In every field, there are top players,those who take their industry to the next level. What drives and sustains these inspiring figures to move beyond?
How Ilse Crawford designs for
better human experiences
British interior designer Ilse Crawford's aesthetic is not in its look, but in the way it makes you feel. From Soho House's New York outpost to Cathay Pacific's lounges, her designs evoke warmth, ease, and a tactile grace. Her superpower? “It's curiosity — a fascination for people, the way they think, the way they do things, the way they behave in spaces,” she reveals.
Growing up in a “very open, very international house” — her father was an investigative journalist, and her mother, an artist — helped shape her people-centric sensibilities. “We always had nearly 20 people around the kitchen table, and seeing the power of that warmth and hospitality bringing together people of all ages and cultures was very much a part of my upbringing.”
I wrote The Sensual Home
because I was fascinated by what made spaces more warm and timeless
more habitable, essentially.
because
I was fascinated
by what made spaces more warm
and timeless
more habitable, essentially.
Journalist, editor, “accidental” best-selling author — Crawford may have taken a circuitous route, but all roads inevitably led to design.
In 1989, Crawford was the launch editor of Elle Decoration UK, and became largely responsible for introducing a “contemporary yet personal” design consciousness to the traditionally minded British market throughout the 1990s.
How do you find your eureka moment? By bringing two sides: the measurable and the unmeasurable, together.
“The reality of a building, of a thing, of a film, is that it's judged by how people feel about it.
“The reality of a building, of a thing, of a film, is that it's judged by how people feel about it.
Without building trust,
clients won' t
take a risk. The human relationship
is the most
important thing
as a designer.
clients
won' t take a
risk. The human relationship
is the most important
thing as a
designer.
“Cathay Pacific has amazing people on their team who championed our vision,” Crawford shares. -“Ilse spent a lot of time understanding our brand,” shared Vivian Lo, general manager for customer experience & design at Cathay Pacific. “Her design intent was the best fit for our aspirations. We want our lounges to deliver the human experience, and to translate the character of Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific through our designs and service.”
With soulless airports often draining the last of a traveler’s energy, Crawford envisioned the Cathay Pacific lounges as sanctuaries in transit.
Translating the airline's ethos of heartfelt warmth and joy of discovery into the lounge design, putting real human needs at the heart of every detail became key to create a serene refuge that was distinctly Cathay Pacific. “Someone even told me they leave an hour early just to enjoy the lounge!”
Whether she's creating spaces to eat, sleep, live, or visit in transit, Crawford's designs sparkle with warmth, humanity, and ultimately, hope.
It speaks much of her reputation that in 1998 she was recommended to establish the Man and Wellbeing department at the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven by someone she had never met before (Oscar Peňa, the academy's head of Man and Activity, whom she would eventually marry!). In 2019, after over two decades of mentoring young creatives, they both stepped down, leaving behind a generous legacy to the future designers of the world.
“Ask questions. Put in the work. Take yourself out of your bubble, and put yourself in other people's shoes. Ultimately, our job as designers is to design things that make us better humans. To make environments that bring out the best in us.”
When you see people
using the products and being happy in the spaces you design, it's tremendously valuable, but also heartening;
using the
products
and happy in
the spaces
you design, it's tremen-
dously
valuable,
but also heartening;
that's what gives it meaning.
Beyond personal success, pioneers envision a better world for all. As Cathay Pacific celebrates these inspiring figures, the carrier is honored to accompany you on your own meaningful journeys to new frontiers.
Find out more