The skiing in Chamonix was fantastic and the pasteis de nata of Lisbon were mouthwatering but now it’s time to get back to work for the good folks of Sekkei Studio. We say goodbye to 2008 with a round-up of the favourite projects during an interview with co-founders David Henriques and Elodie Lo Van. As always, we grabbed lunch at one of the studio’s favourite downtown Shanghai locations and caught up on what is going on:
OurMainSH: First of all, Happy 2009! I see that you enjoyed the food and the wine on your European vacation. It’s been awhile but here we are. It’s year-2 for the studio, why don’t you tell me about the experience so far.
David: Happy 2009! Its been a great first year! When we first started, we had no idea where the business would take us but it seemed to happen fast. The studio was able to get a couple of key clients that allowed us to grow quickly. By May, we were able to hire our first outside web developer and now we are up to 4 employees and we have a plan to hire more in the first quarter of ‘09.
OurManinSH: Elodie, you seem to be the silent partner. How was 2008 from the graphic design side? Of course, you enjoyed working most on my logo/visual identity. In all seriousness, do mind telling us a the highlight of the things that you worked on?
Elodie: Well, it has been a busy year for the studio. Office in a Box(OIB) by Fusion Systems was an interesting project for us. It allowed us to showcase our full range of services including: visual identity, web development, brochure design and online marketing. It was exciting to see a new product launch in both Tokyo and Shanghai.
OurManinSH: Excellent. David, what was an interesting project for you as you look back on ‘08 from a studio perspective?
David: Well, for me it comes down to one of our core mandates. We design sophisticated yet user friendly websites with a strong, clear and consistent image. Sekkei Studio was brought in as a vendor for a piece of a larger project involving a french travel company named Sinorizon . This allowed us to handle the visual identity and website design.
OurManinSH: What projects do you see the studio focusing on in 2009? Are there any surprises in-store for new and existing customers?
David: Although the studio has a core strength of visual identity and web design, it’s always good to “push the envelope” and get out of our comfort zone. In 2009, Elodie and I are pleased to announce that we are broadening our service offerings. We will continue our relationship with Our Man in Shanghai to be able to bring a social media component to the studio and to educate our customer on social media. Soon, customers will be able to have access to new iphone applications and a “hush hush” killer workplace web based service.
OurManinSH: David and Elodie, its been a pleasure. A big thanks to the customers, business partners and loyal readers of the Sekkei Studio blog and we wish you all the best in 2009.
Until Next time, This has been Our Man in Shanghai…It’s 10pm, Do you know where your Blogger are??
