Interviews med Charlotte Friis

I have been a furniture designer for 15 years. I have worked for several: design, advertising and exhibition design companies in Great Britain and Denmark.

When I was little my mum incouraged me to paint and draw. I later took a Master of Arts in communication design at the Royal College of Art in London. In my final year I started to become more and more interested in 3 dimensional objects. I think my background in communication helps me to do original designs.

My approach to create a new design always takes it's beginning with a very strong concept. I don't work on weak ideas! Often, my furniture tells stories about contemporary lifestyle. I always do one to one scale prototypes - I want to test my designs before I show them to other people.

When I design I forget everything around me. To come up with the concept is very exiting and fullfiling. I also enjoy to see the final prototype after a lot of hard work.

I am very influenced by communication design and it helps me find new ways of approaching the act of designing furniture and lamps.

In the near future I want to finalise my rotating fan clock. It is a very interesting project - and I dont think it has any similarities to any existing designs.

I think young designers should look for inspiration outside the area of funiture and lighting design. They have to think for themselves.

I suggest, they should work on every single detail when designing - making compromises shows in the final prototype.

I start my day with drinking coffee and think about the project I am working on. Then I might start making models in cardboard, wire and extruded polystyrene. It makes me happy to solve problems that occur during the design process.

I hate design trends. I often find my ideas by working across form and function- giving existing objects a new meaning and function.

I dont like projects that look similar to what I have seen before.

I often design on and off on a project for a long period of time. My design is ready when I can not find any missing details. It is an intuitive feeling!

My most recognised project is Children Papers Chair. I do not know, why it gets more attention than my other designs. Currently I am very excited about my rotating fan clock.

I dont have any favorite designer.

I am currently based in Copenhagen. I dont think the danish design culture effects my design - probably the opposite! I think danish design needs to renew itself!

I prefer to work on a project by myself.

My design tells stories about contemporary issues such as animal welfare, work/life balance, genetic manipulation, extensive use of paper (Children Papers Chair).

I am very happy for my Silver A'award and think it will help me to promote my design.

The chair is inspired by a toilet roll and the fact that the kid can design their own chair.

My main focus was to design something especially for children, which would also allow the kids to be creative and interact with it.

I would like to continue to exhibit the chair in museums around the world and possibly getting it into production.

I first came up with the idea in 2004 and developed the concept onto present date.

I made it to pursuit an inspiration, because the particular concept was to tell stories with furniture.

I indend to get it into production.

I was working with different furniture that told stories of everyday life, like stress, animal welfare, genetic manipulation, use of paper or recycling...

No, not really.

It was targeted for children.

It let's the kid feel creative and also appeals to the parents because they can store all the drawings.

It stands for a collection of all the drawings.

I used my hand and a pencil for the sketch, and later on AutoCAD.

It reinvents a way of drawing for kids.

The idea is my own, and I had a metal workshop to do the structure.

It's a basic frame work with simple a simple mechanism that has a spring that holds the paper roll into place.

No, it is not.

Figuring out a best position for the paper roll and movement of the paper as it was drawn on.

I was personally invited to participate by the A'Design Award.

I learned that giving the user a different experience when interacting with the object brings a lot of satisfaction.

I think the interview holds everything spot on!

I went to Royal College of Art from London and after Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Design Department in Copenhagen to establish myself as a designer.

Since I was a child I was a curious person and found myself studying things around me. I became a designer because I find it as strong medium to express creativity.

I chose to become a designer because I think it's a challenge to come up with something original and overlay it with functionality. I love a good challenge...

I design objects that you find in the daily life but I attach a new meaning to them. At the moment I am working on two pieces and I'm happy not getting more ideas. I designed a chair that is slowly becoming an icon, so I guess I would like to design more object like that...

First, I don't consider myself a legend... that is a big word. I think they should explore and experiment more with new interpretations of objects and definitely trust their instinct.

A good designer makes functional and aesthetically pleasing objects. A great designer innovates, explores new realms of creation with experimentation.

A good design has to be original and functional. For me personally, it has to bring something new in the discussion,

something unexpected.

I believe good design can change your mood, I would go that far to say that it can make you smile. It can feel so comfortable or it can change the user experience.

It's hard to say... I would probably like to design 24/7. I can't pin point what I want to design before I'm not actually doing it. And I don't know for who because I'm by definition a freelancer.

I think I'm more into trying to design icons...

My secret ingredient is something that all designers should have...and it's not a secret, it's just full on creativity.

Well if had to name a few: Ingo Maurer, Wegner Panton. It's safe to say that I don't really search for inspiration in other designers.

I don' really have favorite designs but if I must say - Birdie Pendel by Ingo Maurer because it made me smile and the unusual construction.

I would have to name The Children Papers Chair, because the target audience, the children really liked it. The chair is rethinking the experience of drawing and saving all the drawings in the mean time.

I was thinking out of the box and trying to keep not compromise on my design. Doing research on how I can complete my designs.

I think I would have been an artist. I think these two professions go hand in hand.

I guess design is like any other creative job, it becomes a life style. You can't really detach the working life from the private life because one inspires the other, at least that is what happens in my case.

I think my biggest supporters are my family. My kids are the ones that inspire me to design the most, I make use of their enthusiasm and try to be more like them when I design.

I think it was exercising while kept on refining my design language. All topped with try-fail process in the direction of prototyping.

Well I don't consider myself a master designer...I'm not really preoccupied about my status, I but like think about ideas! I had to work very hard to get into the schools I have attended.

Presenting the work is something more than beautiful drawings and renderings is also prototyping. Prototyping is something that tells more about the object you present and also helps a lot in productions phase.

I am working now on two items and I'm a bit relived that I haven't got any new ideas. Getting new ideas get me into full work mode and that always is a long but interesting process.

I guess to make more icon designes... and maybe some solo exhibitions outside from Denmark.

I guess they expect originality. I think they expect an unusual way of thinking of a daily object.

I hope it does. Good design can inspire and educate the society with it even being conscious.

I am working on a upholstery chair that offers the user the option of assorting the decoration to his/her taste.

I guess the Children Papers Chair...because it got presented in a lot of exhibitions and publications around the world.

The most memorable place for exhibition is Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London.

I think companies that produce should be a little more open to the designer, maybe there should be compromise also on their side not only on the designers side. They should grade and value more originality.

I hope it's heading towards more open realms in terms of production and also the targeted audience for which I design.

Timeline has never been a demand for me when I design. Projects can last for a few days to a few years. I've had occasions where I left aside a drawing for a long periode of time and the started to work again on it.

I start with the idea, concept development, it is a project that happens without my awareness, I don't have a receipt. Often, I find myself having a clear image in my head about how the object looks like.

Well think it's : I design across form and function. It's all related on how I view the objects and how I analyse them.

I guess it work both ways. But the main idea is to cultivate originality.

Technology makes my design come to life. It supports my vision but it is not dictated by it.

Well I usually draw it in Autocad, before I modeled it in to foam prototype...so I guess my equipment is very much relating to prototyping.

The colors are used to emphasize the shape and materials complement each other hopefully creating a pleasant dynamic and none the less harmony.

I think people should be interested in the experience the item offers beyond the function and aesthetics.

I guess the fact that I would like to own it. The interesting part is also on how it works and what the purpose is.

I work by myself. I enjoy talking to technicians.

I think that would be my mother because she is a creative person herself.

I really can't think of one.

I kept refining my design language but using prototypes and researching new ways of putting my ideas to use.

I don't know...I guess that would be my daughter when she is going to grow up and be a creative also.

I don't consider myself to be a famous designer, not yet at least...

My favorite color is actually a non color - black but I have thing for yellow. My favorite place is maybe my living room that doubles for my studio surrounded by my favorite things. My season would have to be spring. For food I would always go for sushi. The thing would be my black handbag. I don't have a favorite brand.

When I was in Milano I was with a Korean friend that I met while exhibiting together in Seoul and he gave me a gift - a mop shaped like a dog and I took it back in the hotel in the pouring rain while everyone was staring.

It's a great day when I get an idea I've never seen before.

I think it was obvious that I would be a creative, because I was so curious about the world around me and kept on drawing and painting everything.

My mind cannot really expand that long, I live more in the now...

It's hard to think that I have fans, but I would like to be more aware about what originality stands for.

As a young person I found myself fascinated by the design world. To pursue the goal of being an established designer I decided to enroll myself to Royal College of Art from London and after Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Design Department in Copenhagen.

I came up with the concept to design across form and function that became the core of my work. It basically means to attribute existing objects new meanings and new ways to use them.

Design is a mean of communicating an idea that breaks down the function through studying the individual parts that construct the item.

I enjoy drawing up pieces that express a story about the daily life and the way we interact with them. I like rethinking usual objects and giving them a twist in the style by adapting my view on the materials and purpose.

I cannot really chose a design but I am intrigued by a work from Ingo Maurer called the Birdie Pendel. It talks to me through it's humor and the unusual way of construction.

The first thing I designed for a company was called the Rosettte Pendel. It was inspired by the architectural rosette pulled out of the ceiling and having a black top.

I guess I don't have a favorite material- I like to explore different materials. My range of materials is set from metal to tapestries and all in between.

I think I feel creative all the time...I cannot really separate myself from my creative thinking mode.

The most intriguing part is coming up with the initial concept and solving the problems that occur during the execution of the prototype.

I feel isolated from the world because I try to capture it in my design. It give me a sense of distance to everyday life.

I guess excitement is in order. Trying to see how to use it... Like sitting on the chair, or turning on a light, for the first time. But, it can also feel scary...

I think it lies more in what the user experiences. If he gets a new feeling, hopefully of joy. That after the mood change it has to be by all standards - functional.

If it's good, it has to be different from what I have experience before, afterwards I'm going to test it out, and if it passed that as well, I'm convinced. A bad design is something copied and doesn't add something new or it's not functional.

I often reflect on the aspect of where my materials come from. Sometimes I try to integrate a clue about the origin of the materials.

I somehow hope that it's going to be more experimental - but open to wide range of people. Also, I expect the producing companies to be more open towards more usual design that triggers the imagination a little more than normal day items.

At this time I'm exhibiting a chair within The Victoria and Albert Childhood Museum in London. I wish to have a solo exhibition with "story telling furniture" somewhere outside of Denmark.

I don't really have specific sources of inspiration...The ideas simply come to me by my daily life experience, but I do find glimpses in objects that are not necessarily interesting in the design world.

I don't consider that I have a specific style, but I like to make stories about the objects I make. I think I don't have a particular approach when it comes to designing an object but you can identify my objects because they are a little unusual.

I currently like in Copenhagen. Denmark has quite a tradition when it comes to design. I think the classic danish design is familiar and of good quality, but I feel I don't fit right in because my process is more experimental.

The experience is very different when designing for a company. There is always lot of changes from the initial submission. I find them more like impediments into bringing something new to the market. There is always a lot of compromise.

I think they should be a little more open to the designer, maybe compromising also on their side ? They should grade and value more originality.

First of I get an idea in my head, but I can't explain specifically where it comes from. I almost always finish the design in head before I start to draw it up.

I enjoy my box chairs inspired by the powder container with can open and close from a stool to chair. A lamp that folds from a cozy light to a reading light. The ceiling rosette light that looks an ordinary rosette. The kitchen table that is also a clock. I like my trellises in sitting room.

I get up in the morning and send my kids to school. Then I go for a walk around the lake near by my house to clear my head. When I come back I have one cup or two of coffee before I start to my design process. It only lasts until my kids come home...

Don't look at something which is already done. Find your own inspiration. Think for yourself. Try to take an unusual starting point for starting up your design.

Well positives..it's rewarding to get a design into production. It's nice to satisfy your crave for imagination and getting a new perspective over your life.Hard because the pieces become your babies and it's difficult to let them fly from the nest.

I always think about the purpose and how it will interact with the world...and make a prototype with real materials to get the feeling of the materials and scale. I never show only drawings, I need to experience my pieces.

To have a vivid imagination. It the most important ingredient. And work. And dedication.

Inside my tool box is my pencil... paper, rulers, knives. I draw it up in autocad and cutting it out in flamingo...basically I make models of my designes, so I can feel the scales.

I spend as much time as I need...two years if it takes that long. Sometimes I put them aside and rework them again after a while.

It can span from one week to two years...The end result it's one that matters.

I often get the question : " Do you sell? ", and "Where can I buy it?"

I am actually a freelancer, I enjoy working in my own time.

I do mostly exhibitions, with funding. But I also sold my designes to producing companies like BoConcept.

Concept development is my favorite one, because in my opinion that is most creative part.

My plans are aiming towards getting more solo exhibitions and selling designes outside of Denmark.

I work only for myself. I have sometimes an assistent.

I currently work on upholstery chair that offers the user the option of assorting the decoration to his/her taste.

I can be found on my e-mail : info@charlottefriis.com and webside www.charlottefriis.com.

To young designers : Follow your intuition and never take no for an answer and keep on trying.

Most of my concepts are mirror fragments/stories of life. The Children's Paper Chair draws inspiration of the toilet roll and it tells a story about the extensive use of paper. Despite recycling efforts, large amounts of paper still end up in landfills, where they decompose and release greenhouse gases. My design processes often start with changing the perception of normal objects into multi-functional ones. Childrens Paper Chair is designed through extensive research and the creation of full-scale models. The major design challenge was to designate the movement of the paper roll. The functional design and the meaning of art get blurred in the process.

The design gains depth from interacting with children and the parents desire to collect all the memories. On a daily basis the child draws a lot and that leaves an impressive amount of drawings that probably will be thrown out. The chair is a response to that sad end.

The Children Papers Chair was originally part of my concept Storytelling Furniture, which documents subjects of daily life. Therefore the chair was not meant to be only about technique, style and function. The design signals values and statements regarding our use of paper. As in art it is a surprising impetus for debate and discussion. This is archived by breaking the boundaries that define normal objects and reinterpret them with other ideas so they become multi functional. The drawing storage system evolved as a result of this process.

The back panel is inspired by glossy tiles in the bathroom in order to enhance the inherent communication.The kids can use the chair facing the back support using it as a drawing board or the other way around, just drawing on the paper roll. The paper is thick enough to prevent tearing when pulled in.

The Children Papers Chair rethinks the experience of drawing. It becomes much more than a functional and decorative chair in the playroom, it becomes a memory collection device. The chair becomes a fun and interactive space in itself.

The storage design was inspired by the numerous drawings created by my own children. The rolling mechanism was tested with them and during the final photoshoot to ensure the paper could be easily switched between drawings.

The research challenge focused on finding a solution to preserve children's drawings from their early years without losing them. The chair is designed to store up to 400 meters of paper, capturing approximately two years' worth of artwork. When unrolled, the paper strip reveals the gradual development of the child's drawing skills over time.

The Children Papers Chair reflects broader changes in our approach to children's furniture and creative spaces by emphasizing the integration of functionality, creativity, and emotional value. It addresses the growing recognition of the importance of enhancing children's creativity and development. By incorporating the ability to store and showcase a child's artistic journey, the chair contributes to a cultural shift towards valuing creativity and the sentimental aspects of childhood experiences.

The first roll measures 370 mm, while the size of the second roll varies based on how much paper has been used. Initially, I created a prototype with a visible spring system to test the paper's flow. In the final chair design, the spring is enclosed to prevent fingers from getting pinched.

I have recently committed to focusing on designing across form and function. My originality lies in blending the ordinary with the aesthetics of everyday objects, infusing them with an additional layer of meaning that reveals innovative new uses. This conceptual reimagining of items sets me apart from other designers, with the ultimate goal of bringing joy to the user.