We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Sena Jinen ("SJ").

SenaJinen's career was launched as an Interior Designer.After 4 years, of course she graduated from Bahcesehir University Faculty of Architecture, majoring in Interior Architecture & Environmental Design. While completing her degree she worked both in design offices & construction sites.In order to have a broad perspective, she studied on other design fields like furniture design, sustainable design & exhibit design. She furthered her education by following her passion for yachts & completed her masters in yacht design, at Politecnico the Milano. She has worked as a yacht designer in Milan for a while and had a chance to get involved spectacular yacht design projects.She decided to pause her career in order to get some experience onboard.Shortly after she joined Maritime Faculty, she earned her Yacht Captain status. And jumped onboard for some real-life experience!

Sena Jinen Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Sena Jinen.

Designer Interview of Sena Jinen:

DI: What is "design" for you?

SJ : Seeking to solve daily problems with empathy.

DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?

SJ : I believe it was an exhibition stand dedicated to a company for their newly released product.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

SJ : The best time of the day for me is in the morning, after having a coffee…

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

SJ : Thinking about the user, all the time.

DI: What makes a design successful?

SJ : Level of meaningful interaction with its user/owner.

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

SJ : From other designer works to furniture stores, a mix of colors or textures, learning about other industries, traveling to foreign countries, having a conversation with foreigners about their day-to-day lifestyle and patterns and so on…My own peers is also a source of inspiration. Even just listening to them, sharing ideas hearing their perspectives on those ideas is a big source of inspiration for me. Shoutout to my dearest friends from my masters class, you know who you are! Recently one of my closest friends recommended me a podcast called ‘Art Café’ that I become addicted shortly after. It is a live talk show in which some of the top artists from around the world to chat candidly about their experiences in the industry.

DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

SJ : To pick someone who does not sit down to work just to get paid and get it off their shoulder as soon as possible. Wanting to finish any design in a hurry without any enthusiasm is a trap that we set for ourselves- In my opinion, it will eventually lead to an unhappy environment.

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

SJ : Design starts with the owner and understanding their needs. The first step is always to examine and analyze and research. After determining the frame, everything else will come smoothly in order…

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

SJ : I am also a young designer! I am afraid I don’t have any pearl of wisdom to share… All I can say to my peers is not to be afraid to fail and not to allow anyone to marginalize your dream or idea.Your vision is your vision - it wasn’t given to them. If you have something you want to do, if someone tells you 'no, you can’t do that; it hasn’t been done' or 'you can’t do that because you’re too young, you’re a woman or you’re this ethnicity so you won’t work in this business', ignore them. For me, it just means that I won’t work with them, that’s all. But please don’t get me wrong: If an engineer tells you that this is not feasible, you shouldn’t ignore. Listen to what they say religiously!

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

SJ : To be human-centered.

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

SJ : Over time, I have learned to focus on the things I want to focus on in the time frame that I set. Everyone who knows me knows that I have my black notebook with me all the time to make a list of some of the key tasks I work. Every morning I look back at the list to prioritize my duties and make sure to focus on those tasks on that day.

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

SJ : I will do my best & just put it out, that simple...

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

SJ : There are some concept projects that I designed by myself. But in real life, it is usually a team-work which makes the process even more exciting.

DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

SJ : Currently, there are two on-going projects that I am working on. One of them is a concept yacht that I am very excited about and the other one is a residential project for a young couple.

DI: How can people contact you?

SJ : You can find my contact information on my website, also any of my social media accounts.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

SJ : I believe not…Thank you for having me!