SB: Writer has been a big success, so where does iA go from here? Are you looking to balance web design with more app development in future, or was Writer a one-off?

OR: You often hear that it’s not possible to have both clients and your own products. I think that if you are able to handle a couple of big clients, you are also able to handle a big product in the place of a big client.

We have always tried to work only with clients where we both can learn from each other. Being able to freely choose your clients without ifs or buts is the only way to do work in a meaningful relationship. Writer has made it much easier to say no.

Client work allows us to develop Writer in exactly the way we feel right, without giving into fashions and superficial features that might sell well and please the tech community, but not give much benefit to the core user.

We plan to continue both working for clients and on products, because we feel that both benefit from the experience we gain in each field. By having our own products we understand clients better, and by working for clients we understand ourselves as product makers better. Very few agencies can have the same insight we do into planning, designing and building a successful app. Lots of agencies will promise you success in the app store without having anything substantial to show. We don’t promise success, because we know first-hand what it takes and what it brings.

SB: When is the next Web Trend Map coming?

OR: We are working on it but we are not going to rush it. We have a series of beautiful concept studies, but we’re not quite there yet. The last map was swept away by the tsunami. I hope that we can publish the next one before the end of the year.

SB: Where do you look for inspiration, either in the real world or online?

OR: Outside the design world, in architecture, philosophy, art. But most of the time, there is no need for external inspiration. We have such a great team that we never run out of ideas. The vision for what we do has stayed the same since I founded iA back in 2005: Reduce to the essence.