Future gen design: Jenny Olver, Interior Designer, Woods Bagot

In the last few years at Woods Bagot, Jenny Olver has worked across several landmark commercial projects, most recently including Convene and Warner Music office projects. In addition to her project work, Jenny plays a fundamental role in the culture of the Woods Bagot studio – striving for healthy team culture and wellbeing including leading ‘Lunch & Learn’ sessions and acting as social events organiser, often arranging visits to showrooms and coordinating the studio’s summer softball tournaments with other practices. Here she offers up insights on lessons learnt, career-defining projects and advice for her younger self.

What do younger designers bring to the table?

They bring a fresh mind which has not been influenced by the corporate world – one where they can be free in thought without standards, typologies and budget. This freedom is important to hold onto as you move through your career and will help particularly in early stages like Stage 2 Concept design.

What are the greatest challenges young designers face?

Young designers today face a unique set of challenges that stem from the rapidly evolving landscape of the design industry. One of the greatest challenges is the constant need to adapt to technology advancements. With new software, tools and platforms, designers must continuously update their skills and knowledge to remain competitive as every company uses different personalised platforms. This requires ongoing learning, experimentation, and a willingness to embrace change.

What does creativity mean to you?

For me, creativity is when you truly let your mind run wild in thought. It is the driving force behind human progress, the catalyst for change and the source of endless inspiration.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learnt?

Staying true to your design intent is important, but I’ve learnt that being fluid along the journey and open to clients, consultant’s and other people’s input is how you become a cohesive team and ultimately deliver a great project.

What is your radical idea for the future of design?

Sustainability plays a huge role in interior design and in our current and future projects. We’ll always need to keep evolving, but the most important thing to remember is that people create change. Continual education around sustainability is arguably the most important skill we can equip ourselves with. It’s a heavy topic and requires effort and a readiness to listen to truly understand the new ways we can design for a better future. At WB we have the Global Impact Group (GIG), where we are encouraged to work together in new ways and have open conversations to speak on how we can achieve this.

I believe adaptive reuse will be a big part of the future, reusing buildings can reduce a project embodied carbon by 80%+. This is imperative because, with another 2.5 billion people predicted to live in urban areas by the time we reach 2050, we need a new way forward.

Tell us about a project you worked on that has most shaped your work.

Every project I work on gives me a fresh perspective and lessons learnt. Convene at Sancroft, opened last month, which is my latest project to reflect on. The project itself is a flagship meeting and events space, featuring 7 meeting rooms and a Great Hall space with a capacity of 900 people, the largest above-ground meeting room in the City of London.

My experience and journey with the project began with the development of a strong narrative which is built from foundations of contextual understanding and local principles. Having this site experience has helped me further develop the logic and rationale behind my designs. Drawing and designing with the manufacturing process in mind makes everyone’s life a lot easier throughout the process and ultimately leads to a better outcome.

What are you inspired by?

I feel more inspired by the world around me than individual designers. I know they say designers always walk looking up, but it’s true. The first thing I do when we start a new project is sit within the neighbourhood to watch and observe how people interact.

What do you love about the industry, and what do you hate?

If you know me, you will know my love of socialising, talking – and occasionally dancing! In this industry there are so many opportunities to mix with other interior designers, suppliers, and consultants. These relationships are what supports idea growth, information transfer and making new connections. On the flip side, interior design has a lot of deadlines, so I suppose a downside would be no matter how prepared you are, there’s still a deadline…

What would you do if you didn’t work in design?

I love pottery – it’s playful, creative and, most importantly, it’s rectifiable if it all goes a bit skew whiff.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

If I could go back and reassure myself in the early stages of my career I would give these three main pieces of advice – which I still follow (or try my best to!)

Firstly, always try to be yourself. Everyone’s journey starts from a different place, your own personality and experiences are unique and should be valued.

Secondly, learn to enjoy the process – no one person knows all the answers. If you enjoy learning new things and take opportunities along your journey you will always be successful.

Finally, relationships within the industry are crucial to developing a strong presence in the interior design world. So, embrace events and networking as it will create lots of opportunity for collaboration with others.