Richard Yasmine, a Lebanese interior architect and product designer, is filled with imagination, using his imaginary world as a simulation to try out new ideas and create objects inspired by life, objects, emotions, and the human body: physiology and needs. He also focuses on internal chaos combined with a certain innate sensitivity; sometimes extreme and provocative or even unexpected by others, but still minimal, bold, and straightforward without disguising or hiding true reality. He never tends to identify the difference between reality and imagination, which helps him create intriguing and controversial design objects, albeit complicated in the production process. However, this is distinctive in his personality.
Trying always to incorporate a fresh approach while sticking to his culture and tradition, Richard Yasmine engages in a frequently muddled process but achieves a precise, immaculate result. His creations do not follow any specific period or trend but rather reflect his own image. He integrates Middle Eastern, specifically Lebanese, know-how and spirit into the recipe of each of his products, collaborating with craftsmen to reveal an oriental feel through an extravagant aspect. He seeks to spread the marriage between tradition and new technologies while maintaining his signature identity of commotion, mixing craziness with sobriety and infusing a touch of fantasy.
He showcased his work at la Biennale de Saint-Étienne, Paris Design Week 2015, Milan Design Week 2016/2017/2018, Beirut Art Fair 2015/2016, Beirut Design Week 2015/2016, Dubai Design Week 2016, and in Designjunction during the London Design Festival 2017. Some of his designs have been featured consecutively in Interni, Domus, Wallpaper, Living-Corriere della Serra, AD, Icon, Ideat, Elle Decoration, Monogram, Dezeen, Designboom, Design Milk, Highsnobiety, The National, Madame, 7DaysUAE, Interiors, Arch Newspaper, Interior Design New York, L’Orient Le Jour, and many other local and international blogs and magazines. He has been selected by Esquire Middle East as one of the six designers to know about in the Middle East for 2017, and his work has been featured among the best of Dubai Design Week 2016 on Yatzer, as well as the best of Milan Design Week 2017, again on Yatzer. He has been interviewed by Elle Decor Italia as the Lebanese designer discussing his city, Beirut, in the “Secret Beirut” article, among numerous other city guides.
As for his latest news, he showcased his work in three different spaces during Milan Design Week 2018. For the first time, he collaborated with the eclectic Italian brand JCP Universe. His latest collections, HAWA Beirut and WAKE UP CALL, have been selected among the best of MDW18 on Yatzer, Yellowtrace, Domus, Dezeen, Designboom, and many other press outlets worldwide. He has been nominated for Emerging Designer of the Year by Dezeen. Recently, he revealed his latest work, Ô-CULT: The Water Sanctuary, commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and curated by La Triennale di Milano Design Museum. New pieces are set to be showcased in April 2019 during Milan Design Week.