We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Ganna Design ("GD").
Founded in 2010, Ganna Design leads the house to a new stage, like a milestone which is going to make a difference. In Chinese, Gan-甘means sweety or pleasant. Na- “納” means an humble attitude toward accommodation. Combine these two words, Ganna tries to make a balance between space and people, and create a comfortable place merged with aesthetic and practical function. Also, Ganna in English sounds like “gonna”, which tends to draw an upcoming beautiful vision for every house proprietor.
Ganna Design Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Ganna Design.
Designer Interview of Ganna Design:
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?
GD : We graduated from a University in Taiwan, majored in spatial design. We found that we were interested in exploring more in this field and decided to be a designer in the future.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
GD : Ganna Design was founded in 2010, it located in Northern Taiwan. The founder is also my partner. Without any limitation, Ganna Design tries to challenge diverse space and different styles. Human's life is the center of our design, so
DI: What is "design" for you?
GD : Design is part of our lives.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
GD : No specific kind of work is preferred. We are willing and like to challenge different style, different type of works.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
GD : Ganna Studio is the project that we designed for our office. This project has also won the Taiwan Interior Award. As for the international awards, this project has won the 2014 USA A+ Award, and has been shortlisted in 2014 INSIDE award.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
GD : No specific material preferred.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
GD : We focus the interaction of people in a space. We think the space itself can improve the relationship among people in the house.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
GD : Generally speaking, I feel excited when discussion because I can exchange ideas with my partners. The process of discussion always make me feel excited.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
GD : Also, excited. And we feel sense of accomplishment especially when we see the smile from the house owners or proprietors.
DI: What makes a design successful?
GD : We think a successful design (in interior space) is a design that can solve the problems of the people, improve the interactions among the people and improve the emotions of the people.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
GD : We think the layout is the most important in the interior design, since the layout influence people's life the most. A well-considered layout can facilitate the life condition, solve the original problems people faced. Although it is not a special point, the
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
GD : From our point of view, an good environment can help people stabilize the emotion of the people, and thus being a small propeller to make a harmonious society. Besides, we can help saving energy by adopting some materials, by changing the position of the object and so on. Interior design is more than to beautify a house but to make a better world.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
GD : Our last exhibition is a exhibition in Taiwan, held for the Taiwan Interior Design award winner. The next one will be the CSID (Chinese Society of Interior Design) winner exhibition in April.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
GD : In our leisure time, we like to go hiking or do something close to the nature. A quiet natural environment is conducive to think deeply about the relation between human beings and the environment. Also, we never give up any chance to relax ourselves. Going to a movie or reading magazines are two ways that can stimulate us in daily life. Enjoying life is always a good way to gather inspiration.
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?
GD : We do not have a fix design style, and do not want to have one. Interior design a field that should change accord with the need of our proprietors. We expect ourselves not to be limited by any specific style but to challenge ourselves time by time.
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?
GD : We live in Taiwan. Yes, of course the cultural heritage in Taiwan affects our design. For example, we have combined the traditional red door in the bricks-built house and the iron window frame into one of our design. Some historical element can make a project more stylish. As for the cons, we think the environment condition weighs more than the cultural heritage. Taiwan is a small and crowded country; general speaking, people here do not have large house as people in other country do. Therefore, it's more difficult for us to deal with project with large scale base.
DI: How do you work with companies?
GD : We share the ideas together, discuss the projects together. Just like any other designer do in their work.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
GD : There are still so many things for us to learn, so we don't think we are good enough to provide suggestions to companies. As for the question of how to select a good design, past experience and their previous works would be the important part to value a designer.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
GD : First of all, we will ask the requirement of our proprietor and make sure if there is any problems to be solved. Besides, whether there is a specific style preferred will also be made sure. Then we start gathering ideas to design. During the process of design, we still discuss with our proprietors about their the preference and their ideal life type.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
GD : Actually, we do not have a fix schedule in everyday. We often visit our client to make sure the construction is under the process. Then, have a meeting with enquirer in the afternoon. If there's no meeting, it's time for us to realize the ideas and draw the plans for our project.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
GD : Being modest, being passionate.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
GD : We think that being a designer help us to think one thing from different angles. We can have a more open attitude toward one thing or one event. As for the negatives, we don't think there's anything negative for us to being a designer.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
GD : To feel for others, to stand in other's shoes.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
GD : Spatial perception is the most important, we think.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
GD : AutoCad and some graphic application software.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
GD : As long as the meeting can be schedule earlier, we can have our time control. We prefer to schedule our meeting at least one week in advance so that we can manage the rest to time drawing. Design is part of our lives and we are quiet accustomed with it.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
GD : It depends. Three months to half a year may be possible.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
GD : "How would you describe your design style?" "What is your favorite style?"
DI: What was your most important job experience?
GD : Founding Ganna Design is the most important job experience, I think. Because we need to get a comprehensive control on the operation of a
DI: Who are some of your clients?
GD : Most of them are the house owners. Young couples or a family take the largest account of our clients.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
GD : We hope to have more chances of contacting with different type of projects and to broaden our projects to public space. If had a chance, a resort or a hotel is the first thing that we want to challenge. Besides, having more media exposure is also one of our future plan.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
GD : We work as a team.
DI: How can people contact you?
GD : People can contact us by writing email to info@ganna-design.com/ studio@ganna-design.com or talking us on the phone +886 2-2775-2737 If you don't mind, please refer to our website: http://ganna-design.com/