James Breaks

Background

About James Breaks

When I was a curious and creative 5 year old, I’d always love ‘joining the dots’. Fast forwarding to when I was an architecture graduate, it was ideas, lines and measurements that joined-up the dots - and over the past 25 years of designing and running a studio, the entire world, to me, has become more wonderfully intricate and fractal. Fortunately, technology has evolved exponentially. There are machines to join the dots and draw the lines for us now, which has given me time to interact with the world around me and to focus-on revisiting the most important design component of all; being human. Whether client, collaborator or consumer, making time to employ those human traits of listening, thinking and feeling is essential – “interactive” is a word to reclaim from technology. Just as most great parties end up in the kitchen, some of the best insights and outcomes derive from chance meetings, informal chats or shared inspiration outside the boardroom. And just like parties, the more that are there, the better it is for everyone. Euroshop, RDE UK Olympia, EHI Koln and InStore Asia are just some destinations/ parts of the world I’ve had the chance to engage with audiences face-to-face, sharing a bit of human and design insight and swapping some cultural variance and joyful disruption. Similarly, you’d get the chance to see many of the retail and experiential projects I’ve been involved with in many of the same places. Understanding the incredible potential of environments and experiences is exhilarating, and the chance to collaborate with other creative specialists and experts to realize this potential, is even more so. In a grown-up world we call it collaboration, but the 5 year old me would say I play well with others – and given the chance, who wouldn’t want to play?