours, all price levels. The 'ultimate' is the way and passion the customer looks at their watch. In my opinion, there is no standard 'ultimate' product, but there are many beautiful products out there for everyone.
Wheels
I myself drive an Audi Q7. With a family and a dog, you need a spacious and practical car. If I can ever afford it, I would like a vintage Mercedes 280 SEL convertible. I am very tall, so I have problems with most vintage cars. I don't fit into those, but this one does. It is not a sports car, but it is a gorgeous vintage car. It comes in a beautiful grey colour scheme combined with a brown leather upholstery and nice details.
Leisure time
The concept of 'time' is a special phenomenon and super relative. For example, the fact that one can experience the running time to the same time as long or short is so different individually.
My free time is spent a lot with my family. I like sports: running, golf, sailing.
Sailing is a real passion. Once you are on the water, the rest of your life is very far away. It is a sense of freedom. I have very nice experiences with family and friends on the water. You become a team and it helps mutual relationships to be on a boat together. It's not just about the sailing but also about the people, I really like the element of working together.
I really love food and cooking. It's a very exciting, creative world. I look with admiration at what chefs can pull off in a kitchen. At home, I am the one who cooks. Despite loving Japanese food, I won't try it myself. It's such a complex, artisanal cuisine with so much respect for tradition, I won't burn my fingers on that. Besides, it requires a lot of patience and I don't have that.
I read cookbooks for inspiration. Except that sometimes you do have to follow a recipe for certain preparation processes, I will never follow recipes from a cookbook one-to-one, I am more of a freewheeler.
TRAVEL
If I think of places in the world that have impressed me, definitely Japan for its culture and aesthetics. What I also found impressive is the Galapagos Islands. The nature there is fascinating. Speaking of nature, Iceland, is also very high on the list for its extraordinary landscape.
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