Johannes Hemann studied product design at the School of Art and Design in Offenbach am Main, Germany. During his studies he spent one semester at the Department of Product Design at Kingston University in London. In 2011, Hemann opened his eponymous design studio and almost immediately received international attention for his innovative and playful interpretations of traditional design forms. His acclaimed “Storm Series” represents another unique approach toward design, in which furniture is made in a “storm box” and shapes are created as a result of simulated storms. Hemann’s designs have been exhibited in Berlin, Milan, Tel Aviv, London, Basel, New York and Tokyo, among other venues. In 2012, he was nominated as Young Designer of the year by the German Design Awards, and he was twice nominated for Design Newcomer of the Year in Germany, in both 2010 and 2011.

1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

I was born in Göttingen, Germany, and grew up in a small village surrounded by forest and a low mountain range in the countryside.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

I guess that was a visit to a museum with my parents when I was still little. 

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field, and what led you to the design creation ?

After graduating from design university, I worked as a design consultant for two years before opening my own studio to pursue my ideas.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

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.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

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 for me.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

I don’t think there’s such a thing like 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.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

Every material has its own unique specifications and structure, so I try to emphasize these characteristics and showcase the materials’ inherent beauty.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

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.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

Believe in yourself and your ideas, and show the world your passion for design.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

I think it is hard to fit my works into any specific category, because the products are so different, depending on the process I am working with. 

11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?

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 esthetic and opulent.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

Ferréol Babin, Max Lamb and many more, there are a lot of inspiring designers. 

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

My inspiration comes more from other fields than art or design. 

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Long live the visible imagination!

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
(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…)

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Work on some new objects and enter a state of flow where you lose all sense of time and place.

2. What is your greatest fear?

Loose my passions.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I am not very outgoing.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

To not be curious. 

5. Which living person do you most admire?

My family. 

6. What is your greatest extravagance?

To be the owner of 3 bicycles.

7. What is your current state of mind?

Still curious to explore. 

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Caution. 

9. What is the quality you most like in a man ?

Honesty. 

10. What is the quality you most like in a woman ?

Honesty. 

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Of course. 

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

To be patient. 

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

To become neat and tidy. 

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Follow my own path. 

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Bird. 

16. Where would you most like to live?

Next to the sea and mountains. 

17. What is your most treasured possession?

My bicycles. 

18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

To loose faith in being able to get out of there. 

19. What is your favorite occupation?

My life. 

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

Being reliable. 

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Being reliable. 

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Mark Haddon, T.C. Boyle, Daniel Defoe. 

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

Robinson Crusoe.

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

–

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

Sportsmen, like Jonas Deichmann, Boris Herrmann, because they never say no to a challenge. 

26. What are your favorite names?

Oskar and Max. 

27. What is it that you most dislike?

Ignorance. 

28. What is your greatest regret?

Not to have a job that helps others or nature. But I am not really made for that.

29. How would you like to die?

Quickly and without pain.

30. What is your motto?

Enjoy every day.