Jolie is a full-service interior design studio, founded in 2017 and led by Founder Franky Rousell and Creative
Director Sarah Wakefield. Together their aim has been to move away from trend-driven design, towards a
more human-centered experience based on the senses. Now with offices in Manchester, London and New
York, the Jolie team implement sensory design across international, award-winning projects, ranging from
private and commercial residential, through to members clubs and boutique hotels to workspaces and
restaurants. Each space is designed to help people connect back to their environments in an elemental and
intuitive way through soundscaping, fragrancing and intentional combinations of materials and colour. Jolie
believed that by engaging each of our senses we can build deeper and more meaningful experiences.
The Jolie Team
Franky Rousell
Franky is the Founder and CEO of Jolie where she leads a talented team of creative professionals. Having
grown up in the Cotswolds, and studied Architectural Technology at UWE Bristol, Franky first embarked on her
career in Manchester which was, at the time, one of the few cities in the UK to experience a commercial
property boom in the wake of the recession. Whilst working on commercial projects, Franky looked for ways to
create spaces that resonated with thousands of occupants. She recognised rooting design in science, she could
find a common sensory language that would allow people of all backgrounds and ages to thrive. Now, with
over ten years of experience in the industry, she has developed a unique approach of collaborating with
neuroscientists, composers and perfumers to create design solutions that start with the five senses.
Sarah Wakefield
Sarah is the Creative Director at Jolie where she has become a thought leader in experience-led sustainable
approaches to interiors. Sarah hailed from Lancashire near Manchester, and has over a decade of experience
in the interior design industry, most notably as a Senior Interior Designer at Soho House.
The Five Senses
The spaces Jolie designs engage all five senses in order to profoundly and purposefully affect those who
inhabit them – for a moment or a lifetime. By crafting environments holistically, the Jolie team are able to
powerfully shape the purposes and perceptions of places for the better; they create something which is felt
rather than consciously perceived. Jolie calls this Immersive Aesthetics.
Sound – Franky was born deaf, but her hearing was restored at an early age. Since then, she has always been
hypersensitive to sound and aware of it can change how you feel in an environment. Sound is often
overlooked in interior design, however the Jolie team works with acousticians and composers to create
soundscapes that evoke certain responses – whether that be through the calming sound of birdsong, or finding
ways to muffle noise with sound dampening materials.
Touch – Consulting with neuroscientists such Frances McGlone and Charles Spence, Franky and her team have
developed a deep understanding of which materials evoke certain emotional responses. Materials such as cold
marble prevent people from opening up, while a soft rug in a communal space underfoot will allow people to
communicate more freely and meaningfully. Meanwhile cocooning wooden interiors can inspire confidence,
and leather, which is the closest texture to human skin, creates a comforting feel.
Scent – An enduring obsession with scent has led Franky to always uses fragrances as the first step for
understanding how her clients want to feel in a space. Different scents can be layered throughout a space,
with varying intensity. Each moment in a Jolie design is underscored by an olfactory experience, from neroli
and Bergamot which can act as anti-depressants to fresh green fig which can uplift and invigorate.
Sight – Colour and light can evoke emotionally driven responses to a space. Certain colours are suited so
different emotions, so the Jolie team are careful to understand how a client wants to feel in a space.
Taste – The Jolie team understand that certain surroundings can benefit or hamper your digestion. Working
with gastronomists, Jolie develop hospitality spaces that even take these factors into consideration to create
the optimal conditions for enjoying food.
By crafting our environment holistically, we’re able to powerfully shape the purposes, perceptions, and memories of places for the better; adding a layer of value that is felt rather than consciously perceived. This sentiment runs through everything we create. We call this Immersive Aesthetics.
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