Dizaina Studija. Telpa Forma Laiks

Last summer several hundred professionals got together for a discussion dedicated to design “Should there be Design in Latvia?” where so many painful problems were revealed, that the discussions could not really be woven into a common thread. Nonetheless, one issue, unnoticed by the participants themselves, surfaced above all others. Even amongst professionals, the concept of design is so many-faceted and has so many meanings, that the rules of the game become foggy or even dissolve altogether – everyone has a different understanding of “design” and talks about it in his or her own frequency. H2E positions itself in several ways – a creative laboratory, as well as a design firm. For all the sceptics who trumpet that there is no place for design in Latvia, that there has never been and, by definition, there can never be design in such a narrow market (as well as those, in whose mind's eye “real” design moves along a conveyor belt in the form of transistors or telephones and those for whom the stylish sunglasses and black shirts of Italian superstars are the living embodiment of design), H2E can display its projects as a methodical material, which can teach what contemporary design is through visual means. Namely, an inter-disciplinary industry. An inter-disciplinary field with a high intellectual and creative potential, which is capable of collaborating with professionals of other industries, in order to create quality products in the widest variety of fields.

In its two years of existence, the nine person company H2E has proven itself with a diverse series of works – graphic design and graphic identities, exhibitions, interior and urban environmental projects. The company has been always ready to create on-demand product designs, as well as intangible products – design strategies, research and consultations. Such variety and intensity in a period of two years has not been built from scratch – the owners of the firm Holgers and Ingūna Eleri have refined their experience for nearly ten years (also in the companies “Pieci ezeri, kur vilcenei dzert” and “Pieci ezeri”). They both believe that the potential of their company is closely related to quality education as well as their involvement with the higher education institutions in design.

Holger holds the reins at the top Latvian educational establishment for design - he is Head of the Faculty of Design at the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), whilst Ingūna is a Lecturer of the AAL Environmental Art Department. It is possible that the company does not “roll along” a narrow track of specialization, but takes on wider horizons, also because the owners are creative artists and are well-known for their individual projects. They have organised group and solo exhibitions. Holgers – besides his other achievements – is the co-author of the Riga Acoustic Concert Hall Project. Some members of the team are graduates of the Art Academy of Latvia – Tatjana Raičiņeca has completed her BA in glass art and is now working on her Master’s Degree in painting; Aleksandrs Beznosiks has graduated with an MA in functional design; Aija Hincenberga is also continuing her MA degree in functional design. There are also graduates of other schools: Ingmārs Kārkliņš has completed a course in cultural management at the College of Economics and Culture, Elīna Pavlovska has a Bachelors Degree in computer design from the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL) in Switzerland, Ilze Kalnbērziņa-Prā has obtained a Bachelor Degree in industrial and product design and the Journal Icon has considered her thesis worthy of being included in its selection of 14 young designers in its Internet version of the Wallpaper Graduate Directory 2009. The firm is presently financing one of their employees in an area of study which has only recently become available in Latvia – MBA in creative industries management at the BA School of Business and Finance (the program prepares managers for business enterprises, which are involved in creative work – for Dagnija Balode this will be her third degree). Not counting the owners, the remainder of H2E staff consists of young people; however, student - teacher relationships are not at play in the “creative laboratory”. The work at the company is based on the principle of parity, with collective brainstorming of ideas. Tasks are set considering the interests and capabilities of each member of the team. Employee have different approaches and thought patterns; and often it is precisely the diverse experiences combined together, which allow the project to not only be proposed, but also to be carried out – ideas generate ideas. Thanks to this resourcefulness, the company can undertake vast segments of design. Additional help may be brought in for special projects or, sometimes, problems are solved in collaboration with clients, who are professionals in other areas (architects, writers, scientists etc.), making use of their specific knowledge. The key to success is most likely in the lack of routine: the team gets its creative satisfaction from the work process; each task is different, often involving an intellectual challenge. The creative work is linked to many areas; ideas can be conceived and an exchange of ‘receiving’ and ‘giving’ can take place. What are the prospects of H2E in the near future? The company, at the present moment, seems to have reached its optimal size and does not plan to expand horizontally – due to the fact that higher quantity work can mean the aforementioned routine and conveyer-belt work methods. On the other hand, there is no ceiling for a vertical expansion - in the direction of quality.

The Elers have received awards of distinction for their work while still in their former companies – winners of the Latvian Annual Exhibition of Architecture in the category of interior design for their exposition of “Grindeks Development Gallery” (2006), as well as other awards. The work of H2E has also received awards – the award for Best Book Design for the book Process. How is Good Architecture Created?, in the map contemporary 2008 competition organized by “Map Latvia”, as well as the Jūrmala City Annual Culture Award for the design concept and implementation of the Permanent Exhibition of the Jūrmala City Museum (2008). Of all the works of the company which have been, or still are, exhibited in the public arena – some outside the borders of Latvia – a special mention should be made of two of them, which will remain unseen by the community. Information on one of them is not publicly available; the other project will not be implemented. In collaboration with specialists – Aija Freimane and Ervīns Pastors – H2E won a competition organised by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency for its project “Design Audit and Design Consultations for 15 Latvian Small and Mid-size Manufacturing Businesses” (2007). During the course of the project, the firm tested a specified number of Latvian businesses, analysing their design quality and opportunities, and prepared strategic recommendations for them. Conclusions on each of the businesses contained confidential information, which would affect their financial situation. However, H2E also carried out general study and came up with evaluations and conclusions, which did not concern the interests of these enterprises. The number of businesses surveyed was enough for a definitive analysis of the Latvian design situation. Unfortunately, the Investment and Development Agency did not approve of the publicizing of this generalized information, which the magazine Dizaina Studija was hoping to publish. This study, which was carried out with the taxpayers’ money, could have benefited a wider public than just the businesses which were surveyed.

In the circumstances of the current economic crisis (or the “mess” as one radio journalist pointedly called it), state officials have announced the liquidation of one of the biggest Latvian museums - the Literature, Theatre and Music Museum, gently concealing the actual process with the word “reorganisation”. If there is a hope that the collection of the Museum will not actually be destroyed, but distributed to kindred institutions, then the reconstruction of the Museum, which has already been planned and commenced and in which funds have already been invested, is at an end. Eleven new permanent exhibitions have also come to an end “11 Novels on Latvian Literature”, on which the Museum had begun co-operation with the H2E creative laboratory and which could have become an important event in the culture of Latvian museums. For each of the exhibitions – “novels” – a literature specialist of the Museum had prepared his or her “story”, and the designers had prepared conceptual ideas for the visual execution. Figurative codes were used for the exhibition of the history of Latvian literature, for example, “Town” and “Country” told of the feeling of belonging of Latvian authors, the “World” examined the zones of influence of literature, etc. Still, one would hope that, even with the economic mess and the bountiful promises by the media of the side-effects – unemployment, depression and other terrible things – the residents of Latvia, including designers and consumers of designs, are not planning to give up: what is a crisis for someone, for others it is a field of opportunity. How will creative industries be able to adapt to it, in order to prove that education and professionalism are instruments for competitiveness? I believe that H2E will continue riding this hobby horse.