Surface innovation is at the heart of everything Giles Miller Studio does, leading to some truly eye-catching work from this London-based design practice. With clients across the globe and a portfolio that includes some of the world’s biggest brands, it represents a real success story on the London design scene.
We will be welcoming the GMS team to Material Lab during The London Design Festival for our Live Making event, giving you a unique chance to see the creative process in action.
We caught up with studio founder and director Giles Miller to learn more about his work and his inspiration. Giles will also be taking over the Material Lab Instagram feed this week so stay tuned.
"Firstly, my team – GMS has become a team of young designers and artists who work collaboratively under my direction to push our concept and manifesto to its creative boundaries. It’s our shared approach and design sense that enables the studio’s progressive nature to flourish, and so the team is a vital aspect of my personal design artillery.
"Next, technology – we are constantly pushing to find new processes and technologies that can become tools in our design and development process. We have laser cutting and 3D printing technology in our studio as well as a host of production partners who enable us to experiment and exploit new technologies for the forward progression of our experimental design research.
"Finally, 'RAD Fridays' – we have begun incorporating 'RAD Fridays' into our working week at GMS. Every Friday we put existing projects aside and use the time for Research and Development only – this valuable time enables us to concentrate on finding new ideas and new processes. Without this time we would simply be treading water and working through existing projects, but this special time allows us to find new ideas to present to clients, which keeps the studio pushing its own creative boundaries – a vital part of any creative business."
"I am always bouncing from one material to another. My first interest was more of an obsession with corrugated cardboard and it was this interest that sparked our entire studio concept of playing with light and shadow. We have since worked with ceramics and metal as well as fabrics and plastics – and my interest bounces around constantly depending on what we can achieve with each material.
"Currently we are very interested in more industrial metal processes, which is leading to exciting opportunities with exterior panels and cladding surfaces."
"We have recently completed a project in Dubai, which has formed the main artwork in the reception of the Kempinski Hotel aat the Mall of the Emirates. This is not only a world-renowned hotel which makes it a significant client for us, but the project also saw a totally new step in our studio's progression – we hung a 10m high metal installation off the back wall behind the reception. The effect was a wonder to see coming about, and the scale and context of this project made it a significant step for our young studio. To export British creativity on this scale is a major achievement for the whole team at GMS."
"I do wish that I had pushed us to pitch for projects linked to the London Olympics, the event was such a significant one for the capital and the country, and we should have been involved. Sadly I missed the boat, but we look forward to pushing ourselves for involvement in large international events in the future with excitement."
"I am excited to be pushing new materials and opening up our studio's range of designs for a wider range of contexts. For example, we have just completed our first external cladding surface, which opens up a whole new area of interest as well as scale that will bring great opportunities to us. We are also looking at three-dimensional sculptural work, which is a new area of focus and will give us a chance to create new forms for a range of new clients and applications. As far as existing projects go, we are creating a public installation for The London Design Festival, which will be located outside Shoreditch High Street Station, marking the entrance to the Shoreditch Design Triangle. It's an exciting sculptural piece made in collaboration with Global Color Research and RAL, and we look forward to unveiling it on 15 September as part of the festival."
Learn more about Giles Miller Studio at gilesmiller.com or keep up with their #MakingImages Instagram takeover here. See the full programme for The London Design Festival at the official website.
