Giles Miller: surface designer - Interview
Designer Giles Miller is building an international reputation for an innovative use of surface materials. His studio’s clients include some serious heavyweights in their respective industries, including British Airways, Selfridges, Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Stella McCartney and his studio in Spitalfields is being kept particularly busy with clients in the Middle East and Asia
FX: How have surface trends changed for the type of clients you work with?
Miller: We are seeing an increasing awareness for the importance as well as the impact of surface design within an interior scheme -clients are increasingly able to commit budget to surfaces, although this is still much more the case overseas.
UK clients are always tentative, which may be indicative of their reserve and emphasis on subtlety. However, the overseas' market seems more willing to take on the element of risk, and we are seeing increasing interest from the UAE and Asia - a testament to those markets as well as their love of British design.
FX: Which materials do you work with most often and which do you most enjoy working with?
Miller: We design using metals and ceramics predominately. Recently we worked with Corian on a new surface design that it helped to produce for an installation in the V&A, and the project showed us the potential in using new surface products beyond our existing range.
We are a studio that has a lot of love for subtle opulence - we love bright metallics and a little bling - but also function within the materials we use is important. Recent favourites are a surface we have developed in cast metal with plated finishing, and our collaboration with Corian that resulted in a truly intriguing visual result as a consequence of combining this amazing material with the new technique we applied to it.
FX: How has new technology impacted on the development of some of your latest surface designs?
Miller: Despite the nature of our concept being very much based on light reflection and age-old laws of physics, we do of course use a wide variety of technology in our design process. We use some very traditional methods of production in our larger-scale projects (such as acid etching, zinc casting and so on), but we also employ much more recent technology in the development of our designs, and predominately in prototyping.
We are also increasingly interested in digital and are currently working on surfaces that can change and move to show varying imagery by way of micro-technology. Technology is making things increasingly and exponentially exciting for designers, and the restrictions of former-day tooling and manufacturing techniques have all but disappeared in the wake of in-house production and rapid prototyping.
FX: What motivates and inspires you when it comes to developing new surface designs? Is it a case of creating material/design ideas and then finding the right projects for them, or is it the project brief itself that first starts the creative process rolling?
Miller: Our story of surface design work has been the result of a series of developments, one after the other, with ideas growing and changing over time to create new versions and compositions within the same overriding concept.
We often have new ideas and products up our sleeves, but it is more often than not a client who can make those ideas a reality by investing their faith in us and allowing us to try these new concepts out for real. The best projects we have worked on have been the result of an openminded client or collaborator.
Another struggle is finding manufacturers who are able and willing to allow us to infiltrate their systems and work on new things. Corian was a fantastic example of a company that let us play with the material and allowed us to develop something that it had not previously done. The result was like nothing either side had worked on before. Surely this creative 'newness' is what we are all here for?
FX: What should architects and designer consider as the golden rules for getting their surfaces choices right for any project?
Miller: Function is clearly important for designers when specifying new materials and finishes, but provided the surfaces will function adequately (in terms of durability, maintenance and cleaning), surfaces can and should be evocative - as evocative as an artwork or a building. Surfaces are the fabric of our interior world, and should be seen as a vital element within interior schemes and considered with the utmost care, given the impact they can have.
Butlers Chocolate Cafe
Miller developed the tile Harper especially for this project at Dublin airport - a cast-zinc metal tile with brass-plated finish
'Louvres' Desk, V&A
Commissioned by the V&A museum and the 2013 London design Festival, Miller worked with Corian to design a reception desk for the museum
Diamond Columns, Dubai Mall
A bespoke design in matt white and a high-gloss gold finish with an angled face was the third Giles Miller installation for the Dubai Mall
Shoe District, Dubai
Commissioned to create a mural for the Women's VIP area at the Dubai Mall Shoe district, Giles Miller worked with tiles in a variety of finishes
