I always thought that good architecture is the one which as a result, disappear, giving way to good moment and art of living. But in commercial architecture, in order to lead to even better moment and offering a global experience, I think that the interior design and graphic design conception should be one. We were questioning it, not so long ago with Cristina Hadzi (from the New York Hadzi Design agency) and were thinking about how her agency and mine could collaborate, gathering branding, graphic and interior design skills to offer commercial customer a more comprehensive service to raise their brand identity through a strategic art direction.
"Maman", a café and bakery opened last year in New York (located at 239 Centre Street) is the best exemple, good communication strategy goes through a perfect harmony between graphic design and interior design.
Totally transparent for the final customer, every detail, from the logo, to the flowery packaging design and the mismatching antique plates result from a thoughtful design process. I’m not saying that any choice isn’t a spontaneous decision, it’s just that like poetry, design is made of subtle arrangements, echoing one to each other. And at small-scale, it is maybe more interesting and exciting, for the conception and to design process, we deal with real people and not a group of stockholder, enhancing their story, personality and know-how. So at the end it’s more about interpretation than creation.
Last year we created a brand new company in antique dealing, exporting antique furniture from France to United states, our challenge was to create something fresh and passionating. We called it « Le Cabinet de Curiosité » which means Cabinet of Curiosity in French, dust off an antique concept into a clean and vibrant aesthetic, focusing on each object/furniture story, appreciating old know-how and traditions. The « power of image » is not a myth, after a meticulous graphic work, and without any background, we draw the attention of many professional reseller in US and professional in France who became partner... before officially launching the project!
In each project, it’s very challenging, because more than creating interior design, we interpret stories, values, we try new concept and create beautiful moment.