Fenrir Design

Hello! This is Mayu, a designer from Fenrir, Inc.

Today I would like to talk about “Fenrir Design”, the department that focuses on designing our own products while also handling our corporate branding.

This department activities range widely, from designing our website’s look to physical things like business cards, and even our office’s space design. It’s presence can be felt everywhere.

First of all I’d like to start by taking a look at our design studio, which I like to think of as our very own masterpiece. The cover image of “Stories by Fenrir” is actually a picture of it.

Let’s take a deeper look at this studio which packs many elements hidden in it’s design.

The Design Studio

The room was exclusively made for designers by none other than Fenrir’s chief designer Mr. Matsuno. When designing Fenrir’s design studio, the first thing he thought about was expressing our attitude towards design as it is.

This space, which is pure white just like an art gallery, takes the shape of a sincere attitude and respect towards creation. It is an environment created only for design, inspired by the functionality of the white cube (which is the inner style seen in exhibition spaces of contemporary art).

In this environment we can interact face to face with “the product” in front of us, just as if we were looking at it in an exhibition.

A Seamless Table

Our designers make use of a seamless big white table for their creations. This large table of 6 meters long is one of the original fixtures created for this spacious room. For designers, it is precisely made to function as the ideal desk for creation.

As a matter of fact, this table could not be carried into the building where our offices are located, so it had to be assembled on site. The top board has a seamless finish created by polishing the artificial marble making it look as if it had been a single beautiful piece from the very beginning.

The depth is wide enough so that we can look at the screen while accommodating our notebook and sketchbook fully open. By having plenty of space, we can properly concentrate on our designs.

The color of the desk is that of a white that adheres to the calm tones so that the impression of our work isn’t disturbed.

The seamless finish makes the desk feel extensive, and helps promote collaboration between designers by not defining the space of a single person.

A bookshelf with no partitions

The bookshelf in the studio is a square “dent” that spans 6 meters in length. The reason for it being hollow with no partitions is to make it possible to freely arrange not only books, but paper samples, packages, utensils, and other things with different volumes as well.

Since designers are free to add their own materials, objects gathered here often span across various fields such as graphics, products, photography and media arts among others. Every object gives us new stimulus and inspiration.

At a first glance it might look simple, but everything has a reason. It is the result of designing a place where you can share materials for input, without being stuck to the stereotype of a “bookshelf”.

A cutting table made of glass

We not only design applications and websites but also prints and solid objects among other things. Because of this, we designed a cutting table made of glass that can be used for handicraft work as well. It is not made of rubber like a traditional cutting mat, instead, by having a glass surface, it can be used naturally for both production and meetings as well.

The glass is strong enough to not get scratched even while cutting on top of it, providing functionality without affecting it’s unparalleled beauty. Since the table is quite extensive, you can also work on large format posters and three-dimensional objects. The grid underneath the glass serves as a scale and to show that this table can be used for cutting.

Also, by making it squared, multiple designers can work on it at the same time. And because of its size, if you bring a chair, it can easily be used for meetings, discuss ideas and review designs.

A secret trash container

At the studio we don’t have a traditional trash bin like the ones you would find on most traditional offices. Ours is built in into the pantry counter.

The lid from the garbage bin we used to have would get continuously pressed by the trash inside, which made it break easily. To solve this we decided to try embedding it into the counter, so that it would work without a dirty or broken lid.

This special counter is placed near the entrance so that we can throw away trash when we stand or go home. Of course, garbage that comes from brewing coffee can also be disposed immediately on the spot.

The wall storage

The spacious impression of the studio is partly achieved by the unobstructed area beneath the tables. Usually, having drawers underneath the tables makes the space for our feet feel cramped, so we decided to have an open working space by removing them. Even while relaxedly sitting on the chair, or while rotating on it, your feet will not hit anywhere.

However, the place to put our personal belongings isn’t gone. All of our stuff can be easily stored on the wall.

What do you think of it? At Fenrir we like to cherish the concept of design by applying it even to the environment we work at. Our main focus might be designing applications, but the importance of design is always present just as when designing user experiences.

It would me make happy if I managed to succeed in showing you even just a little bit of Fenrir’s commitment to design.

By the way, anyone can visit our design studio, you just need to contact us in advance. If you are interested, please let us know!