Charlotte Friis

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Charlotte Friis ("CF") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

CF : I went to Royal College of Art from London and after Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Design Department in Copenhagen to establish myself as a designer.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

CF : Since I was a child I was a curious person and found myself studying things around me. I became a designer because I find it as strong medium to express creativity.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

CF : I chose to become a designer because I think it's a challenge to come up with something original and overlay it with functionality. I love a good challenge...

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

CF : I design objects that you find in the daily life but I attach a new meaning to them. At the moment I am working on two pieces and I'm happy not getting more ideas. I designed a chair that is slowly becoming an icon, so I guess I would like to design more object like that...

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

CF : First, I don't consider myself a legend... that is a big word. I think they should explore and experiment more with new interpretations of objects and definitely trust their instinct.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

CF : A good designer makes functional and aesthetically pleasing objects. A great designer innovates, explores new realms of creation with experimentation.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

CF : A good design has to be original and functional. For me personally, it has to bring something new in the discussion, something unexpected.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

CF : I believe good design can change your mood, I would go that far to say that it can make you smile. It can feel so comfortable or it can change the user experience.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

CF : It's hard to say... I would probably like to design 24/7. I can't pin point what I want to design before I'm not actually doing it. And I don't know for who because I'm by definition a freelancer.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

CF : I think I'm more into trying to design icons...

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

CF : My secret ingredient is something that all designers should have...and it's not a secret, it's just full on creativity.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

CF : Well if had to name a few: Ingo Maurer, Wegner Panton. It's safe to say that I don't really search for inspiration in other designers.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

CF : I don' really have favorite designs but if I must say - Birdie Pendel by Ingo Maurer because it made me smile and the unusual construction.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

CF : I would have to name The Children Papers Chair, because the target audience, the children really liked it. The chair is rethinking the experience of drawing and saving all the drawings in the mean time.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

CF : I was thinking out of the box and trying to keep not compromise on my design. Doing research on how I can complete my designs.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

CF : I think I would have been an artist. I think these two professions go hand in hand.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

CF : I guess design is like any other creative job, it becomes a life style. You can't really detach the working life from the private life because one inspires the other, at least that is what happens in my case.

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

CF : I think my biggest supporters are my family. My kids are the ones that inspire me to design the most, I make use of their enthusiasm and try to be more like them when I design.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

CF : I think it was exercising while kept on refining my design language. All topped with try-fail process in the direction of prototyping.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

CF : Well I don't consider myself a master designer...I'm not really preoccupied about my status, I but like think about ideas! I had to work very hard to get into the schools I have attended.

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

CF : Presenting the work is something more than beautiful drawings and renderings is also prototyping. Prototyping is something that tells more about the object you present and also helps a lot in productions phase.

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

CF : I am working now on two items and I'm a bit relived that I haven't got any new ideas. Getting new ideas get me into full work mode and that always is a long but interesting process.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

CF : I guess to make more icon designes... and maybe some solo exhibitions outside from Denmark.

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

CF : I guess they expect originality. I think they expect an unusual way of thinking of a daily object.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

CF : I hope it does. Good design can inspire and educate the society with it even being conscious.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

CF : I am working on a upholstery chair that offers the user the option of assorting the decoration to his/her taste.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

CF : I guess the Children Papers Chair...because it got presented in a lot of exhibitions and publications around the world. The most memorable place for exhibition is Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

CF : I think companies that produce should be a little more open to the designer, maybe there should be compromise also on their side not only on the designers side. They should grade and value more originality.

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

CF : I hope it's heading towards more open realms in terms of production and also the targeted audience for which I design.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

CF : Timeline has never been a demand for me when I design. Projects can last for a few days to a few years. I've had occasions where I left aside a drawing for a long periode of time and the started to work again on it.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

CF : I start with the idea, concept development, it is a project that happens without my awareness, I don't have a receipt. Often, I find myself having a clear image in my head about how the object looks like.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

CF : Well think it's : I design across form and function. It's all related on how I view the objects and how I analyse them.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

CF : I guess it work both ways. But the main idea is to cultivate originality.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

CF : Technology makes my design come to life. It supports my vision but it is not dictated by it.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

CF : Well I usually draw it in Autocad, before I modeled it in to foam prototype...so I guess my equipment is very much relating to prototyping.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

CF : The colors are used to emphasize the shape and materials complement each other hopefully creating a pleasant dynamic and none the less harmony.

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

CF : I think people should be interested in the experience the item offers beyond the function and aesthetics.

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

CF : I guess the fact that I would like to own it. The interesting part is also on how it works and what the purpose is.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

CF : I work by myself. I enjoy talking to technicians.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

CF : I think that would be my mother because she is a creative person herself.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

CF : I really can't think of one.

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

CF : I kept refining my design language but using prototypes and researching new ways of putting my ideas to use.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

CF : I don't know...I guess that would be my daughter when she is going to grow up and be a creative also.

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

CF : I don't consider myself to be a famous designer, not yet at least...

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

CF : My favorite color is actually a non color - black but I have thing for yellow. My favorite place is maybe my living room that doubles for my studio surrounded by my favorite things. My season would have to be spring. For food I would always go for sushi. The thing would be my black handbag. I don't have a favorite brand.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

CF : When I was in Milano I was with a Korean friend that I met while exhibiting together in Seoul and he gave me a gift - a mop shaped like a dog and I took it back in the hotel in the pouring rain while everyone was staring.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

CF : It's a great day when I get an idea I've never seen before.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

CF : I think it was obvious that I would be a creative, because I was so curious about the world around me and kept on drawing and painting everything.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

CF : My mind cannot really expand that long, I live more in the now...

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

CF : It's hard to think that I have fans, but I would like to be more aware about what originality stands for.