Vanine Najaryan is the founder of STUDIOVN, an experiential interior design studio that blends interior architecture, design, and sensory experiences. With extensive experience in designing luxury hotels, high-end retail spaces, commercial offices, and world-class residences, Vanine has cultivated a uniquely holistic approach to design. Having worked in dynamic global markets of SE Asia and MENA, in particular in Dubai, she gained valuable insights into the industry's complexities and diverse project needs. Her entrepreneurial journey was driven by her desire to improve conventional design practices and create spaces encompassing all human senses, encouraging multiple uses of the same environment.
Through STUDIOVN, Vanine pioneers a new wave of interior design that goes beyond traditional aesthetics to focus on the human experience within a space. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates elements from business strategy, cognitive psychology, marketing, branding, immersive experiences, and sustainable design practices to craft environments that build deeper emotional connection with the given space. Vanine’s commitment to responsible design is reflected in her certifications, including Green LEED Associate and WELL AP, which inform her sustainable choices and holistic design philosophy. Looking ahead, she envisions a future where technology seamlessly enhances the interior experience, making spaces not just functional but transformative.
Helena Costa: What inspired you to found STUDIOVN, and how did your experiences in designing luxury hotels, high-end retail, and world-class residential spaces influence this decision?
Vanine Najaryan: I’ve been very intentional and fortunate in the early days of my interior design career. When I started my career, my priority was to learn as much as possible, so I would place myself in dynamic fast paced environments. I moved to Malaysia and worked on luxury high-end retail projects, then to Dubai where I first worked on a few dozen of high-end hospitality projects, Marriotts, Radissons and Hiltons, to name the few, then I switched to working with a startup in Dubai, who were specializing in world-class residences for high-net worth individuals. Just in a few years I’ve amassed experience, knowledge and expertise in the entire structure of the industry. Then I realized I wanted to embark on my own journey and create my own design practice.
HC: What drew you to the concept of experiential interior design, and how do you define it in the
context of your work?
VN: I first started noticing during site visits after completion that sometimes the spaces would feel different, and I kept wondering why does it look as designed but feel different and what is that feeling that I had expected in the first place. That was 2016. Following that thread I realized I was looking to influence and create intangible design elements. Immersive Experience jargon was still not common.
HC: STUDIOVN is described as an experiential interior design studio. How does this approach
differ from traditional interior design studios?
VN: Slowly but steadily I started distilling the framework of experiential interior design and how to integrate it in the process of my studio work. Traditional, if we can call it that, architecture and design has been dismantled into million different phases and disciplines, and primarily they are concerned with project handover. STUDIOVN’s signature sauce continues beyond the handover and primarily is concerned about curation of the human experience. Elements of which exist in various disciplines, like marketing, theatre, cinema or immersive experience, we bring it to interior design.
HC: How do you incorporate interdisciplinary methods into your projects to create spaces that
stimulate all human senses?
VN: Well, that’s our signature sauce, we create for humans and we curate their feelings and experiences based on the desired outcome. We integrate marketing, business strategy, branding & customer experience into the mix of thinking behind the design concepts. From door handles to the business cards and wifi password , there is a holistic experience design approach each physical and invisible elements behind it.
HC: In what ways do you see the role of an experiential designer evolving in the future of interior
design?
VN: With technological innovation, will be increasingly more integrated into the interior design of all spaces and I foresee that much of decorative item production will fade into the backgrounds.
HC: How do sustainable design practices influence your projects, particularly with your
certifications like Green LEED Associate and WELL AP?
VN: Majority of requirements of these certification we integrate into our design process and outcome, because they are responsible material choices and better process practices, like iterative design, using locally sourced and produced or less VoC materials. We are at a point in the design industry where it makes more financial sense to ship marble blocks to china for being cut and then ship it back, how does that make any sense ? I see these certifications as a way of combating unsustainable practices.
HC: What legacy do you hope to leave through your work at STUDIOVN, and how do you envision the future of experiential interior design?
VN: As a design studio, STUDIOVN is primarily interested in aesthetics in present and future, if we can create spaces that positively impact an human condition an experience and create a culture shift at some point I will consider this a huge contribution.
HC: As a leader in experiential design, what advice would you give to aspiring designers looking
to innovate in this field?
VN: Research, apply, fail, fine tune and repeat. And always start from a point of true inspiration, it doesn’t have to be grand, but it has to be authentic and most likely than not the inspiration point will be quite tangible in the results.
