Jaime Hayon: “Design is not just functionality, it needs to provoke emotion”

He designs hotels, furniture and furnishings, as well as artistic objects, and he also creates amazing pictures, which have featured in solo exhibitions all over the world. The energy which drives him hits you as soon as you meet him. Cheerful and provocative, when he explains his designs he is like a river in full flow. Each one is perfectly formed in hi mind; the creative process which moves him is narration. “Because design is not just functionality. It needs to provoke emotion”, Jaime explains.

You are able to switch between ironic and imaginative design to very structured projects, such as those for Fritz Hansen. Tell us how you manage.
I am an artist/designer. What I create as an artist is extremely free. I draw every day, it is how I think and let my fantasy run free. I have thousands of sketch books full of my drawings which I can then turn into either pictures or objects. The approach with companies such as Fritz Hansen is different, as there I have to deal with the DNA of the brand, and respect it. In this case I visit them and try to understand how they work, and what their particularities are. Then I combine their history and their abilities with my idea of design. This exchange is the only way to create a product. I don’t impose myself, but I try to find harmony with the brand I am working for in order to create a design which is not simply my personal expression of style.

Tell us about the JH97, your new lounge chair for Fritz Hansen, a Danish company with a very important cultural and historical identity...
Fritz Hansen has an artisan method of working wood, it has always worked this way and its products are iconic. But they are really expensive. My mission was to create a chair which expresses the same values, but which could be marketed at a more accessible cost. In order achieve this, I spent almost two years studying production processes and artisan methods, trying to maintain the same levels of prestige in the line and the methods, while making sure it was within everyone’s reach. Together with an artisan, I studied the characteristics of Danish design and we sought out the highest levels of expression united with the ability to produce a number of parts mechanically. After 14 prototypes and 65 studio designs, we created the product. The result is a perfect blend of traditional Danish design and my personal stile, combined with the Spanish tradition of hand-made joints.

Tell us about the jacquard tapestry that you created for Bonotto as part of Ro Plastic – Master’s Pieces, the exhibition for the Guiltlessplastic project (the international competition created and developed by Rossana Orlandi, ed).
In this case, I let my imagination run free. The image is a reflection of my drawings and is part of my playful and ironic world. The colours are bright and the threads it is woven from were obtained through the recycling of over 300 kilos of plastic bottles. The central image is surrounded by my graphic designs, like brush strokes on canvas. The artisans at Bonotto’s Fabbrica Lenta were able to create the exact colour contrasts that I wanted. It’s a very striking tapestry, isn’t it?”

And as we finish our conversation, the explosive Spanish designer is already ready to dash off and present other products, because this year’s furniture fair has also seen him involved with other companies, including &Tradition, Paola C, Wittmann and BD Barcelona. As well as being functional, each of his designs is created to tell a story and create empathy with the user, always provoking different emotions.