Known for its healthy obsession with all things design-oriented, San Francisco serves as home base for a wide variety of creative minds. SOMA took to the streets of the Barbary Coast to learn more about what keeps this small city on the forefront of design culture.

1 Why is design important?
2 What is your favorite trend in design today?
3 If you could redesign any object, what would it be?
4 Who is your favorite designer?
5 What do you find truly beautiful?

Richard Hansen, Chief Creative Officer
1 It serves the functions of utility, beauty, pleasure, and experience
2 The integration of all creative disciplines
3 A brick
4 Dieter Rams, Paul Rand, Martin Margiela, Otl Aicher, Syd Mead, and Donald Judd
5 The color yellow, an empty 10x10mm graph paper notebook, a large, perfectly blocked out piece of hard wood, and the desert

Dana Johnson, Art director
1 Without it, we would still be living in caves
2 Authenticity, simplicity, flexibility
3 The poncho
4 Contemporary: Andy Spade (or rather Partners & Spade), Classic: Max Huber, Illustration: Olle Eksell, Fashion: Isabel Marant
5 Courage

Hanni Elkhatib, Apparel designer
1 It’s just a good creative outlet for people
2 Dirtbag Crew
3 A switchblade or firecracker
4 Wally Wood
5 A clementine

David Pierce, Furniture designer
1 It makes people’s lives better
2 A more local approach to goods and services
3 I would like to take a crack at the toilet… current western toilets are ergonomically inefficient and are generally unsanitary
4 Peter Zumthor
5 Simplicity

Jeremy Fish, Illustrator
1 Without it there would be a lot more “creative” types in the unemployment line
2 Using the computer
3 My brain, perhaps with more horsepower
4 The homeless dude in SF with the dog/cat/rat combo, he is genius
5 My old lady’s rump

Dora Drimalas, Creative director
1 Design solves problems
2 It’s not uncommon for us to design a TV spot, a website, make a muppet, design a toy and a T-shirt line all at the same time
3 The film titles for The Man with the Golden Arm
4 Brian Flynn
5 My daughter Ava

Adam Weiss, Art director
1 Everything communicates – good design facilitates dialog, enriches narrative and provokes thought
2 Quality over quantity
3 A house
4 Körner
5 Roadtrips through British Columbia

Produced & Photographed by Jen Siska