Johannes Hemann
Johannes Hemann is a German designer whose practice explores the intersection of experimentation, material behavior, and contemporary craftsmanship. After studying Product Design at the School of Art and Design in Offenbach am Main and spending a semester at Kingston University in London, he founded his eponymous studio in 2011. Since then, Hemann has developed a distinctive body of work that challenges conventional design processes through playful investigation and technical innovation.
Known for reinterpreting familiar forms through unexpected methods, Hemann gained international recognition with projects such as the Storm Series, in which furniture is shaped through simulated storm conditions, allowing natural forces to become active participants in the creative process. His work has been exhibited internationally, including in Milan, London, Basel, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and Tel Aviv, and has earned multiple nominations from the German Design Awards, establishing him as one of the notable voices of his generation in collectible design.
Interview
I was born in Göttingen, Germany, and grew up in a small village surrounded by forest and a low mountain range in the countryside.
I guess that was a visit to a museum with my parents when I was still little.
After graduating from design university, I worked as a design consultant for two years before opening my own studio to pursue my ideas.
My parents had an old farmhouse. In the stables and the surroundings, I found a lot of inspiring materials to create my first design objects.
Most of my ideas are based on the process of creating, so I put much emphasis on craftsmanship, whether it’s woodwork, soldering, or anything else related to the process I am using. As all my products are unique pieces and all handmade, craftsmanship is most important to me.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as a typical working day. My days always change depending on the projects I am working on and the orders I have to complete. I usually start by working on whatever order needs to be completed and then, in the late morning or early afternoon, I start working on future projects, either exploring new creative processes or continuing work on what I have already started.
I mostly work in my workshop, and you will rarely find me working on projects in front of my computer.
Every material has its own unique specifications and structure, so I try to emphasize these characteristics and showcase the materials’ inherent beauty.
Nearly all of my objects are process-based. This means that the product is defined by the process rather than the function. In other words, I start with an idea of what I want to achieve and then, by trial and error, I understand which process will get me there.
SONY DSC
Believe in yourself and your ideas, and show the world your passion for design.
I think it is hard to fit my work into any specific category, because the products are so different, depending on the process I am working with.
Nature is a major source of inspiration for me, rather than any particular designer. I live next to the forest, and to see the growth of trees and nature around me is deeply inspiring. Nature finds solutions that are not only very sustainable and effective, but also aesthetic and opulent.
Ferréol Babin, Max Lamb, and many more are a lot of inspiring designers.
My inspiration comes more from other fields than art or design.
Long live the visible imagination!
“The product is defined by the process rather than the function.”
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
Work on some new objects and enter a state of flow where you lose all sense of time and place.
Loose my passions.
I am not very outgoing.
Not to be curious.
My family.
To be the owner of 3 bicycles.
Still curious to explore.
Caution.
Honesty.
Honesty.
Of course.
To be patient.
To become neat and tidy.
Follow my own path.
Bird.
Next to the sea and mountains.
My bicycles.
To loose faith in being able to get out of there.
My life.
Being reliable.
Being reliable.
Mark Haddon, T.C. Boyle, Daniel Defoe.
Robinson Crusoe.
–
Sportsmen like Jonas Deichmann and Boris Herrmann, because they never say no to a challenge.
Oskar and Max.
Ignorance.
Not to have a job that helps others or nature. But I am not really made for that.
Quickly and without pain.
Enjoy every day.
“Nature is a major source of inspiration for me. Nature finds solutions that are not only very sustainable and effective, but also aesthetic and opulent.”
SONY DSC 
SHARE :
