We always think that if you do good, good things come back to you. We are five to six people in our studio, including Daniera and me. We consider it very important to treat our team well so that they get enough freedom and flexibility to do their work. And I think it’s good to have self-reflection as a criterion to judge a project, as well as to have good communication with our clients. Whenever we propose something, it’s always as a dialogue between the two of us. We propose different ideas, we can discuss them, and we always try to understand what the client needs. Also, in that sense, empathy – both with our own people and the client – is a very important thing for us.
We also teach at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, and I would say that the same comes for our students. I treat them with as much respect as I would like to be treated myself. Of course, you need to be critical and honest, but I think we should always be respectful and empathic to the other.
On the other hand, if we talk about sustainability, as designers, of course, we do produce things, print books and magazines, etc. So yes, sometimes, I wonder how good is all this for the environment. Though I believe that if you put a lot of effort into the development of something, it’s a way of being sustainable, since you’re sure it will last. To bo sustainable doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy, do, or produce anymore. Instead, it should be well-considered and then, after five years, you don’t have to throw it away.
The same counts for our house and studio. For example, we did our kitchen together with a friend of ours, and I think it will be here as long as we live in this house. We chose for it, developed it, and did the best possible– we consider it a way of being sustainable. And I think it’s like this as well for good publications or graphic work: if it is well done, people will cherish it and keep it.