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DESIGNER

HUBERT DE MALHERBE

Design for All

French interior designer Hubert de Malherbe has long been sticking to “design for all”,

no matter Dior or Carrefour, he treats clients the same, and the most important is to

“make beauty accessible to all” trough his design, which stems from the curiosity and

observation on daily life.

If you see a Frenchman with blond, shoulder-length hair watching you from some corner

in the shopping mall, don’t panic, maybe that is him, Hubert de Malherbe. Wherever he

goes, the founder of Malherbe Design Agency will be quite observant on the local

people’s behaviors. When he gets a project from the client, “stay indoor for 45 minutes

for observation regardless of others’ puzzled or doubtful looking” is his must-do

homework before starting design, because “the computer will never tell you how to

design it right.”

When designing the retail space for French LVMH’s brand Sephora in Shanghai,

Malherbe realized that females have different shopping habits under different

geographical and cultural background. “American women like to try on makeups in front

the public, where everyone can see them, while Japanese women are shyer; they will

hide in the corner to try on makeups. In Russia, probably due to the lack of products, a

store with more products piled up will be considered more luxurious.” Only when he

knows these different shopping and cognitive habits, can a designer make the right

judgments on space layout.

No matter which type the retail space is, the designer must cautiously arrange the aisle,

“it cannot be designed as a straight line, designers should create opportunities to let

people stay and keep their eyes on the product”, he also advocates “putting spotlight on

the products, whereas the space can be dim, which creates contrast, highlighting the

product, and also saves energy, gaining double merits”. Just because of these delicate

observations, Malherbe’s design often brings about considerable sales increase for the

clients. “I never think about money as something dark; Creativity only makes sense if

sales perform.”

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From starting his career alone in Paris to the present development with over 80

employees and a branch office in Shanghai, another important reason to support

Malherbe’s career path is his strong, innate curiosity. He is definitely not a cynical artist,

through chat, TV and Internet, he gets information from various kinds of ways, keeping

high interest in these things and using them as his design inspiration. “The costumes and

settings from the American TV series ‘Mad Men’ are gentle and feminine, which is one of

the future trends in design. ”

In his view, the two tendencies in the current design community are eco-friendliness and

engaging modern art into daily life. “More and more brands start to crossover with

artists, I think design can connect commerce and art.” This is in conformity with his

ambition of making beauty accessible to all.

Designer’s profile: Hubert de Malherbe, a famed French interior designer, born in an art

family, graduated from ENSAM Paris Tech, with rich design experience. He established

Malherbe Design Agency in 1992, which provides interior design for retail space, and he

also does product design himself.

www. malherbedesign.com