“Each designer in our team has a different approach to taking notes; some are more attracted to visual communication such as sketches and doodles, while others enjoy to jot down words and phrases in physical or digital notebooks to describe the thoughts and feelings behind an idea.”

Trine Andersen, Founder & Creative Director

In a constant attempt to capture these ideas that emerge from everyday feelings, reflections, experiences and memories during the creative, inspirational process, the design team work with notes. These are not only limited to the original, pen-and-paper kind: “Each designer in our team has a different approach to taking notes; some are more attracted to visual communication such as sketches and doodles, while others enjoy to jot down words and phrases in physical or digital notebooks to describe the thoughts and feelings behind an idea. Either way, it provides us with the unique opportunity to not only structure our own thoughts, but to invite each other into our individual, unique minds and create the layers that track our thoughts during the collaborative design process.” shares Trine Andersen, Creative Director at ferm LIVING. Sometimes, this process enables the formation of ideas by combining notes from different designers, while at other times notes can grow into products on their own. It also happens that an idea dies when the notes are shared: “It allows us to be deliberate in our design. Is something missing? If the answer is yes, the product isn’t ready, and it doesn’t make it into the product family. We might save it or adapt it for a later collection. It’s a journey, but the products are better for it.” Notes therefore present an integral part of the design process; they help the designers nurture the unique process from intangible thoughts to functional products, enabling the team to create collections that beautifully balance the authentic and structured.