Colin Nourie designs environments that make work happen.

Colin designs systems furniture – furniture for large offices and industrial installations. On the surface it might seem straightforward: design furniture for professional settings with a few customizable options. But when you get into the details you see how infinitely complicated it is. Colin Nourie designs systems that facilitate human interaction and collaboration.

His work is based on research about human behavior, and the office systems he designs are specifically designed around the kinds of behaviors that result in the best work. For a creative office setting that might mean desks and office furniture that allows people to collaborate easily. It’s about spaces and settings where people can gather comfortably. But it’s also how Colin manages and hides the details to make those systems elegant and beautiful. Colin seamlessly integrates technology and infrastructure to arrive at a perfect combination of form and function.

Colin Nourie Links & Information

• www.CollectiveTen.com
• Instagram: @collectiveten and @colinnourie
• Twitter: @collectiveten and @colinnourie

And our location for this episode: Red Feather Kitchen

• RedFeatherKitchen.com
• Facebook: /redfeatherkitchen
• Instagram: @redfeatherkitchen
• Twitter: @RedFeatherCincy

Designing your work, designing your life

Colin describes how design as an ethos has always been a part of his life. But although industrial design was in the plan for him pretty early, starting your own firm is an entirely different thing. Colin founded his industrial design firm Collective Ten just about a decade ago. And alongside his growth as a designer he’s had to chart a course as a consultant and business owner. Colin talked at length about the opportunities and challenges of going out on his own. He also described the desire to really see what he could do as a designer, and the knowledge that he’d never really know if he didn’t take the leap.

It’s obvious now that the leap worked out for him. Colin Nourie continues to win awards and to solidify his name as a designer of renown. And obviously with clients like Herman Miller, Geiger, and Steelcase, who keep coming back year after year, the proof has been in the work.

Photos for this episode by Angie Lipscomb Photography.