Nicola Zanetti

Good in Home Appliance Design.

Nicola Zanetti

About Nicola Zanetti

Segno Inverso is an Italian research, strategy, innovation, and design firm with a 10-year experience professionals. The team consists of accomplished international freelance strategists, designers, researchers, engineers and business professionals who work collaboratively, synergistically and effectively. The team can achieve highly specialized results thanks to abilities of single freelance that we hire on specific brief. We think it is the teamwork with a good supervision that permits to achieve highest results. Moreover they think a flexible organization can be succesfull between the need of a good design and the budget limits. The purpose of their activity is offering a complete range of services from product design to brand communication, thanks to different experiences and skills.

  • Winner of 6 A' Design Awards.
  • Good in Home Appliance Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Highly Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs
  • Home Appliance
  • Security Products
  • Hardware
Wsd Speciality Coffee Maker

Wsd Speciality Coffee Maker

Home Appliance Design

AF007 Single Dose Coffee Grinder

AF007 Single Dose Coffee Grinder

Home Appliance Design

GM 11A Coffee Machine

GM 11A Coffee Machine

Home Appliance Design

G2 Face Recognition Security Device

G2 Face Recognition Security Device

Security Products Design

Shine Painting Spray Gun

Shine Painting Spray Gun

Hardware Design

YD 32 Ultrasonic Humidifier

YD 32 Ultrasonic Humidifier

Home Appliance Design

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Interview with Nicola Zanetti

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
I started my studies as an engineer but I quickly understood that I was looking for a more human centered view of the project. I moved to Industrial design university in Milan where I found the right way to project a product from different point of view, usability, engineering, marketing, ethic.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
T&D is a new company generated from the business units I funded in other countries, to better follow Chinese market. Mixed staff Chinese/European can understand local manufacturers and international brands needs and release good projects that match the designed market.
What is "design" for you?
A way to look at things. Always see beauty in everything and how to improve it use.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
A cookware set for Bialetti. I was so proud to see a sketch as a real product on the shelf.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
I like design appliances so plastic generally is the most used in my projects but I really enjoy design silicone products.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
Interest then proudness if it is coming out as a good design, I give up if the project is not going on as I expected and then after a break I come back on it.
What makes a design successful?
Outlook and usability for sure. All other matters comes after this.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
Can push right ideas to the client but the market is who has the real power to change the production way.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
Design is going to became a word that describe a creative work on all stages of product planning and project
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Other well designed products are a great start. Looking at needs of people is also a good point to start design a product.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
I use a pragmatic approach that use the product to make business. Actually clients want to sell and people will buy if feels emotions when seeing or using a product.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
Italy, the place where many cultures mixed . Design culture is deep and creativity is high but I feel Italian designers need to improve their creativity with some culture from more rational countries like Germany, Korea or Japan.
How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
We try to open a dialogue with our clients, in order to design together. We try to see the product from a commercial point of view first and usability. Outlook comes step by step.

Designer of the Day Interview with Nicola Zanetti

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
It's already more than 15 years I work as a designer with experiences in small design offices as well as in famous product company (Bialetti group), toreach my own design company with offices in different countries. I am curious and I like to be involved in different matters around the product, from design to manufacturing and sell.
How did you become a designer?
I started in Milan design offices as a Junior designer and moved soon to a big italian manufacturing company that helped me to reach a technical skill that I use everyday in my projects. Once I opened my design studio I started to work with China and I also started to buy and sell goods that helps me to design new products that are good sellers on international markets.
What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?
I think that new designers have the time and ability to learn new softwares quickly while old ones don't have the time to follow every year the improvements and changes of each software. That's why I think the main tools we should use is our knowledge and immagination. To communicate to our clients we need to use nice renderings and 3D tools but this is something we need to understand and not really use, since we should always find some other to do that job.
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
Actually design is not art, so I think there is no real emotion while working on a product but I feel there is more thinking and evaluation of different aspects. It's hard to create while I think our work is to improve. Design is a passion, so I feel lucky to do what I like and I feel proud everytime I see the real product I designed, on the shelf or in some friend's house.
What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
I had a passion for design since I was a child. I always liked to draw and paint before and as time passed I saw that I liked to imagine and draw new shapes and new solutions, so I studied engineering and then design and I found my way.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
I am building an international design firm that already have office in Italy, Argentina, China and Korea. Next step will be to consolidate these offices business and to move to create our own brand on the product market, starting with small appliances and simple products.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
just be open and courious. Never say no to a new experience, grow yourself and your knowledge together with your ambitions.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
Just do your best, this is always the best target. Seriously speaking, I think like in every business a stating investment is needed to make something real, otherwise it will be very hard to achieve great results.
What is your day to day look like?
Daily routine is quite boring since tons of mails need to be checked and replied, a lot of small details changes for already finished projects to work on, some meetings tu update everyone on ongoing projects...what I really liek is the starting phase of new projects and meet new opportunities and , for sure, sign new contracts.
How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
Today is quite easy to be updated on new trends and design style since a lot of informations can be foind on internet but I feel that the best way os to visit some good eshibitions and touch by hands new products.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
Actually I think that a good design should be user friendly and fitting user needs. I personally don't like some pure shapes that are hard to use and not easy to understand even if they are beautiful. I am more on function than shape but outlook is also an important matter since is what usually we look at to choose a product.
How do you decide if your design is ready?
A design is ready when the client needs to go on production! I would always like to improve or change a design and unfortunately everytime I look at an old projec I think I should have done better.
What is your biggest design work?
One thing I like, is when through a product you help a company to grow. Kalerm and Dr Coffee are two examples of new companies that reached in short time the first position on the local market thanks to the product quality and design. But I think design is not only about shape and usability, is also a tool to find new solutions and I'd like to mention also that I used the "design thinking" to draw a contract between two companies that wan't able to work together without a "design thinking" approach.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
I move between Korea, China and Italy and this helps me a lot in discover new ideas and opportunities. I liek to listen to music when working on a design project and I think it is needed a sharing moment but also a private creation time.
Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
People comes first. I don't care how good you are in design or business, I want to work with friends and have a happy life.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
Design awards are a good advertisement for young designers but also a good selling point for Design companies while you meet new clients. A' design award was a great exeprience, specially during the ceremony on Como lake.

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