We often hear glowing compliments being paid to the products of brands such as IKEA and Muji, the unbranded, elegant stationery brand that recently opened a store in Bengaluru.
What we don't often see is the work that goes into designing these products. This is what BIG-GAME Studios, a product and interior design studio started by Augustin Scott de Martinville, Elric Petit and Grégoire Jeanmonod, does. The studio, which was founded in 2004 in Lausanne, Switzerland, works with prestigious names like Lexon, Nespresso, Moustache, Logitech and Renault to build products and design spaces that, in the team's own words, are "affordable, simple and easy to use."
With society beginning to rely heavily on technology and becoming exposed to interaction design, which aims to be simple and minimalist, the trio feel that these two qualities have become fundamental to the design world.
"The widespread availability of products by certain brands has led to people expecting fixed standards in design and functionality. As these products are so widespread and need to adapt to so many different contexts it is logical they tend to go for simple designs and put emphasis on functionality. Today, one also needs fewer physical objects to live – and objects tend to play a lesser role in terms of status symbols. As a result, simple, functional design putting emphasis on comfort is one of the strongest trends we see around us," Elric says.
Between the three of them, they bring a wealth of cultural design themes to the table, with Augustin hailing from France, Elric from Belgium and Greg from Switzerland.
They concur that while Swiss design is held in high regard worldwide, they prioritise the needs of their clients when coming up with products.
"Today clients come to us because they like our approach – this goes beyond our nationality and that of our client. We have worked to develop a consistent design language and our own work logic. That being said, we hold classic mid-century Swiss design in very high esteem!" Augustin explains.
The trio, who were in India recently to deliver a talk, say that India's vast proportions and diversity is what struck them the most during their short stay. "
What is immediately striking here for us is the immense disparities between rich and poor. For us industrial design is by essence democratic – wanting to improve the quality of products, make them more sustainable and more affordable for the bigger public – we feel here in India design is often understood to apply only to luxury products – so this could definitely be improved. On the other hand there are amazing crafts, colours and patterns and this is a wonderful source of inspiration," says Greg.
