Interview with Nicolas Boon

Nicolas Boon ("NB") interviewed on Tuesday, 14 June.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

NB : I founded the studio in 2014 at the age of 29. We work as a team of two, my wife and myself. In the beginning the studio was specialised in communication, graphic design, typography, graphic identities, branding and web design. Over the years our expertise has grown, allowing us to combine disciplines and offer clients relevant and comprehensive creative solutions. In the last two years we have developed the product and interior design segment. That is why we are very happy to have won an award in this discipline within two years. For us, this is like a new chapter in a book whose history is constantly being written. Today, the studio is truly multidisciplinary and can meet the most demanding requirements with a 360° vision for our clients.

How did you become a designer?

NB : I have always been attracted to creation, I like the fact that it implies an intellectual and formal research that claims the elaboration of a multitude of possible structural combinations, like a puzzle whose answer translates into a form that answers all the necessary claims and qualities. I like the relationship between disciplines and making them coexist within a creation. It develops the coherence of their history and their materialist force. I find it fascinating how an idea, a sketch, becomes concrete as it goes along and finally materializes in a creative process, a working methodology. I love the suggestive power of an object that succeeds in taking us on a journey through a multitude of suggestive messages, in telling a story or in awakening something intimate and subjective in us. It is precisely these intrinsic qualities that I am looking for in art, architecture or design. I love it when an object becomes a historical relic, a favourite.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

NB : Our design work is not defined by a single project or style, it is the diversity of subjects that forges the identity of the studio and allows us to provide unique and relevant solutions to each project. The intuitive relationship plays a fundamental role during the design process, as it will have already preformed the original idea. Even if form and function are at the origin of the concept and define an object, I still believe that a non-functional, useless object that arouses pure emotions develops a certain form of useful uselessness in spite of itself. It is precisely at this point that design flirts with art because it develops emotional and intellectual narrative qualities. This poetic and narrative force of design gives it its soul. The keystone in my eyes remains the playful aspect, a game of the mind, a journey into a world where our perception is not that of the informed adult but that of an inexperienced child whose mind reveals the magic in everything. Thus the object reveals a new experimental dimension and plays with the imagination of its spectator. Depending on the project, the methodology used can change significantly. Each design goes through reflection, research and sketches. For printed graphics, the paper medium will be a central element that must be chosen with care in order to sublimate the printing techniques used. For product design the choice and interaction of materials, colours and the place of the object in the space plays a very important role.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

NB : The most exciting phase is when you are about to finish the plans for production because it confirms that the object has passed all the selection criteria that will allow it to have coherence. I also like the freedom that you feel at the very beginning of the creation because the sketch is "still" free of constraints and remains a free act. There is something enjoyable about creation because you go from an idea to something concrete, tangible, you materialise the immaterial.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

NB : I founded the studio in 2014 at the age of 29. In the studio we decided to work as a couple, my wife and myself. In the beginning the studio was specialised in communication, graphic design, typography, graphic identities, branding and web design. Over the years our expertise has grown, allowing us to combine disciplines and offer clients relevant creative solutions. In the last two years, we have naturally turned our attention to product design, while at the same time correlating it with graphic design. Today, the studio is truly multidisciplinary and responds to the most specific requests. We have several works in progress: rugs, armchairs, stools, screens, lighting, benches and fonts.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

NB : The only reason I am answering this interview today is because I have never given up and I have always moved forward despite all the obstacles that have stood in my way. It is through perseverance that you achieve your dreams and that is why you should never stop dreaming. You must not limit your ambitions, they are the engine. You must never give up.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

NB : Even if it seems surreal, we could observe a very important link between the creators. It's as if we are all governed by a collective unconscious imagination. It's only a matter of time before another designer has exactly the same idea as me somewhere in the world. Our creativity is ultimately conditioned by human physical and psychic constraints which explains why in human history similar ideas have emerged in many places in the world when these human beings have never been in contact with each other. I don't think we should think that we are inventing something for the first time, often we are just reinterpreting what already exists and it is by adding our ideas that we manage to give it a new dimension and novelty.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

NB : Social networks, Pinterest, design magazines... and books allow us to keep up to date with the latest trends even if I don't follow them, in my eyes they are too ephemeral. I clearly prefer to stick to my own style because it allows me to find the values I look for in a job and to establish a personal relationship with design. However, it is important to know what has already been done in the world in order to be inspired and to go further, to compare, to improve and to increase your standards and the quality of your own work. There are many sources of inspiration. I draw my inspiration from everywhere, it can happen at any time, it is not provoked by a specific situation, it is stimulated by everything that surrounds us. For example, long walks in nature with my wife and son are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. My son inspires me a lot. His playfulness, his boundless imagination, the magic that any formal aspect can awaken in him is a very important source of inspiration. A child does not attach importance to the pure function of an object, he will first analyse its appearance, its colour, what it evokes in his eyes without prejudice. Thus a half-eaten piece of bread becomes a crown or a boat. It is this spirit that I try to convey in our work. The dialogue with my wife and collaborator allows us to perfect each other's ideas and to reinforce the coherence and impact of what we create.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

NB : I think that all design must have a narrative value, a story to tell. I think that beyond the formal reinterpretation, we are looking for what touches the heart and sensitivity of the public. When an object touches the imagination it develops a relationship with each viewer or user. Its originality, relevance and overall coherence are very important. I like it when design takes me on a journey and gives me a glimpse of tomorrow's world, when it immerses me in the intrigue and suggestive magic of the object. When all these criteria are met I judge it to be good.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

NB : A design is ready when all the requirements are met: coherence of materials, functions, aesthetics, narrative and suggestive values, relevance of the project for the client, and of course feasibility and optimisation in terms of production. However, these criteria do not mean that the design can no longer be improved, I think that its use over time, new production techniques or new materials will justify its improvement, its optimisation. After the production of a project we usually move on to another project, its success will justify going back to its optimisation. Success can be measured by customer feedback and interest in the design.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

NB : I was born in Luxembourg. My mother is Italian, my father is Belgian. My wife and collaborator is Ecuadorian. I speak five languages fluently. (French, Luxembourgish, German, English, Spanish) I think that the linguistic aspect, our varied experiences and our mixed cultures are an important source of inspiration for our design vision. One city that has always inspired us a lot is Brussels, not necessarily for its beauty but rather for its eclecticism, which is also where we met. Music is part of our creative process in the sense that it sharpens the senses and creates a heightened emotional receptivity. We are currently based in Luxembourg. In parallel to the work we do for our clients, we are working on several products, armchairs, stools, carpets, screens. We are in the process of finalising the Anthe typography, which will be published in one or two months. I think the responsibility of a designer is to ensure a production chain and production techniques that respect the environment and the producers. In this way we help the environment, the producer and the consumer at the same time. Good design is environmentally friendly through its durability over time. The longer an object lasts, the more it respects an ecological and sustainable idea. I like it when an object goes through time, is bequeathed from generation to generation, fades, and becomes an historical (family) relic, a souvenir, an antique, a favourite. When we create or consume a consumer good ourselves we adopt a vision of longevity and not ephemeral use, which represents a small positive change in our lives.

Nicolas Boon Profile