Gregor Cramer: Captivated by color

Question: What does being appointed to the jury mean to you?
Gregor Cramer: I got a call asking whether I could picture myself doing it, and I was really very pleased because I really respect the selection of the jury with its transparency and diversity. This is really a fantastic, international jury of painters, architects, and interior designers, where I can imagine that we will certainly be having lively discussions when awarding prizes, but that’s a good thing. For me, there is nothing nicer than discussing color design. Given the knowledge and different backgrounds that each individual jury member brings, this will definitely be a very enriching experience and a lot of fun, because we all focus on design.

Question: What sets you apart as a jury member; what is your area of expertise?
Gregor Cramer: On the one hand, we enjoy working in our company, which has existed for almost 60 years, especially doing unusual projects. This means that we hold a lot of exhibitions with wall and floor designs and a large showroom. We also offer doors, Tala lights and exceptional wall designs. In 2010, in addition to our day-to-day business, we also set up our concept store where we offer many of the design options that are also in the focus at the Design Award. In addition, I am represented as a lecturer at the Master's School and in the Master's Examination Committee. Color and color design are important to me. These are topics that I am really passionate about.

Question: Have you ever designed a facade that you think would be prize-winning?
Gregor Cramer: Actually, I received an award for a facade from the city of Bonn in 2013. This was the facade of a historic building at Münsterplatz in Bonn. The starting point here was to find a color that optimally accentuates the facade with all its elements – faces and patterns. I actually stood on the scaffolding for two hours and mixed three colors. The result could be seen and this was so excellent in two different ways.

Question: Focusing on the award: What is particularly important to you when selecting nominees?
Gregor Cramer: For me, the main focus is on the overall concept. How much do you think about designing a property? And how it fits into the environment? An object can be very successful on its own, but if it does not match the place where it is located, then the concept is not well thought-out. The same applies for the purpose or time, the design must also be adapted accordingly here. The internal breakdown is also important to me: How the property is structured, how the colors match each other: The walls, the room, various floors. The property must not only fit into the surroundings, but must also be coherent and speak with one voice.

Question: What are you particularly looking forward to with the Brillux Design Award?
Gregor Cramer: All the new people, the jury members, and their new ideas. Especially for new buildings, it is not always the case that the emphasis is also placed on color design. We can definitely inspire upcoming projects here. I think we can have a lot of fruitful conversations and I will take a lot of inspiration and good ideas home with me.