Heitor Lobo Campos

Interview with Heitor Lobo Campos

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'm from Brasília, Brazil. I got my Bachelor's at Universidade de Brasília (UnB) as well. Since I was 14 I had decided to become a Designer, Design just seemed like a surefire way of being able to work with a plethora of diverse projects. That was specially appealing to me since I still wasn't sure of what area I wanted to work at, thankfully I finally decided on Industrial Design when I was 18.

Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

I graduated in December of 2018, right now it's not much of a studio but just me working as a freelancer from home, but just this small time in the market has helped me grow immensely as a designer. Right now my work is mainly focused on small projects for local startups, with a special interest in digital and eco-friendly manufacturing.

What is "design" for you?

For me Design is the interaction between user and product. One could say designing a typeface is dealing with the interplay between reader and the alphabet, and I believe Industrial Design is no different, we build the user-product relationship.

What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

Charles and Ray Eames' Molded Plywood Chairs. It was one of the designs that inspired me to choose Industrial Design, it's also certainly one if not the most iconic chair of the 20th century.

What was the first thing you designed for a company?

My first lamp design for Gantri, Lago. I designed it in 2017, while still a student.

When do you feel the most creative?

Anytime I'm working really, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you always need inspiration, but I find that diligently iterating and brainstorming ideas is much more reliable, creativity can be worked upon, not unlike a muscle.

Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

If I were to choose one, function would obviously be the first. But I still believe a good design has to be well-balanced, beauty shouldn't justify functional limitations, and function shouldn't limit beauty.

What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

It's hard to define, I'd say a mix of pride and relief. Proudful of designing a product that can be used and relief that I actually managed to get it to the end user.

From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

Our responsilibities as designers are to always design with conscience of both society and environment. It's not hard to design in a bubble, not interacting with the environment you're designing for as much as you need. I reckon it's essential to always be aware of the context you're designing in.

Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

Inspiration can come from anywhere, from visuals, sounds, stories. My main source of inspiration are the relationships between what I see, read, and hear. They all affect how I think, and therefore, how I design.

Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

I would be lying if I said that being Brazilian doesn't influence my work, even more so in Brasilia, my first reference of aesthetics was Brazilian modernist architecture, it still is in many ways.

How can people contact you?

Just access my website: heitor.design . Or just DM me on Instagram at @heitor_lobo_campos

Extended Interview with Heitor Lobo Campos

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

I was born and raised in Brasilia, Brasil. I have a Bachelors degree in Industrial Design by the University of Brasilia. I wanted to be a designer ever since I was 14, it just seemed like the perfect area for me, specially due to its multidisciplinary and creative approach.

How did you become a designer?

I wanted to make things, no matter what they were, I loved creating so I got into design with still not much idea of what exactly to make. With time I fell in love with Industrial Design, specially the physical part of it, sketching, prototyping, and finally seeing your project come to life.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

Right now I don't have much of a favorite type of design, although I do seem to gravitate towards lighting design right now.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

Work hard and take any opportunity you get, it was seeking out Gantri to publish a design of mine that I got a Gold Award at the A' Design Awards. Don't skip on a chance to get your work out in the market.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

Good design fulfills its requirements as a project while still managing to go beyond them.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

Good design has value for everyone, the client, the user, and designers.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

The secret is that there is none. Just hard work and a pinch of luck.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

A musician I guess, although to be quite honest I'm not nearly a good at it as I am at design.