architectureplatform

was born in paris on january 5, 1968.
she inherited a talent for drawing from her parents. her father
is the french illustrator jean-jacques sempé (whose work has
appeared on more than 70 of new yorker covers) and mother,
the danish painter and illustrator mette ivers-sempé.
she graduated from l’ecole nationale supérieure de création
industrielle (ENSCI) in paris in 1993. she has worked with
george sowden (1989), with marc newson (6 months in 1994)
and andrée putman (ca. two years 1997-99), before she
opened her own studio in paris (since 2000).
inga sempé is one of the most renown female designers today.
sempé doesn’t see her work as being gendered in any way.
she has only followed her own lead and fiercely protects that
freedom. she was awarded with the grand prix de la creation
en design de la ville de paris in 2003. among her many clients,
inga sempé works with the companies cappellini, luceplan,
domestic, edra, ligne roset, baccarat, david design,
and artecnica

what is the best moment of the day?
the morning.

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
I don’t listen to music.

do you listen to the radio?
yes. only talks.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
at the moment, books a girlfriend of mine brought which
is called ‘le jour un impair c’est tout’ written by
virginie linard / leonard.

do you read design / architecture / fashion magazines?
I read fashion magazines a little bit.

where do you get news from?
at the bar in the morning when I get my coffee.
and the internet.

I assume you notice how women dress.
do you have any preferences?
no.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
anything hippy.

do you have any pets?
kind of.
actually no, …it’s not really guarded as a pet.

when you were a child,
did you want to become a designer?
in a way yes, but I didn’t know the job existed.
I didn’t like visually heavy objects and made
drawings of things.
I watched out for beautiful functional objects.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
in my apartment which is also my studio.

do you discuss your work with other designers?
yes, but only one. (laughs)
I prefer to work alone.
I don’t want to share.

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would
describe it.
my friends are not journalists so they don’t describe my style.
I like working on daily mundane household objects
and might come up with a new clever and useful solution.

please describe an evolution in your work,
from your first projects to the present day.
now companies ask me to design things, whereas before
nobody asked me to design anything for them. and …
when a project is produced as a product,
you keep being involved in communication, answering interview
questions. it was not part of my job initially.

what project has given you the most satisfaction?
any project that’s been done well.
actually satisfaction is my goal, to be satisfied with my work.

anyone you would like to design anything for?
no.
or better – yes.
I like mechanical objects.
I would like to design pens, cars.
I wish to work for a tool producing company designing some
hammers.

is there any designer and/or architect from the past,
you appreciate a lot?
I like some buildings and objects, but I’m not devoted to anybody
in particular.I like achille castiglioni’s and vico magistretti’s things.

and those still working / contemporary designers?
konstantin grcic, francois azambourg, the bouroullecs
and bertjan pot.

do you collect things?
I don’t particularly like possessing things…
and I don’t like to be given things.

what advice would you give to the young?
don’t analyze and follow trends.
keep in mind that most of the projects that you’ll designs
will be refused, but this is normal.
so keep on trying to find the right manufacturer.
if you want to achieve something on a technical level,
to reach a particular goal, then be confident and watch
out for new materials.
ask the right questions (and speak with the right people).

what are you afraid of regarding the future?
the ‘global culture’.
I was born in paris, and I’d like to die there,
but it is so expensive that it becomes a kind of a boring
museum for tourists.

Source: http://www.designboom.com (Interview on 16 April 2008)