What inspires a designer when looking beyond design itself? For Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, references can be found in many places — in books, materials, nature, travel and objects collected along the way. These influences carry through his work and offer a glimpse into the perspective behind it.
Here, we take a closer look at the things he returns to, what currently holds his attention, and the references that continue to find their way into his world.
Q: What are you into at the moment?
(JB): I’m currently in the process of finishing a new book project called The Art of Less, so I’ve been speaking with many creatives — artists, designers, and architects — about restraint in their work, and how they approach balance, materiality, space, contrast, and rhythm in their daily creative practice. It has been a deeply inspiring and explorative process.
Q: A coffee table book you keep coming back to?
(JB): In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki is one I continuously return to. Not a traditional coffee table book, perhaps, but its reflections on shadow, atmosphere, and subtle beauty have deeply shaped the way I think about architecture and interiors. Even though it is a relatively small book, it continues to be profoundly inspiring.
Q: Which do you prefer: Books or magazines?
(JB): I appreciate both, but if you force me to choose, it would be books. Books have a permanence and longevity that allow for immersion and contemplation in a way that feels increasingly rare today. Magazines, however, have a wonderful immediacy — they capture a particular moment in culture beautifully. Ideally, there is room for both.
Q: Your portfolio is extensive. Do you have any object you wish you had designed?
(JB): The PK22 by Poul Kjærholm. It carries an extraordinary sense of clarity and reduction, yet still feels warm and human. Designing something that distilled is incredibly difficult.
Q: A place you return to?
(JB): Japan. Not only physically, but mentally. There is a sensitivity to atmosphere, ritual, materiality, and proportion there that continues to inspire me profoundly.
Q: City or nature?
(JB): Nature. The city can inspire intellectually, but nature restores balance. Much of our work at Norm is ultimately about reconnecting people with a sense of calm that often originates in nature.
Q: A material you never get tired of?
(JB): Wood. It develops character beautifully over time. It has warmth, tactility, and a certain honesty that fits naturally within our philosophy of soft minimalism.
Q: On a busy day at the office, what is always on your desk?
(JB): Coffee, paper, and pencils. Despite all the digital tools available to us, ideas still seem to arrive more clearly and effortlessly through drawing by hand.
Q: What do you always seem to collect?
(JB): Books, naturally — but also stones, small objects, and fragments from travels. Things with texture and memory rather than monetary value.
Q: Off the top of your head — which 3–5 titles from the New Mags collection are your favourites?
(JB): Besides my own books — The Touch, The Reinvention of Forms, Soft Minimal and Stillness, I enjoy Peter Lindbergh – On Fashion Photography, All the Ark Journals, Wabi Inspirations by Axel Vervoordt and Tatsuro Miki. They all share a certain quietness and timelessness that resonates with me — books you return to not only for reference, but for atmosphere.
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