Name: Jonathan Kern
Company: ShellShock Designs
Position within company: CEO
Website: www.shelllshockdesigns.com
What direction do you feel design is moving towards in general terms?
Contemporary living
Leisure based activities
Flexible and multipurpose spaces
Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2014 and beyond.
Rising expectations of Clients
Health
Energy consciousness
Innovation of new materials
Technology transfer from other industries
And key trends that we should be aware of?
Natural materials
Textured surfaces
Technology based design
What projects are you currently working on?
Mother of Peal Wall Coverings for luxury offices in New York
Back Lit Faux Alabaster Bar Fronts for a chain of restaurants in the UK
Various residential interior design projects
If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to design schemes, what would it be?
Make sure you listen to the client to fully understand the brief.
A designer’s work is so diverse – how do you manage to hold down a career and a life?
Although being a designer can be single-minded, it is a way of life. Design influences everything we do. There is often no right answer to a design challenge so we learn from every project and are enriched and inspired by everything around us.
How important are The International Design and Architecture awards as recognition of talent and achievement?
ID&A provides a great forum for exposing the best in all branches of design.
Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself.
The car you drive?
Audi S5 Cabriolet – for the rare sunny days in the UK.
Your favourite place to travel to in the world?
I love to drive around the continent and visit friends along the way
Your favourite hotel/ restaurant/ bar?
The 12 Apostles. Cape Town, South Africa
The place that gives you the most energy?
Visiting our factory on Poyang Lake in China
And the place that enables you to totally relax?
A little village along the River Thames called Hurley.
Your favourite food and drink?
Shellfish and a bottle of chilled dry rose.