Design at Morning: an art in itself.

In conversation with Amandine, art director at Morning:

At Morning we care deeply about creating stimulating, creative workspaces. What we really try to bring to the fore is connection, creativity and flexibility. The decor, the choice of furniture and the way our spaces are laid out therefore play a major part in what we do. Beyond the wallpaper designed in-house by our teams, and the posters you'll find on our walls, we try to make every space unique. To that end, Amandine, our art director, dreams up (among other things) murals that give our spaces a distinctive signature. Artists then come in to paint these murals. We put a few questions to Amandine about the creative process behind them.

Tell us about your background.

A: "I studied in Lyon, at a school of applied arts: the école Presqu’île. I then moved to Paris to work at an agency specialising in luxury publishing. After that I met an incredible developer, Pierre Dulac. One thing led to another and we set up a company together: "Fov", a mobile app for creating 360 content. Two and a half years and two funding rounds later, we decided to call it a day. I wanted to step away from the digital world a little and take on new print projects. Then I joined Morning. There was everything to do, everything to build. It was a huge undertaking, and I was free to put forward whatever I liked and wanted. And ever since, we've carried on building this visual identity."

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How do you come up with the murals?

A: "We actually start by working with the design teams. Together we try to find the story of the space, what we want it to say, its overall identity. We share our ideas and brainstorm concepts. It all depends on the purpose of the mural too: it can be something purely decorative, as at Morning, Sébastopol, or a piece of branding, like the one on the garage door at Marcadet. Once we've found the story we want to tell, we decide on the colours, the materials, the textures. We're constantly trying different things to make each space unique and to create a "wow" effect as you walk in. For Morning, Clichy Batignolles, for instance, we'd decided to put the focus on people. On those who work in the space. So we created a mural evoking exchange and the bond between coworkers. Conversely, at République we'd decided to work on the theme of a winter garden, with a much more botanical, abstract look. The mural rises and climbs from floor to ceiling. There's a real difference between the "decorative" murals that showcase the space and the more engaging ones, which are more centred on people and on coworking."

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Which mural are you most proud of?

A: "The "botanical mural" at République. It's the one that blends most seamlessly with the identity of the place. Also, in the same space, I'm very proud of the "basketball hoop" mural, which sparks interactions between people. In both cases, they're creations that have been widely shared on social media."

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What are your influences and inspirations?

A: "I have a huge range of inspirations. Whether illustrators, graphic designers, graffiti artists or painters. I love what Anna Uru does, for example, or Audrey Toia, who specialises in textile patterns. I follow quite a few interior designers too; they manage to combine the decorative and the practical sides of a space beautifully, which is very inspiring for me. I'm also very fond of Camilo Huinca, an illustrator whose main subject is people. His style is very zesty and fresh, with characters who blend into one another; it's very poetic. The studio Violaine et Jérémy is a great source of inspiration for me too. They've created a sort of collective with lots of artists. They do everything from publishing to illustration, video and even typography; it's quite something."

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Who paints these murals?

A: "We've unearthed a few artists who do a wonderful job. Such as Jordan Heraud, in particular. We'd put out a call for tenders for a mural at Morning, Gallieni. We didn't have a great deal of budget and, with Flora, we didn't really feel qualified to paint murals ourselves. One thing led to another and we then worked with a collective, La Letterie. They specialise in painting, particularly on shopfronts, and in typography. They really do a wonderful job."If you'd like to admire these superb murals, do come and visit the Morning spaces! And if you fancy working with Amandine in some capacity, feel free to take a look at our vacancies! And to discover the work of our cabinetmakers, it's all here!