Designers and brands

When Patrick Jouin founded his agency in 1998, he had a number of objectives. He wanted to concentrate on industrial design in order to work on technical and complex objects ; he did not want to specialise ; he did not want to confine himself to a specific style ; and he wanted to take risks. His first professional experience was designing chairs. Today, he works on projects with hotels and well-known restaurants, street furniture and fittings for cars. Each project he undertakes is for a company with a well-known name or brand, and he integrates very well with these companies. Because he does not necessarily put his name on the projects he undertakes and does not have a style which is unique, his contribution to the brand is found elsewhere, in new designs, in a new voice, and in a new approach. His creations develop through an understanding of the brand and its ‘codes’, and through discussion and gut feelings. The result depends mainly on intuition, but also requires extremely arduous work at a group and personal level, as well as highly specialised technical research.