WeWantMore. One year in.
Anniversaries. We must admit, we’ve ignored the vast majority of them in the 13-year existence of our studio. But not this one though. This one is a real milestone. Roughly one year ago we changed our name to WeWantMore. A bold choice, but an essential one. Our former name didn’t quite cover the load any more. We needed it to better express what we’re about, wanting more for our clients, our work and ourselves.
So, in order to mark this first year accordingly, we didn’t just want to throw a party. We wanted to put our money where our mouth is, inviting our close contacts to an evening out the ordinary. One that would manifest what we stand for as a design studio and give them an inspiring insight into our minds, work and creative habitat. Location? Our very own studio. On the agenda? A series of thought-provoking talks, unusual objects and a slice of mentalism.
Opening up the designer’s perspective
Creative Directors Ruud Belmans and Michiel de Vreede took the stage to elaborate on the subject of opening up the designer’s perspective. Nowadays, a lot of designers and studios fail to go beyond the visual perspective of only envisioning what shapes, colours or materials to use. The emotional perspective is often neglected. A major flaw, because defining the feeling a brand needs to leave behind in people’s hearts and minds, will have a greater impact. It will cause people to experience a brand, not just observe it. A concept Belmans successfully illustrated with an actual mentalist trick.
“In order for a trick — or any design for that matter — to succeed, it’s very important, that I imagine what you need to see and create what you need to feel. It’s this ability of perspective taking … that is a very important skill for a designer too.”
Creative Director Brand Design Michiel de Vreede added to the talk by going into more detail on how to create that so-called brand feel, drawing inspiration from disciplines like art and entertainment, and why it’s so essential for brands to stand for something nowadays.
“People no longer buy a brand, they join a brand because it provides them with a sense of belonging. Associating yourself with certain brands has become a way to build and express your own identity.”
Someone who’s knows a thing or two about creating an impactful experience, was guest speaker Bjorn Tagemose. The Belgian-Swedish photographer, director and visual artist has worked with artists like Grace Jones, Iggy Pop, Tiësto and David Guetta turning their stage shows into visual masterpieces. Elaborating on a couple of his most iconic projects, Tagemose emphasised the value of playing into the unexpected and pulling people in on an emotional level. He also revealed to be working for WeWantMore on a mood film for Château de Vignée, a hunter’s hotel in the Ardennes that will be finished early 2020.
Objects beyond the project
Talking the talk is one thing, walking the walk is another. So, we took a closer look at our past and future projects and re-interpreted them as our own, going beyond the project and the client’s brief. It resulted in a series of unusual objects balancing on the junction of design, art and entertainment.
The signature mirrors of our Chez Claire project for example, turned into a rotating mirror globe, while the branding we did for ROXI transformed into a column based on the shape of the logo. In total eight objects referring to past or future projects were displayed in our studio. Curious about the other objects? View the pictures of the evening here.
