We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh ("SPK").
Shiva is a distinguished international award-winning interior designer. She holds a Master of Science degree in interior design from Pratt Institute, ranked number one in design intelligence worldwide, and Bachelor of Art in interior architecture from Oxford Brookes School of Architecture. Her works are identified globally mainly as top workplace projects. Strategic planning and design of the offices of J.P Morgan Chase, Tiffany & Co., Nascar, Tetra Pak, NFL, and many recognized brands are just a small part of her professional work. Her research and scientific reflection about collective innovation and design founded an emerging base for designing future cities at the industrial design department of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. One of her recently designed furniture has been published multiple times in high-ranked design magazines of the world for its sustainable approach. She is nominated and presented as one of the best designers of the world in 2020 and recognized as a design legend for her contribution to the world of furniture design by her unique and emerging design solutions towards sustainable design. She is currently the Creative Design Director at P-Design Studio and founder of the international interdisciplinary institute of p-design school. Shiva is the first design entrepreneur in Iran offering interdisciplinary design solutions for national and international design projects.
Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh.
Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh Design - Lift Portable and Adaptable Shelf
Designer Interview of Shiva Pouryousef Khameneh:
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?
SPK : My academic background turns back to Oxford School of Architecture where I received BA Interior Architecture from and Pratt Institute ranked number one nationally in the professional survey in Design Intelligence where I graduated with MSc Interior Design. I am certified in more than ten intensive design and human environmental health courses accredited by IDCEC and Hanley Wood University in Washington D.C. and my last certificate is from Harvard Graduate School of Design in Architectural Imagination.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
SPK : I do not make boundaries for my company, our clients are our partners. The first step of entrepreneurship is being optimistic and setting up multiple businesses, taking on risks and chasing profit. My description of what risk is and what advantage is not international and anyone should get their answers. Hierarchy is what I’m afraid to have in my business; everyone has a voice as long as they know how to define their ideas. The only rule is resilience.
DI: What is "design" for you?
SPK : To me, the design is a tool to explore untold dreams in real life. We design to create an experience and a trial if it’s either a mind shift or strategizing a business model.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
SPK : Strategizing spaces, corporate commercial projects, and residentials but in general projects with limitations are my favorites regardless of their size, location, budget, and subject. Maybe the challenge is what I seek while designing.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
SPK : Designing the headquarter office of NASCAR in Manhattan while I was a designer at TMA. It started with their corporate identity and developed into a special project. What makes it special for me is the fine connection between interior architectural elements and branding of the space and client’s brand identity that became tangible and visible in every material, form, and technology.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
SPK : It is funny! I was asked to design a logo for a Japanese restaurant. I ended up presenting over 40 pages of concept from how space should feel like and how the food should get served but the logo.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
SPK : Anything futuristic, interactive, and smart! I randomly follow the laboratory for design technologies at Harvard University to learn about future technologies in the design discipline.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
SPK : When facing limitations or if the problem is not relevant to my profession.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
SPK : Concept to be told by a cohesive story in all elements of the result, no matter if it is a space or small product.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
SPK : I feel unbelievably excited like a child on the way to wonderland. Design for designers is like a gift that they are excited to open and at the same time, they are sure it is definitely a great gift!
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
SPK : Delighted and astonished! I think there is always a better version of every design and if my work is out and it is realized by other professionals, it is the time to celebrate.
DI: What makes a design successful?
SPK : Happy client! I start with client analyses to understand “what is the matter?”. Their relationship, lifestyle, work habits, business and profit matters to me. The design is a successful process which never ends. My projects are always alive in my head in an evolutionary process. My design methodology forms with design philosophies and creating design principles and techniques accordingly. Research is detachable from the design process, and in easy words, if the initial idea and the final result of any project are the same, it means there was no process; therefore, it is invaluable in any field design.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
SPK : If the need is answered and the problem is solved as well as if the concept is visible and eye-catching.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
SPK : Considering the effects of our project on our environment and the habits that it adds to our society is deeply the moral and ethical part of our job and I believe that designers including myself are responsible for the effects and side-effects of what we produce.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
SPK : Design is a young topic, and it is moving forward from the “result” based major to a “process”. That is why the relationship between designers and their audience is bold. Design trains designers to understand their clients. It equips designers to read their client’s dreams and analyze appearances. As a designer we have to see people as they are, every person has a character, fears darkness as well as many habits and dreams. They vision themselves in spaces and positions that we may be able to illuminate and create. According to many designers and my experience, people seek for their childhood dreams, and they are afraid of their bad memories. I believe that the future of design is when people and designers design together and this has a direct relation with understanding our society and their needs, it is fundamental to provide for them and make them trust us without convincing them.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
SPK : In Summer 2015 at Haworth inc in Chicago and the next one seems to be the A Design Award 2020!
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
SPK : Trusting random funny ideas and counting casual brainstormings as vital seminar! Believing that team works not individual and know the art of networking to accomplish with other business owners in a similar industry to hit the market.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
SPK : We start with client analyses to understand “what is the matter?”. Their relationship, lifestyle, work habits, business, and profit matters to us. The design is a successful process that never ends. My projects are always alive in my head in an evolutionary process. Our design methodology forms with design philosophies and creating design principles and techniques accordingly. Research is detachable from the design process, and in easy words, if the initial idea and the final result of any project are the same, it means there was no process; therefore, it is invaluable in any field design.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
SPK : I am a team-oriented person but I also enjoy developing design alone too.
DI: How can people contact you?
SPK : Email is the best!