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Interview with Bogdanova Bureau |
Home > Designer Interviews > Bogdanova Bureau |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Bogdanova Bureau (BB) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Bogdanova Bureau by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
BB: I remember myself since the age of five when I liked to draw. My dad was an engineer. He taught me how to use a soldering iron and insert motors into toy cars, bringing them back to life. I remember the first time I got into the shop at the plant, where they made some parts of amazing beauty. I remember metal shavings and a specific smell in the shop, I still really like it. All these childhood impressions influenced my life choice to become an architect.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
BB: Bogdanova Bureau was founded in 2018. The company appeared as the result of the transformation of 2B.group which had been working since 2007 as one of the leaders of the Ukrainian interior design sphere. We specialize in creating architecture and design for residential spaces and commercial projects in beauty, wellness, and medical industries. The separate line of our business is a product design. We create furniture for our projects as well as cooperate with manufacturers in Ukraine and abroad. Our experience of cooperation with Ukrainian factories and organization exhibitions in France and the Netherlands led us to establish in 2019 a new service, the art-direction for Ukrainian brands.
FS: What is "design" for you?
BB: First of all, it means the idea. I defined the design object as the thing which has its idea, story, and emotion.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
BB: Residential houses with huge terraces; apartments for clients who understand the value of original design, decor, and furniture; thoughtful beauty studios and educational spaces;
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
BB: I always in love with projects that I'm working on right now. Now we have a modern school of economics, a luxury beauty studio for men, a roomy residential house, and a classy apartment in beige and terracotta shades.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
BB: It was the interior of an apartment.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
BB: It depends on the project I'm working on. I like wood, marble, brass, concrete, porcelain stoneware slabs, and a lot of other materials.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
BB: On the idea developing stage, when I set the direction of the project.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
BB: Every aspect is important. Designing the project or a product is kind of a journey when you have to move step by step and overcome obstacles to reach your goal.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
BB: Excitement and desire to do my best to get the result.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
BB: You can feel a good design by your intuition. It is timeless, often laconic, and has nothing superfluous.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
BB: A designer has a lot of responsibilities. He has to think beforehand what would happen with his creation in 5-10-50 years.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
BB: I am sure that the design of the future will be innovative. Furniture, surfaces, and even entire homes would be made of some new materials such as fungi or re-leaf paper made of recycled fallen leaves. 2018 I curated the exhibition of Ukrainian innovative technologies during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. We showcased five perspective new materials there. There are a lot of them in the developing and testing stage these days. I believe some of them differently would be game-changers in the future.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
BB: About 5 years ago together with the design platform Prostir 86 and some other curators we started to organize Ukrainian design exhibitions on Paris Design Week, Dutch Design Week, and ISaloni Milano. The last one was "Ukraine. Affair with Earth" which took place in Eindhoven in 2019. It was exciting and I got some new experience as a curator and organizer. In 2020 we skipped all of these fairs due to COVID pandemic. I hope the next year will be different, let's see.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
BB: First of all, I get my inspiration from people. A personal story of a client is one of the main values for me. I communicate a lot with colleagues and friends who are product designers, architects, and artists. It is a strong and supportive professional community that shapes me as a professional.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
BB: It is more of a modern and minimalistic style with some bourgeois accents. Sometimes it is more eclectic and playful but always thoughtful, respectful, and careful with every detail.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
BB: I live in a big house in a beautiful Kyiv suburb (Ukraine). As an architect and a designer, I feel the impact of our reach cultural legacy. I like modern design object that was made by old cruft technics such as manual weaving or ceramics. Also, our modernists legacy is actual today, and I implement some of their ideas in our interior design projects.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
BB: If we talk about our architectural and interior design projects, they include several steps. At the first meeting, we listen to what the client wants and propose them to dream big. We analyze the way the client’s living and habits to understand some hidden needs. Then we find the right direction in line with a client’s personality and take some time to design the project. Eventually, we bring a solution to the client and get to its implementation when it is approved. We pay a lot of attention to the idea of how a person or their family would spend their time in space, and speculate different scenarios from their everyday routine. We aim to design a space where its inhabitants would get visual and tactile joy from every usual process. Sometimes a client can not afford to buy all the furniture and décor we pick. In this case, after finishing the renovation, we create kind of a wish list for the client. We put there all pieces that would match the interior. So in some time a client could buy them or offer some relatives and friends to present something from the list as a birthday gift if it is appropriate.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
BB: My life passes in a cycle of events: work, meetings, new acquaintances, challenges, ideas, home, children. I constantly strive for improvement, not perfection, just improvement, step by step. I study a lot, almost every month I go through a new course or master class, even not always directly related to the profession. Sometimes I tilt at windmills, but and I want to learn how to bypass them.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
BB: The main positive is that you are the creator, the one who can make dreams a reality and make the world a better place. It is exciting to know how to design things and see your idea implemented. On the other side, it is a huge responsibility and not the easiest way to go. It could be quite difficult to find your niche and get recognition among thousands of talented creators.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
BB: To create respectfully. I mean respect to the project your working on, respect to materials, the culture, the nature, someone's intellectual property, to clients, colleagues, and yourself as the professional.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
BB: Once I heard Zaha Hadid interview when she said that we all need to learn skills. Not only the skills of making things but thinking and imagining. I totally agree! Those two, thinking and imagining, are the most important skills to me.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
BB: Running the company on my own. It gets me an important experience every day.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
BB: They are successful people who decided to change their lives, get a bigger apartment, or move from the city closer to nature. Some of them are entrepreneurs who want to have a fashionable space. Most of our clients are busy people who work a lot and are not used to caring about themselves or their comfort really much. They just do not have time for it. Our goal is to teach them how to enjoy the beauty which we create around them. We aim to teach them how to switch to a slow life.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
BB: I am really good at starting projects. I like to brainstorm, set a direction, and create ideas that inspire my colleagues and clients.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
BB: We are thrilled to step into the international arena and create projects abroad, so we are working on our first project of a commercial interior in Switzerland. Also, we like the idea to realize some projects in China, as a country which has its own strong cultural traditions and highly appreciate elegant European design.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
BB: In 2018 I founded Bogdanova Bureau, so I have a cool team of architects and designers.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
BB: We work on three new interiors projects from the wellness category and several residential projects of different dimensions. Apart from this, we created an unusual idea of the furniture collection for one of the Ukrainian companies. It would need to invite different product designers to realize and launch it. I am sure it will be a fascinating journey!
FS: How can people contact you?
BB: office@bogdanovabureau.com +380677528328 https://www.facebook.com/BureauBogdanova https://www.instagram.com/bogdanovabureau/
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
BB: I would like to make everyone pay attention to Ukrainian design, to how it is shaping and developing right now. It has its unique aesthetics which is closer to collectible design. Modern Ukrainian products have high quality and often use some elements of handicraft in it. I am pretty sure the Ukrainian design would be a new "Big Thing".
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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