Interview with the founders of Differantly creative design studio
We’ve been following the progress and awesome works by Differantly design studio since the launch of their One line icon set. It turned out that the studio was founded by 2 talented designers (Emmanuelle & Stephane) from Paris who have an obsession for sleek bright designs and little details that make the difference. They were happy to answer a few questions about their work and passions. Here they are:
1. Tell us a few words about yourself?
E: We’re two french artists and designers, Emmanuelle & Stephane. We are originally from Paris but we currently share our time between Paris, Berlin and especially Leipzig that we love for its easy-going spirit. Besides our passion for design and arts in general, there are many other things we enjoy.
Stephane is a real computer geek and quite a good pc gamer. He is also an excellent and very creative cook (he invents a new dish everyday and refuses to eat twice the same thing…). He’s a big soccer fan, maybe because he’s half Brazilian ? Oh and he loves tough challenges, reading comics and playing all games on earth.
S: Emmanuelle, is a huge animal and nature lover. She collects animals skulls that we find in the wild, she is obsessed by huge old plants and managed to create a jungle in our studio (friends and clients sometimes get lost in it). She is also a great musician and she likes exploring and photographing abandoned places.
2. How did you get into web design industry?
S : It came quite naturally, as we were both passionate by arts and design since we were young. I studied in an art school in Paris, worked as a freelancer designer and also for many years as the artistic director of one of Vivendi’s subsidiary, where we actually met each other.
3. What do you love at icon design?
E: What we like is that it is both playful and challenging to try to represent a subject in a synthetic and simple way, yet telling a story, being easily recognizable and unique.
4. What is the origin and story of One line icon set?
S: Well it’s quite funny because the One Line project started like a game but led to so much more.
We came up with this idea a bit by chance simply because we like behaving like children. Just try it : it’s indeed quite fascinating to find the best way to represent a subject without ever lifting your pen. It also perfectly fits with the minimalist spirit we enjoy so much.
E: This project is very important to us, not only because of its success but also because it allowed us to meet and adopt our loving mascot dog, Mina while our paths would never have crossed otherwise. When we started the project and were documenting ourselves to draw our first One Line dog, we came across the picture of an abandoned dog living on the Cyprus island, 3000 km from our studio. We’d been dreaming of adopting a dog for many years and we felt something really special about this one. A few days later we flew to Cyprus and brought her back with us. Today Mina is a full member of the studio (even though her main contribution consists in eating our pencils…). So that’s entirely her fault if we never finished the One Line dog design so far !
5. What where the challenges of this unique project?
S: The biggest challenge is to understand the subject well enough to identify it’s most relevant features. When it’s done, we must then find the right way to represent these strong features in a subtle yet effective, simple and unique way. It’s not an easy exercise even though the result may look sleek and simple.
6. One line icon set got thousands of views and appreciations. How did it influence your business?
E: Yes, it all went very fast and the project got way more attention than we ever expected. The One Line project has been featured on many high-audience websites and shared all over the world. So, we received an incredible amount of business inquiries ranking from small businesses to major companies, asking for the One Line designs or its minimalist vibe (logos, illustrations, iconography sets…).
7. What are your sources of inspiration
S: We combine our love for drawing and sleek designs with what we’ve always been fascinated by : mainly nature, science, sci-fi, wildlife, robotics…
E: And to be completely honest, we don’t really care about what’s trendy in the graphic design world. We love watching what people do and they’re some very talented folks out there. But we just stick to what we love doing and know how to do.
8. Anything else to add?
E & S: Just a big thank you guys for following us since the beginning of the One Line adventure!
Thank you guys for taking the time to answer our questions, we’ll keep an eye on your progress and share your awesome resources to the world. Keep up the good work!