You may have seen Cherin Tan’s work with Violet Oon Singapore. That among other projects across commercial, hospitality and retail in her roles as the principal and creative director of self-founded interior design firm Laank, and recently the Interior Designer of the Year awarded by the Interior Design Confederation Singapore. Spanning both local and regional brands, Tan paces on towards a decade with her studio and doubles that duration in her design journey. Still, it goes beyond spatial considerations to creating purposeful environments. Here, in an e-mail conversation, she tells us what it means to design an experience.
ESQUIRE: You’ve mentioned that you see design as a problem-solving approach, is that what drew you to design? Do you also somewhat see or use it in other areas beyond interior design?
CHERINTAN: It wasn’t what got me started, but it is definitely what keeps me going. I love that side of my job; the feeling of never being done, learning to design better, the endless pursuit in wanting to do better, the creative buzz you get when the challenges lead you to something bigger. My passion for creative solving extends to my daily life, even cooking! I love cooking off a leftover pantry; I’m always trying to figure out how to put together a meal with all sorts of different random ingredients.
ESQ: How do you feel Laank stands out as a design firm? Or what are some values you incorporate to set it apart?
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