me studio

i’m really loving this trippy exhibition space created for vlisco textiles, check out the interview with the makers (amongst others michiel schuurman) on grafik

…my collaboration with Vlisco goes back to when I was employed there, so for me it was really easy to grasp what Vlisco is all about. In my first talk with Zara (Atelj, Vlisco creative director) about the exhibition design, I asked whether I could go ‘completely crazy’ with the surface design and she said “yes please”. That is unique, because she knows that ‘crazy’ in my case means patterns that are often optical illusions…not always so friendly to the eye and brain. To have a creative director that wants to push those boundaries is almost unheard of in bigger corporations these days. Most companies want patterns that ‘sell’ and are proven to be a commercial success. Vlisco is at the frontier when it comes to trying out new things, in that respect. I like working for Vlisco because their design process never starts with a visual briefing. It starts with storytelling; Vlisco wants the designers to tell stories with their patterns. That always makes discussing sketches and concepts a delight. It is much more about fantasy and imagination than shapes or pictures…