BY TAKING USERS AND LIMITATIONS INTO CONSIDERATION, NANA JOHNNY CO STUDIO’S WORKS EMBODY A SENSE OF LIVELINESS, SIMPLICITY, AND EVEN GAUDINESS AT TIMES

TEXT: NANA JOHNNY CO STUDIO
PHOTO: JIRAYU PRAPASEEWORAKUL

(For Thai, press here)

WHO

‘Nana’ is derived from Nana Komatsu, a beloved Japanese actress who happens to be one of my favorites. Meanwhile, ‘Johnny’ is inspired by Johnny Depp, who holds the title of Johnny’s favorite actor. We combined the two names, one symbolizing the East and the other symbolizing the West, to create Nana Johnny co studio. This name represents the innate and limitless knowledge, ideas, and emotions of people.

WHAT

We’re fundamentally a creative design agency. Of course, our focus is on architecture and interior design, but after a while, we’ve realized that we’re much more than that. We’re like friends, siblings, business partners, issue solvers, personal consultants, or even nephews and sons to our clients. And we’ve always felt that way, and it’s been such a fun ride so far. We know we have the potential to do so much more because of our experiences working with and talking to everyone. We want to continue meeting and working with new people to continue figuring out how we can grow and evolve.

WHEN

In February 2021, to be exact, the two of us (Thanasuan Chatmawong and Siraphop Pulsri) made the decision to quit our jobs. I decided to leave the company where I was employed shortly after Siraphop, who had left a little earlier. We had a chance to sit down and talk about how we can encourage people to pay more attention to their surrounding environment, to the extent that it becomes a new cultural norm in our lives. We had been contemplating that thought for quite a while, and eventually we reached a point where we were like, “Come on! Let’s do this!”  The works we have created are intended to serve as examples and convey our message about the importance and vitality of truly knowing oneself and recognizing the significance of one’s surroundings.

WHERE

We used to meet at Porcupine Café on the north side of  Soi Ari 4 Street. We would meet there on a regular basis to discuss our projects. I recall creating the Facebook page that we used to promote our first project together at that café. We fought, laughed, and cried together at that place. It’s filled with so many memories. It’s a shame we don’t get to go there as frequently now that we have had our own space since December 2022, which is still in the Ari district. Our present office is located on Soi Ari Samphan 2. If you like, you can come over and talk to us.

WHY

It’s hard to say. We’re not quite sure how to answer this question. It’s just that we are both interested in many things. There are a lot of hobbies that we enjoy.  We have chosen interior design because it is a field we think we can do well and feel a strong personal connection with. We are very passionate about it. Interior design allows us to effectively communicate messages by transforming intangible ideas into tangible reality. There have been many unfortunate events, but it is always satisfying to be able to understand and craft the concrete reality that sometimes surpasses people’s expectations.

How would you describe your personal style?

We have never really considered that. Currently, our approach involves placing the user at the center of our work, letting them do the guiding at first while we take the role of inquirers, and gathering and organizing a set of ‘qualities’ for the project. These elements are then integrated into the design. Two of our rules are to eliminate anything unnecessary and to strive for the creation of the best possible necessity. Most of our works embody a sense of simplicity while still maintaining a distinct uniqueness. However, even projects that exhibit bolder design choices are always grounded in these two fundamental principles.

What is your inspiration and guiding principle for each creation?

People’s experiences and stories. We had the opportunity to have conversations with users and project owners, and these discussions provided us with information about their tastes, desires, past, future, fantasies, and business insights. These stories account for half of our sources of inspiration. The remaining half is comprised of our own  experiences.

When a story is traced back to something, whether it be their youth, dreams, feelings, wishes, fond hopes, favorite comics, films, or special places in their memories, we will incorporate that, and together with our experiences, everything becomes a 100% complete inspiration that we can use in each project. It’s really cool.

What is the project you are most proud of?

Another difficult question. It’s definitely easier to choose the second-most favorite (laugh). It’s just that deciding which one should be number one is difficult. From the ‘When?’ question, we discussed creating works that reflect our principles, and COFFEE, CABIN & BOOK is most likely the project that encompasses that. We worked on that project with meticulous planning and a well-calculated  thought process, and everything went as planned. As a result, we’re really proud of the outcome. However, it was never built, which is a shame.

So far, we’ve had quite a good chunk of completed projects in our portfolio. Naturally, there were some challenges owing to various factors, but we are proud of all of them. If we were to pick one project to symbolize who we are and illustrate an interesting trajectory, we would have to go with Nagareru Living. The entire thought process was based on our design principles. It answers our question of ‘how to make people appreciate their surroundings more to the point that a new culture and standard can be formed?,’ which is something we have been wanting to do since 2021.

The three words that define your work philosophy?

Unique, simple and amicable

What is your favorite part of the whole process?

It is always difficult to answer questions that asks about the ‘most’ something. When we get to talk to users and owners, that is usually the most exciting part. We have heard some truly remarkable stories that have the potential to be transformed into captivating novels or short stories. However, our favorite step is when we can integrate everything into the design.

Earlier, we discussed that after talking with a client, we will be able to acquire a set of qualities. These qualities may not appear to align or complement each other, and they may or may not have been integrated into our own experiences. The challenge is finding a way to incorporate all of these qualities into a concrete design that delivers the best  solution that is no longer questioned or doubted. The outcome is always fun because we achieve a design that is both clean, unique, and understandable. When we reach that stage, all we want to do is shout and jump with joy. The more unique the result, the better we feel.

If you could invite a ‘creative’ to coffee, who would you invite and why?

Kohei Horikoshi sensei would have to be our choice. There are several people in mind, but after consulting with everyone in the team, it’s his work that connects us all together, at least for the time being. We’re a group of architects, designers, and people in the same professional field who share many interests. What’s odd is that we rarely have intense debates over the greatness of these legendary  creations. My Hero Academia’s story is simple, yet it’s full of life and profound nuances, and it’s highly relatable because it’s about friendship, family, and sacrifice in order to achieve something meaningful. It is about recognizing your own feelings for others as well as your devotion, resilience, and dreams.

Character design, appearances, personalities, identities, and even clothes are all unique and interesting. In the most unexpected way, the storyline makes us laugh, tense, and cry our eyes out. Having a coffee with him may not be enough because the bottom line of our conversation would be the big question of how all of the aforementioned can be created by just one individual.

As designers, we must accept that we are only a small component of a larger whole. We are similar to screen writers and directors, yet these roles alone are not enough to create a great story that touches people’s hearts. But Kohei Horikoshi sensei is capable of doing it all by himself. It’s incredible.

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