SIG DESIGN is a design company founded in Shanghai in 2001. Its name means "Special Interest Group", which means gathering a group of special and interesting people to gain insight into daily life and explore the world through design innovation in projects.
A source of inspiration with a high degree of freedom
This issue of "Jianze friend" has become friends, and we visit the workspace shared by designers. It is completely different from the stereotyped "Party B factory". Every space is a “drawing board” for creation, where inspiration can emerge at any time.
Q: How did you design this space?
A: This is the place where every designer spends the longest time in a day. The original intention is to make it comfortable and comfortable.
There is no reception desk at the entrance, but a rest area. The water bar serves coffee, tea, wine and other drinks. Occasionally, there will be partners on-site to draw flowers and mix drinks to share their private skills and tastes.
The core office area is hidden behind sliding curtains and a book wall. There are no partitions between desks. In an equal and open atmosphere, everyone can communicate candidly, and ideas can be expressed more easily.
Q: Are there any principles or rules in your space?
A: There are no rules like Jianze. Everyone has a high degree of freedom in using the space, such as decorating their own desks. Everyone has their own preferences and themes, which even extend to the public areas.
At first, the space by the window was just a place to rest and chat. Unexpectedly, everyone would bring different plants or seeds one after another. After several years of joint maintenance, it has now turned into a small garden, which is more luxuriant than the plants grown at home.
As a designer, it seems to be a natural instinct to transform the surroundings. Ideas are integrated into the space during use, and personal imprints are everywhere. Six years after "moving in", the basic layout of this space has not changed, but the history covered in it is layered and dazzling.
Self-expression of special interest group
SIG brings together designers from graphic, visual, product, space, experience and other fields. Their operating software and thinking logic are different, but they all share the commonality of being more emotionally driven, which also allows them to be more energetic in their work and Find balance in life.
Q: As a commercial design team, how do you understand design?
A: Design is something that makes life better through artistic expression while satisfying basic functions.
The designer's perspective is a bit special: the furniture closings of the new store, the traces of life left after the demolition of the old house, and even the sense of daily life conveyed by the bananas hanging on the door of the small shop, everyone will unconsciously capture the beauty of the details.
Also because of my strong interest in art exhibitions, aesthetics, and handicrafts, I will be more enthusiastic about participating in creation to show a unique way of expression for understanding the world.
SIG work: Haocailou, Shunde, Guangdong, the bar installation is inspired by the local phoenix crowns and sedan chairs
Q: What qualities do good designers usually possess?
A: Independent thinking and curiosity, so that you can continue to create recognizable and good works.
In addition, in the design process, they will come into contact with various roles and environments. Tolerance, equality and goodwill will make designers more humble, able to treat changes in things with a normal attitude in any situation, and it will be easier to gain. The joy in it.
SIG work: Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore·The bookstore at the foot of the mountain, restoring the book forest to a forest
Q: Do you think this era can be summarized in a certain spirit or keyword?
A: I am very anxious and confused in the uncertainty of the world. I feel that this is a self-explanatory issue. Everyone lives in it and constantly seeks various outlets for self-expression, and truly being yourself is the foundation of everything.
Like a university, SIG also has clubs, echoing the spirit of "special interest groups." Designers once again gathered across fields based on their interests to jointly explore the needs and visions at a certain moment in life. This is also a convergence of self-expression. In the incubation of creativity, inspiration can grow autonomously and at will.
The illustration agency shows its unique observations through lines, colors, textures, etc.
Members of the furniture club expanded to Italy and conceived chairs of various shapes.
Libraries, bookstores and independent magazines
Half of the space is a library. The movable bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling are filled with domestic and foreign original and original books on architecture, gardening, graphic design, space design, art, fashion, travel, etc. And it is still growing and spreading, with reading corners and magazine racks popping up one after another.
Q: Why are there so many books in this space?
A: Different from the general mass purchase and construction, our library grew out of no plan, like a rainforest ecology of various shapes. The collection of books may come from foreign travels, popular art exhibitions, or accidental acquisitions from various scenes. Many friends have discovered books here that they wanted to buy but could not buy many years ago, and they can also find new books from around the world here.
So the atmosphere here was like going back to school. As we chatted, we moved a bunch of documents from various places on the bookshelves. They might be Shunde cuisine, Jean Nouvel's architectural photography, or they might be traditional text illustrations. These books provide designers with a place to rest their minds and occasionally provide lightning bolts of inspiration.
Q: Do you also have your own magazine?
A: As early as more than ten years ago, people who loved painting felt that they could save and share some ideas. At the same time, I feel that I am pursuing meaning too much in my work and life, which is actually very heavy. There are many beautiful feelings and pictures in life, but they are actually meaningless, so "nameless" was born as a zine.
Start from the points of interest that interest you, look inward at yourself, and also ask friends to collect manuscripts. Each issue has a theme, sharing and recording the creator's life, attitude, and weird little thoughts.
We purchased printers, creasing machines, saddle binding machines, and paper cutters one after another. They are the friendly "Four King Kongs". With the experiment of various art papers, "nameless" has been slowly updated to this day.
In addition to independent magazines, SIG also has its own "air-conditioned bookstore". The so-called "air-conditioned" refers to the cool breeze when the pages of the book are continuously turned. They often bring independent publications and art albums collected from around the world, in various Moving at the art book fair means sharing, and it also expands a mobile space for designers to breathe, daze and explore after work.
SIG&Jianze
Q: What is your first impression of Jianze?
A: It is a bit difficult to understand the meaning of Jianze purely from the Chinese meaning, so at first glance, you will stop and think about what it means. In addition, the word "Jianze" has a flat tone, and the pronunciation is very sonorous and short. The first impression makes people feel that it is angular and has attitude.
Among Jianze's products, the TOP3 favorites among SIG's partners are:
Pat-Pat Stool is very friendly and the cute pet should be loved by everyone.
The reclining chair is very comfortable, has good texture, and fits well with other furniture. It is a classic model that can be used for a long time.
The Pony Step Stool has many application scenarios. It can be used as a flower stand or a children's ladder for children. It is a very friendly product.
Pat-Pat Stool, imagined by SIG illustrator Yuyuan,
is an elf living deep in the forest.
“Warm and humane design,
It can release the beautiful glimmer of ordinary life."
This is the motto from SIG designers.
In addition to homes, Jianze also supports work spaces.
Explore people's daily needs and interests,
Create an equal and relaxed creative platform.
Only self-expression itself,
Only then can inspiration truly explode.
