Creative studio Unknown, Untitled places "immersive collaboration" at its core

VDF studio profiles: Unknown, Untitled is a creative studio based in Paris, France, which specialises in industrial design and counts Facebook and Rimowa as two of its clients.

It was founded in 2016 by Sylvain Chasseriaux, Maxime Loiseau and François Rybarczyk, three industrial designers with experience working as in-house creatives for the likes of Google, IDEO and Nest in San Francisco.

Unknown, Untitled's ambition is to combine the trio's varied expertise to offer clients a rigorous design service that mimics the qualities of both a consultancy and in-house creative team.

"Coming back to France, we aimed to take advantage of being routed in Europe while bringing experience gathered overseas," the studio told Dezeen.

"We wanted a very agile structure and team, capable of quickly bringing its varied expertise to a wide range of industries," it continued. "We set up a collaborative approach halfway between a design consultancy and in-house designers contribution."

The studio's portfolio is diverse, spanning products and furniture, through to user interfaces (UI) and spatial design, which are completed as either internal or externally commissioned projects.

For its external projects, it prioritises "immersive collaboration" with a few select clients, which has led it to establish long-term relationships with the likes of Facebook and luggage manufacturer Rimowa.

"Unknown, Untitled values long term collaborations, we discovered that building trust takes time, and that trust is vital to streamline communication and to bring disruptive solutions to most industries," the studio explained.

"To truly understand a company's mission in all its specificities, it takes care and attentiveness," it said. "More importantly to develop a good product, it takes commitment and perseverance in the long run."

"That's why as a team we welcome immersive collaboration, and by collaborating with few clients at a time we can get involved from ideation to development, and adjust the last tiny detail that matters."

Unknown, Untitled has been working with Facebook since 2017 on the research and development of the social media company's own range of smart devices.

Most recently, this includes the design of its smart video calling device called 2019 Portal, for which the studio collaborated with Facebook's internal design teams to develop a deliberately minimal version of the first generation Portal.

"We leveraged our two years of experience learning among a group of engineers and user researchers to form compelling design solutions within target cost," Unknown, Untitled said.

Elsewhere, the studio's ongoing collaboration with Rimowa saw it develop the signature aluminium shell and frame of its Personal suitcases, which is intended to capture the brand's essence.

"Unknown, Untitled's contribution to Rimowa Personal began with multiple research phases and culminated in the design of its aluminium shell and frame," said the studio. "Our role consisted of transferring Rimowa's brand essence into a new type of product, a fresh addition to their portfolio."

Other notable projects by the studio include a personal collection called Tile – a series of ceramic tiles that double as lighting, intended to blur the boundary between object and space.

Woodwork is a furniture collection with deliberately simple timber structures that "aim to be discreetly efficient at multiple levels, from the manufacturing process and assembly, to the way in which pieces are combined".

Studio: Unknown, Untitled
Website: unknown-untitled.com
Contact address: contact@unknown-untitled.com

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