Interview
Impactplan Art Productions
1 Congratulations on winning the French Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?
Hi, we are Impactplan Art Productions, a creative collective specialising in large-scale art installations for cities, spaces, and events. Our work sits at the intersection of design, architecture, and placemaking. We were inspired by the idea that design can go beyond aesthetics and actively shape how people experience and move through space, creating environments that bring people together and transform cities.
2 What does being recognised in the French Design Awards mean to you?
It is a deeply meaningful recognition of our approach to design as something functional and impactful. It is especially significant because we have been working in France for more than 15 years, and it was the beginning of our global journey. This award validates our belief that art in public space should not only be visually striking but also create real value for cities, communities, and local economies.
3 How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?
It strengthens our international visibility and credibility, especially in conversations with cities, developers, and cultural institutions. It positions our work within a recognised design context and reinforces the relevance of our approach to combining art, comfort, and economic activation. We expect this recognition to open new opportunities for collaborations and further support our continued international growth.
4 What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?
Experimentation is essential. We constantly test materials, scale, movement, and light interaction. For example, in our suspended installations, we prototype how wind, sunlight, and density of elements interact with the installation throughout the day, allowing the work to evolve beyond its initial design. We also extensively test our installations to withstand natural elements such as wind, sun, and weather conditions, as we work a lot with large-scale public exterior art.
5 What's the most unusual source of inspiration you've ever drawn from for a project?
We can consider all of our inspiration unusual in some way, and that is one of our core strengths. We use vibrant colours and unexpected objects in surprising places to create impact and provoke emotion and immediate reactions. We are constantly exploring how to transform ordinary environments into something striking and memorable. After all, our motto is to colour life!
6 What’s one thing you wish more people understood about the design process?
We wish more people understood that the design process is continuous. Ideas come every day, but a lot of work goes into turning them into reality. It involves brainstorming the concept, understanding if it works visually, and also a lot of engineering to make it possible in the real world. Building it, testing it, and refining it are all essential steps. What looks simple in the end is actually the result of many iterations where imagination and technical decisions work closely together.
7 How do you navigate the balance between meeting client expectations and staying true to your ideas?
We see it as a collaboration rather than a compromise. We translate client goals into a creative concept that also respects the identity of our work. Often, the strongest results come from aligning both visions into a shared objective: impact in public space.
8 What were the challenges you faced while working on your award-winning design, and how did you overcome them?
The main challenges are always transportation and durability. Our installations are large-scale and designed for outdoor public spaces, so they need to be lightweight and easy to transport while also being strong enough to withstand wind, sun, and changing weather conditions. We overcome these challenges through years of experience, continuous prototyping, and material innovation. By testing different solutions and refining our systems, we develop structures that are durable, efficient to install, and adaptable to real-world conditions without compromising visual impact.
9 How do you recharge your creativity when you hit a creative block?
We recharge creativity by spending time in the real world. Most of our art is inspired by people and how they interact with spaces, so observing daily life, cities, and public environments often sparks new ideas. Team brainstorming sessions are also essential. Sharing perspectives and building on each other’s ideas is a great way to unblock creativity and move concepts forward.
10 What personal values or experiences do you infuse into your designs?
We focus on impact, accessibility, and human experience. Our installations are designed to be inclusive, to create moments of connection, and to improve how people feel in urban environments.
11 What is an advice that you would you give to aspiring designers aiming for success?
Art by itself has value and purpose, but adding functionality to art is a very interesting direction to consider. Everyday objects and spaces can become artful while also serving a practical role. We would also encourage designers not to be afraid of colour. We see too many grey and white environments today. Colour has the power to transform spaces, evoke emotion, and create memorable experiences.
12 If you could collaborate with any designer, past or present, who would it be and why?
We’d choose to collaborate with Vincent van Gogh because his work is already so emotionally powerful and expressive that it feels like it’s meant to move beyond the canvas. We’d want to transform his paintings into immersive, 3D living installations that combine shine, movement, and sounds created by the interaction with nature's elements like wind, sun, rain, so viewers could step inside the swirling skies and vibrant landscapes.
13 What's one question you wish people would ask you about your work, and what's your answer?
“How is your art made?” Because we create large-scale installations, people often don’t realise how human and hands-on our work is. All of our pieces are mainly made by hand by our super-talented team, from concept development to production and assembly. In many projects, we also involve members of the local community, which makes the process even more meaningful. Our installations are idealised, designed, crafted, and built with a lot of human effort behind every detail.
