About us

 

SHAPES iN PLAY is a creative studio that is committed to quality design. Our special focus is on creating concepts and products at the border where the analogue object meets digital space. We seek to develop designs that preserve their emotional and material value over time.

Beyond working on self-initiated projects we cooperate with companies and organisations in order to find design solutions. We offer support with generating innovation, extending product lines or refining existing product ideas until final implementation. We have special experience in industrial & product design, data visualisation and interface design projects. At every step of product design and development we offer our service as `entire design packages´ as well as working out solutions for single project steps.

Since 2009 we, Johanna Spath and Johannes Tsopanides, established our collaboration in numerous projects and continue to grow under the studio name SHAPES iN PLAY. Together we complement each other to be a comprehensive design team:

Johanna Spath

Product designer

Johanna´s design career started when approaching design `hands-on´ doing an apprenticeship at the School for Porcelain in Selb/Germany. From there she moved on to studying Integrated Product Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Coburg/Germany from where she graduated 2010. Until now she has gained professional experience working as a freelance product and graphic designer as well as doing several internships, amongst others at Front Design in Stockholm. 2011 she founded SHAPES iN PLAY where she works as designer and managing partner. Since 2013 she has been working as lecturer at the design department of the University of Applied Sciences Coburg.

Johannes Tsopanides

Product designer

Johannes´ strong interest is on design as well as software. Over the last years he has steadily developed his skills in programming as well as gaining professional experience working as a freelance product designer, product photographer and 3D visualiser. In 2010 Johannes graduated as product designer from the University of Applied Sciences in Coburg/Germany with a project showing the possibilities of three-dimensionally materialising information. 2011 he went on to found SHAPES iN PLAY where he now works as product and software designer and managing partner.

Exhibitions and Publications

Besides showing our projects at numerous fairs and design events: the Salone Internationale del Mobile in Milan,the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne, DMY in Berlin, Design Biennial in Ljubljana or the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven; our work is part of the permanent collection at the Museu de les Arts Decoratives de Barcelona since 2012 and was on show at our first solo exhibition at SWING Gallery in Benevento/Italy.

Furthermore our projects have been published, nationally and internationally, amongst others in DAMn, PAGE Magazine, Creative Applications Blog, Elle Decoration, London Financial Times, Blueprint Magazine, design report, FRAME and Interni.