#heyddw: Ha Paulina Neiser

Could you briefly describe who you are, where you are from and why you became a designer?

My name is Paulina Neiser, I am 27 years old, I am from Düsseldorf, Germany and I studied Design at Design Academy Eindhoven. Why I became a designer? Well, I always knew I would end up somewhere in the creative industries, but up until my studies I was not sure what direction that would be specifically. My whole family works in the creative field, my mum is a graphic designer, my brother a filmmaker and my dad used to be an architect. My dad inspired me the most. He actually wanted to become a product designer himself, but my grandpa told him to get a real job (haha). He eventually did end up doing some small projects on the side, but more as a hobby.

What best describes you as a designer and where do you look for inspiration?

Me as a designer, I would describe my work as minimalistic with a twist of rawness in materials. I think I get the most inspiration from nature as well as from my travels to different cultures. In the current day and age, I feel it’s quite hard not to get inspired with all the information and impressions surrounding us. It’s maybe harder to take a decision on where you want to focus on.

What is the most special or remarkable work you have ever made or designed?

The most special work to me is my graduation project Elance. I started it as a small trimester assignment in my second year and decided to continue with it for my graduation. For the assignment, we had to design a faucet and, from thereon, I added the showerhead and taps (hot/cold) to the collection. It is so simple. Especially the function of a shelf integrated into the faucet, which has never been done before. I would love to see it in production somewhere.

What are you currently working on?

Currently I am working for a German company that does kids furniture. I decided to earn some money before getting started with new projects on my own. And hopefully I’ll find a producer for Elance in the meantime.

What would you still like to achieve with your work?

Seeing Elance in luxury hotels and houses all over the world would definitely be a good achievement.

If you were able to choose anyone in the world to work with (a designer, politician, artist, scientist or someone else), who would that be and why?

I would have loved to work with my dad on some projects, but sadly he passed away in October 2018.

On your website you mention your work is designed to become more precious over time. Why is that?


Nowadays everyone’s household contains at least one design object from IKEA, if not an entire design series. The mass production of the industry leaves no room for individuality, but all we want is to be unique and differ from the mass. That’s why I chose bronze/copper as the material because it changes in a natural and uncontrollable way. Every piece will be unique eventually, as it changes when you use it and touch the material. It becomes YOUR design. You feel way more attached to an object that shows marks of the passage of time you generated. Just like your favourite leather jacket or the ring that has been passed over for generations. It tells a story that makes it special.

You were part of the Graduation Show of Design Academy Eindhoven last DDW with Elance. How was the project received?

Elance was very well received at the Graduation Show last DDW. There were lots of people who wanted the design for their own bathroom and also lots of interior designers who wanted to sell it to their customers.

Do you have any news you would like to share with the DDW community?

I would like to thank everyone for the great reactions to Elance at DDW19!

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