Meet Studio Penn London

We are Jin & Heather, a spatial design studio team working together since 2018 on commercial projects such as restaurants and retail shops. Recently, we have collaborated with brands like Kineya Mugimaru, a Udong shop currently under construction in Embankment, and Seoul Plaza, one of the largest Asian-specialized supermarkets in the UK. Before founding Studio Penn London, Jin & Heather each had 9-10 years of experience. Together, we have designed numerous Wasabi sushi takeaway shops and Kimchee restaurants in St Pancras. Additionally, we have been involved in public artwork projects, including the London Dresser at the 2012 London Olympics, the undulating benches in front of the Leigh Sports Village Stadium, and the Wakefield Miniatures sculpture in front of Wakefield Station, as architectural designers at the Studio of Cinematic Architecture.

What Inspires Studio Penn London?

The most eye-catching visual inspiration is something simple but well-made, with thoughtful detail that we can actually find in it. Simple is beauty, and beauty is simple!

The importance of colour and the impact it has on our day-to-day lives 

Colour is almost a form of meditation for us, helping to find the perfect hue and mood for a space we want to inhabit. It allows us to be visually satisfied because, while space has limitations of form and scale that cannot be changed frequently, colour gives us the opportunity to play with different characters we want to create. Since colour crucially determines the character of a space, we must be very cautious when choosing it. The most thrilling part of being a designer is when the colour presents exactly as we imagined, giving us the feeling of having found the right answer after a long meditation. Our goal is always to create spaces that are pleasing and joyful every day through the use of colour. 

Considerations when using colour within commercial spaces

Choosing the right tone of neutral grey as a background for many visual elements is always challenging. We strive to maintain a balance of warm and cool tones in colors and materials to ensure the space has a rich quality of detail and mood across multiple layers. We believe that grey, as a neutral element, has great potential to support a variety of different colors. While we personally love cool tones in color, material, and mood, these tones need warmth to present their beauty harmoniously for the specific atmospheres we aim to create

What makes nature so visually captivating and endlessly interesting?

Nature has an incredible array of naturally occurring colours and combinations in a wide variety of tones, even with very slight differences. A single tree outside my window reveals an unbelievable number of different greens if I look closely. Nature never gets boring!

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