Bibliothèque’s holistic approach to design is driven by the passion of it’s counterparts and collaborators. For Bibliothèque ‘Social’ stems from the dialogues that inform the studio’s practise. Beard tells of how “everybody in the studio has an equal voice” where dialogues across project teams are common practise and communal lunches are a daily occurrence; conversations will often passionately carry on after hours in the local pub, or as Beard hints more often with the depth of conversation; several pubs.

Bibliothèque early on in it’s incarnation often divided parts of the design community; it’s modernist approach bordering on too militant for some, but the work Beard shows today hints that all of these studio conversations are slowly shaping a more progressive and wider perspective for the studio, Beard likens good design to a pair of new shoes, uncomfortable at first but ultimately great after bedding in.

Having admired Bibliothèque’s work for a few years and having thought I had a good understanding of what made Bibliothèque tick Beard caught me off guard talking about ’emotional responses’ to design, how design can penetrate the ‘spirit’ of the Olympics; and the ‘soul’ that is embedded in craft, making and process. It’s these intangible elements to design that I’d love to hear Bibliothèque expand on.

Beard borrowed Victor Papaneks quote “The only important thing about design is how it relates to people”, this echo’s perfectly with the studio’s recent identity for Ollo a new high speed internet and telecommunications service based in Germany, the identity in a typical Bibliothèque manner is simple, elegant and confident but the real value of it is that the identities origins is based in gestural interfaces, an idea relating to both the future of the brand, the people it will touch and how they will inhabit it. This focus on how design can socially reverberate puts Bibliothèque in an interesting place, a studio that takes pride in it’s wealth of perspective on the past but also a studio resolutely looking forward.

Text — Robin Howie — @robinhowie