interview :: domaas/høgh - confessions of a design geek

This article was published 13 years

I almost met Norwegian design duo Ane Domaas and Kathrine Høgh aka Domaas/Høgh at 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Design, where they were showing their products in London for the first time! Sadly we just missed each other, so I thought it was only right to follow up with an interview after the event, so here it is…

What’s the most important thing to know about you?

We are two hard-working girls from Norway. We aim to make products that are fun, simple and will make people happy.

When you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? And now?!

Ane: I wanted to be a vet and Kathrine wanted to be an artist or painter – now we both want to be exactly what we are – designers.

What inspires your designs?

We are inspired by everything we are surrounded by, but especially the way children are creative – there are just no limits to their imagination. Materials and techniques are also a big inspiration. If we discover a new material or a new way of using it our ideas are turned on like a tap.

Talk me through your design process.

It all starts out with an idea that usually just pops into our heads – often when we are not even trying to come up with an idea. For instance in the shower, sitting on the bus or seeing something that inspires. Sometimes we can wake up in the middle of the night and start drawing, then we wake up the next morning and can’t understand anything of our scribbles!

Then we like to talk about our idea, explaining it to each other – this is when the fire starts and we want to start right away. Sometimes we go straight to the workshop and start making. This is when we see what works and what doesn’t, so maybe we’ll have to go back to sketching and making adjustments in the design. We love making prototypes ourselves because you get a bigger understanding of the material and what is possible. Some ideas disappear just as quickly as they came, but others stick and we will go through the whole process from idea to final product.

What do you do to overcome creative block?

If we have a creative block we go and do something else. You can’t control the creative flow – if an idea comes up, you have to get it down on paper so you don’t lose it. We try not to stress about our work because when we are relaxed the work flows by itself. A stressed idea is often not a good idea. We move around in the process. We don’t work step by step in a fixed order – we jump back and forth. That keeps it from getting boring.

Describe a really good day and a really bad day in the life of Domaas/Høgh.

A good day is when we are working on a good idea and we get really excited about it. We talk over each other and just spit out whatever’s on our minds. We get excited about each other’s thoughts and we can go on like this for the whole day. Suddenly one of us will burst out with something to do with the idea when we are actually talking about something else. We keep thinking and working, even if it’s subconsciously, for the whole day. Or a good day can just be when everything runs smoothly and works as it should – maybe we finish a prototype and are really happy with it.

Time seems to go really slowly on a bad day! A bad day is when nothing works at the workshop. You ruin your prototype and have to do it again. When money is a limit on our dreams – when an opportunity comes along and we have to pass on it. When we are in a bad mood and just want to give up – those are the bad days.

Luckily there are more good days then bad! We try to stay positive and when things go our way we quickly forget the bad stuff.

What did it mean to you to be part of the London Design Festival?

We see it as a big opportunity to make a bigger network with retailers, producers and other designers to share experiences. We are always excited about showing our products and telling the story behind them, what materials we use and what makes them special. It is fun to show our products in other countries to get different feedback. It was the first time we’d exhibited in London and we really enjoyed it!

Did you get to see much apart from your own stand?! What was the best thing you saw?

We didn’t get to see much, because 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Design was open from Wednesday until Saturday when most of the other shows are also open. On Sunday we went to see the exhibitors at Tent, in Brick Lane. We also looked at the 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway exhibition at Dray Walk Gallery. It looked really nice!

We met Benjamin Hubert the last day of 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Design when he was giving out some of his decoration; Amass. The concept of the decoration was really good and we like his thoughts on not leaving a carbon footprint. That was inspiring. We should all think this way.

And we spent a day just walking around London exploring the city and eating lovely food. There is a lot to see, that’s why is why we booked an extra day in the hotel!

What is good design?

Good design fulfils a need. It should be easy to use and to understand. The product should have aesthetic qualities – the use of materials and choice of colours should give meaning to the product. Good design fits into everyday life and has a natural place in everyone’s life.

What are you most proud of?

We are really proud of finishing our Master’s degrees in June 2013. We worked on our thesis together and we are really happy with the results. We are also really proud of all the things we are achieving on our own. Being able to travel the world showing our work. The future is looking bright!