What kind of designer is Rich Brilliant Willing? We do more with less. We are as much artists as we are designers. We employ a gamut of tricks and techniques, from the magical to the scientific to achieve extraordinary results.
Rich Brilliant Willing is an internationally renowned design studio and one of the most exciting firms currently working in the United States. We design at various scales from packaging & products, to interior spaces and installations. Our methodology is evident in all our work, a combination of technical sophistication with old-fashioned sleight of hand. We try to design new parts where necessary otherwise we appropriate existing components and strategically rethink them. Even our moniker, Rich Brilliant Willing, is exemplary of this process, by re-imagining what was there to begin with: Richardson, Brill, Williams.
We prefer this definition of a designer “one who devises a course of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.” The result should always feel magically effortless but behind the curtain here is a laboratory hard at work; observation and analysis, hypothesis paired with experimentation, finally synthesis. It’s a process of material & formal logic, with a refined aesthetic sensibility - we do it with an efficient grace. Our studio is comprised of three principal designers, working as a singular voice. We are only half the conversation, we welcome new client briefs and we look forward to speaking with you.
About
Theo Richardson, Charles Brill and Alexander Williams are 'Rich, Brilliant, Willing.' Founded in 2007, 'Rich, Brilliant, Willing.' is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary design studio.
Why do they work together? The combined output is greater than sum of individual parts. Each member has a different point of view; one explicitly loves materiality, another has an unconventional color palette and eye for sculptural form, the third is an inventor bringing spontaneity and theatrical energy to the work.
The studio’s work has a unique expression, it’s about materials used in exciting ways, about sculptural and proportional relationships; it’s an additive process that is never decorative. They riff on bringing the abstract simplicity of manufactured components into a domestic context. Industrial paint finishes are used for their eccentric color palette and durability, hard woods offer a warmth not found in metal or other options, and the list goes on. Each decision represents an economical and feasible logic. The studio has a commitment to innovation, and is inspired by practical solutions. The output feels like a celebratory vision of working within constraints, rather than being bound by them.
Accolades have since been applied to the Manhattan-based office, Rich Brilliant Willing was named among the "Top 40" designers by I.D. magazine in January 2009, and named an Avant Guardian by Surface magazine in November of the same year. With recent press including major publications such as FRAME, Metropolis, Architecture Moniteur and multiple appearances in The New York Times their notoriety continues to grow.
