We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Yilmaz Dogan ("YD").
Yılmaz Doğan is a designer who has been interested in interior architecture and product design since childhood and started to develop his skills in this field at a young age. His design journey began as an apprentice in his family's carpenter's workshop in Siteler, Ankara, where he quickly realized the importance of structure in both space and furniture design. His passion for pushing structural boundaries led him to study civil engineering at university. With his unique style that blends engineering and design disciplines, he has won many prestigious national and international design awards, including the iF, Red Dot and the A' Design Award. Since 2008, as one of the founding partners of QZENS, he continues to create innovative products and interior projects across various categories.
Yilmaz Dogan Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Yilmaz Dogan.
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Lagoon Kitchen
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Topkapi Sideboard
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Tachi Sideboard
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Orb Sideboard
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Focal Table
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Jazz Bookcase
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Focal Bookcase
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Wings Sideboard
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Flow Sideboard
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Thorn Lighting
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Patchwork Table
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Ripple Coffee Table
Yilmaz Dogan Design - Sufi Table
Designer Interview of Yilmaz Dogan:
DI: 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?
YD : I’ve been personally engaged in furniture design and production since my childhood. The fact that spatial shells are shaped around the furniture forms we manufacture and the objective and formal relationship between the space and furniture forced me to question the form, color and harmony of every object. So, I’ve been made in the mold of design, and then, received design education but what influenced me as much as design was “structure”. I think the limits of material are the biggest barrier to design, therefore I studied Civil Engineering to push the limits of objects. The Design-Resistance relationship, that is, combining the disciplines of Design and Engineering have contributed to me through unique experiences.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
YD : QZENS is a company with a passion for creating elegant products and projects that blend art and technology, reject mediocrity and inspire awe. We strive to share our view of luxury and offer an extraordinary experience with our products that have a story, where creativity and originality are felt in every detail, and at the same time have high material quality. By combining modern production techniques with craftsmanship, we offer unique products and large-scale international projects with extraordinary details, personalized and site-specific productions.
DI: What is "design" for you?
YD : Design, I think, is a spaceless and timeless journey that you start with a line and you don’t know where it will end. It is actually a deep hypnosis you start with a shadow, sometimes an image, a melody and sometimes a color without preparation and you get free of your self and identity. It is a talismanic disappearance in which you think you get somewhere but you cannot actually. Design is the state of productivity and expression you find during such disappearances.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
YD : I mostly design furniture for different living spaces. I like using wood with metal, glass, textile, marble and different materials in general. I am designing a very special kitchen collection formed by different styles. I have a particular interest in lighting. I am experimenting to integrate design approaches of different disciplines into the furniture design. I have started a long-term project for electronically integrated furniture. I am also working in inclusive design.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
YD : One of my favorite designs is GARDEN, designed by Peter Opsvik in 1985. Garden is an artistic object approach that changes all sitting habits. It is a design that breaks the patterns of seating behavior and function that we have memorized with a revolutionary and aesthetic rebellion. It is an icon and an art object at the same time. Peter Opsvik is too different a designer to fit into a few sentences here. As a designer whose Varier chair design was selected as one of the 50 designs that changed the world, he deserves more than our admiration.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
YD : I don’t recall a specific turning point as the very first thing I designed—it feels like shaping forms and following them has always been part of who I am. But looking back, the first design I can clearly remember for a company was a customer and teller counter for a bank branch. It was a complex piece involving a steel substructure, special cladding details, and custom glass elements.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
YD : Wood is my irreplaceable material. Yet when combined with marble, glass, and metal, these materials together open up the door to an infinite universe of possibilities.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
YD : There’s no specific time—it’s a fluid, abstract state. Sometimes after watching a film, listening to music, reading a book, or even just sitting silently, creativity strikes. There have been moments when I suddenly woke up at 4:00 a.m. with an idea, immediately reaching for my pen—some of those moments became pivotal in my life. Creativity is a kind of small madness that exists outside of space and time, yet somehow within it too.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
YD : I have a different approach to this question. Of course, when I design, I go through different emotions that go to extremes, but what is different is what the thing I design thinks. Although every design I make has emotions that it expresses through its form, its history, its source of inspiration, it has a feeling and expression that is formed at its core. Therefore, when I design this combination of form and function, I let it speak to me like a human being. This speaking is not a communication with words, but visual perception also has a language. Unfortunately, this is not a phenomenon that can be explained or taught. When you design a product, you give it a body and a set of meanings. The acceptance of what you design can only be possible with the way you approach it. I attach great importance to this inner peace and the product's appreciation of itself and its features. I think this approach is what makes it alive when it is inanimate. Therefore, when you look at a product, let it talk to you, listen to it, and it will open the doors to other worlds.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
YD : All efforts are sometimes made to make a dream come true. I think one of the greatest joys of my soul is to physically touch and feel a product I have designed. This is an indescribable feeling. The meeting of a design that grows in your thoughts and then materializes in your sketches and drawings with the real world. This is a process as miraculous as the moment of birth. The first meeting, the first touch, the first time you stand in front of it and watch it for the first time contains a lot of complex emotions.
DI: What makes a design successful?
YD : “Beyond all the confusion created by the froth and bubble of advertising and publicity, beyond the visual pyrotechnics of virtuoso designers seeking stardom, beyond the pronouncements of design gurus and the snake-oil salesmen of lifestyles, lies a simple truth." I believe what makes a design successful is that it presents you with the simple truth behind it.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
YD : This is a very relative issue. If you are designing for the masses you should have one answer, if you are designing for individuals you should have another answer. But what they all have in common is, as Dieter Rams says, "Good design has to be honest."
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
YD : Design is a phenomenon that exist in every field that comes to mind such as communication, transportation, education, fashion, public services, living spaces and their accessories. It is the most exhaustive phenomenon which emerged with the history of humankind and has evolved and become mature with it and has caused technological, organizational and cultural changes. Good design means more function, better ergonomics, more economic production, and more efficient use of resources. As objectives of these values evolve for better, there will be better physical and communicational conditions. Such development will also enhance the quality of social life.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
YD : The very rapid change in technology in the last 30 years has caused unbelievable changes in the discipline of design. Technology and design are developing in parallel. I think our all lifestyles and consumption habits will transform completely in the next 30 years. Our ways of transportation will change, concept of space and boundaries will be questioned, and even our forms of communication will change. I believe the humankind will discover the limitless energy resource, and it will be a breakpoint which will change everything. I believe that the discipline of design developing in parallel with the rapid and merciless advancement of technology needs to develop by ensuring efficient and proper use of world’s resources and contributing to sustainability. I believe sustainable design and inclusive design will develop for a better and more livable world.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
YD : The last exhibition I participated in was part of a collective art event: the ARTNOVA Art Fair held in Ankara, Turkey. It brought together many artists, designers, and academics from different disciplines. As for the next one, I don't have a date set yet.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
YD : I usually like investigating the traces of ethnic cultures and their philosophies. I find their beliefs, cultures, lifestyles, and the symbols, marks, forms and philosophies which they derive from the sum of the former. I think these are the projects I’m most satisfied with in which I am most free and explore new things.
DI: 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?
YD : I believe everything has a story behind it. I want people to understand this story in our designs.
DI: 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?
YD : I live in Ankara, Turkey. I think that the rich history of Anatolia and the fact that it has been home to different civilizations has a direct impact and positive contribution to my designs. Of course, I can also say that the details of different cultures that I have observed during my travels in different geographies have inspired me and contributed greatly to my designs.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
YD : There is no certain methodology of starting a design project. An idea is like a seed; you sow it, and then, with a bit of water, it turns its first leaf to the sun. This is the first acquaintance of the seed with the sun. It is nourished by the sun; then it grows and fruits. A design idea is like that. That idea seed is first sowed in your thoughts, waits there and is watered with your practices. After the thought has completed its first maturation, a pen and a paper become a sun to that thought, and the idea grows on that paper. When starting a design project, I review all meaningful or meaningless source on that matter, take down notes and draw sketches. Then I combine them.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
YD : There’s no such thing as a “standard” day for me. Every day follows its own schedule and rhythm. I always start early—usually around 7:00 a.m. I mostly work on product or interior designs either early in the morning or very late at night; I value silence and minimal movement. A phone ringing or a message popping up—routine business duties—can kill my focus and creative impulse. When I design, I need to shut out all distractions and lose myself in the moment, often with music.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
YD : Design is a very long journey which requires great amount of loyalty and labor. They should take the time and show patience enough to become mature in such an age when everything is consumed rapidly. Otherwise, they will be disappointed most of the time.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
YD : The best part is how the problem-solving mindset nurtured by design spills over into human relationships—empathy and understanding challenges become second nature. The downside? You begin to see every flaw, every tiny problem. Eventually, everything starts to bother you. Learning to live with that can be tough.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
YD : In such an abstract and immeasurable field like design, I don’t think there can be a single golden rule. But if I had to name the most important principle for me, it’s “understanding.” Not just understanding the client or the need, but understanding the material itself. Every material has its own language, texture, elasticity, load-bearing behavior, and thermal response. I start by having a conversation with the material in my mind. When I design, say, a table, all the materials come together in my head, flying around in various scenarios, forming and reforming to create conceptual integrity. Understanding and communicating with the material is my core design philosophy.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
YD : I believe the answer lies in what I just shared: the ability to understand. That is the most essential skill for a designer.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
YD : We are using all instruments from 3D printers to multi-axis CNCs, laser scanners to molding systems, AR and VR systems to rendering programs within today’s technology. But we never let technology kill the spirit of our designs.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
YD : When designing, time and space cease to exist. It’s impossible for me to design without detaching from both. That’s why I often lose track of time. Sometimes it creates chaos, but I simply can’t battle with time when I’m deep into the process.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
YD : Each project has its own timing. This also reflects the soul and story of that project actually. While some complex and difficult projects are completed in a very short time, other design projects cannot be completed for life. Some of the design projects have been designed to create a connection, a story between themselves and their users; this story builds up as it is experienced. Other design projects transform and evolve over time and acquire another function. Therefore, it is not much possible to assign a duration for a design project.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
YD : Under an NDA, I designed a 3,500 m² private mansion and managed the entire turnkey process—from architectural works to custom furniture and accessories. It was located in a geographically challenging area with limited communication infrastructure, and the project took about 2.5 years. I handled every detail. When the owner moved in, he brought only his clothes and a vast art collection. Since then, I’ve done other projects of a similar scale, but this one was especially intense because every piece was custom-designed and handcrafted. Unfortunately, due to confidentiality, it’s like writing in water—you can’t share your most important works. It’s a hidden garden.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
YD : We have a clientele that includes well-known personalities such as heads of state, important business people and artists. However, due to the confidentiality of our clients, I cannot disclose their names.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
YD : I enjoy designing furniture and lighting the most. More than just enjoyment, these are my greatest passions.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
YD : This summer, we opened the first store of our brand QZENS in Ankara. This space now serves as the main showcase for all our products and also includes an experience center. Following the opening, our next step is to make our products available at selected points of sale in different countries. The idea of my designs reaching more people across the world is one of the things that excites me the most right now.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
YD : I believe in co-design. Another person may see a detail that you take a close look at but cannot solve. I believe there is no improvement without criticism. I care a lot about the opinions of my partner and team at QZENS Furniture, Art & Design which I am the co-founder and Head of Design. We work as a team in many projects.
DI: How can people contact you?
YD : You can contact us via Qzens website qzens.com, our social media accounts and our offices in Ankara and Milan.