Mind Design

What is the story of your studio ? HJ: In one sentence. After graduating from the Royal College of Art I was pretty unemployable, so I started my own thing from my bedroom, and when I got busier, other people joined in. Design now is a very different thing to when I started some twenty years ago. At that time work was still very manual. Nowadays I am mostly concerned with making systems compatible with other systems and managing projects which means… writing lots and lots of e-mails. Our studio has a tradition in designing well-crafted visual identities for small and medium sized companies. This was good before the economic crisis because there was money around and a stream of enthusiastic entrepreneurs were walking through our doors. It was also good during the economic crisis because bigger clients realized that they couldn't afford the big design companies anymore and that small studios where doing often more interesting work. Design hasn't changed much, but the circumstances have. You can get a logo for a fiver now. It’s a joke. I often said strategy is a lot of overrated bullshit and good design is achieved through the process of making. I changed my mind. Design itself isn't worth anything. There are hundreds of blogs with work that always looks great somehow and is just too easy to copy. At the same time design universities produce more and more graduates each year. In this over-saturated jungle that design is now, it has become much more of a challenge to find some direction. To come back to the question : the history of the studio is also the future of the studio. I am going backwards. I have very good memories of my student years… and about five years ago I started teaching myself. The University is a kind of protected environment which allows me to think freely and work in a much more experimental way. I want to go back to real 'physical labour'. This may not be graphic design; it can be printmaking or product design…Sometimes I want to get my hands dirty, so I couldn't even touch the keyboard to answer the next e-mail.

What is a typical day in Mind Design ? For me (when I am not teaching): Cycle to the studio. Try to find coffee. Start answering e-mails. Talk. Think. Swear at the nuisance callers who bother us during our lunch break.

Do you feel there is still a 'London style' in terms of design ? Well, you could argue that everything looks the same nowadays because everyone looks at the same blogs. But that’s not true. London is a very expensive city. Rents are horrendous and we never had much art funding or support for small businesses here. So it’s almost impossible to survive on self-initiated and cultural projects only. For this reason, studios in London are usually defined by a good mix between commercial and cultural projects. Here, many designers look at the production process first and try to get the most out of it… or think about how they can use a relatively cheap process or material in the most original way. This would also be our approach. There is also a certain 'can-do' approach. When you are commissioned to design a catalogue for example, you would ask to design the exhibition as well, and the website, and everything else. Even when you have no experience in a certain sector. Finally, there are just so many designers in London, so, even if it’s a commercial project, you would always try to do something different that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Do you think current graphic designers have to look beyond their domain ? Absolutely. Design is a way of thinking. It can be applied to anything. Not just graphic design. I am personally much more interested in furniture design… With objects, the relationship between form and function becomes much clearer. A chair might look great but hurt your bum. It is not just about the form, and that is why it can be much more interesting. Otherwise, we don't know how graphic design will develop. It is a fast changing industry and it would be very short sighted to­­­ stick to just one thing. Quite boring as well. I really enjoy the projects where I have in some ways no idea what I am doing… they usually turn out best. Interview conducted in April 2016 ©ktlg