Interview with Adrian Bogdan

​OONA Studio is a small product design workshop focused on creating functional and sustainable pieces of design for the environmentally conscious consumer. We are committed to using the highest quality, natural, sustainable and biodegradable materials as well as integrating as much recycled / recyclable materials as possible in all our products in an ongoing effort to raise awareness on the impact our consumption habits have on the environment as well as to offer an alternative to the non-sustainable consumption of resources.Our products are handcrafted locally, either in our own workshop or in collaboration with small family-owned businesses while the main materials we use are made in the EU, which means they meet strict European fair-trade and wage-regulation standards.

I mostly enjoy working on product design, but graphic design is also something I like and try doing in my spare time.

The very first product was a wooden bicycle shelf this being also the one the kicked off my product design brand, OONA Studio.

I love working with wood, but during the last few years I also started researching other various environmentally friendly materials such as Pinatex and cork fabric and started developing products around these as well.

I think this would be early in the morning and late at night.

Since OONA Studio is all about creating good quality, functional environmentally conscious products, most of my products are designed with three main ideas in mind: functionality, aesthetics and sustainability.

Mostly anxiousness because I can’t wait to see the end result and sometimes frustration, when things don’t turn out as good as they look on paper :).

Well, it depends on the end result :)). I’ve had my fair share of fails when things didn’t turn out to be quite as I imagined. So this triggered some frustration and disappointment when it happened. But when things do turn out to be just as (or even better than) I imagined, I feel ecstatic, probably like a kid opening his Christmas presents :)).

If we are talking about product design, I think it must answer a need.

Functionality and aesthetics. Not necessarily in that order. I consider both aspects almost equally important.

In a world that’s rapidly depleting its resources and drowning in its own waste, I think sustainability should be a priority and one of the top aspects to be considered by any product designer.

The last exhibition I attended was in Autumn 2017. Probably the next one would be in Autumn 2018 hopefully with some brand new products currently on the drawing board :).

Well I sometimes feel that it just comes out of nowhere. It just hits me in the middle of the night or during my morning shower :)). But most probably this is the result of my brain working tirelessly in the background even when I’m not actively involved in a creation process. I do love the simplicity of Scandinavian design so I follow a lot of Pinterest boards, Instagram accounts and blogs that feed a lot of great ideas in this respect.

Minimalist design style with added functionality. I love minimalist design. Objects that are designed to serve one purpose and do it good. But I also like objects with a little extra functionality. So I usually try to mix these two together.

All my work is focused on developing my own design brand (OONA Studio) and products so I haven’t had the chance to do any commissioned work for the moment.

It all starts with the idea and maybe a rough sketch. Then comes the research work, then taking the idea and sketch to the drawing board. I admit that I’m quite bad at hand drawing so at this stage I usually like to work directly in a drawing software. Afterwards the project is sent to prototyping. At this stage the project is usually sent at least a few times back to the drawing board for tweaking as they rarely come out perfect from the first try. After the prototyping stage, if I’m happy with the end result then I have a new product. Otherwise I lock in a drawer and forget about it, at least for a while.

I think Illustrator is the most used tool in my design toolbox.

Badly :)))…most of the times I get so absorbed in the design process that I forget about anything else. I love doing this, but I also have to admit that for a healthy lifestyle it’s best to try and find a balance between the professional and personal life, as is the case with any other profession. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet managed to do so, but from time to time I do try to disconnect and forget about anything work related :)

It depends on the object. In my personal experience, from a few weeks to a bit more than half an year. But my work did not involve any extremely complex ideas.

Considering that I create under my own brand, most of my clients are individuals buying my products.

Continue to develop my own design brand and produce even more good design :)

I mostly develop the designs myself and then seek validation for them from close friends and family members that are not afraid to speak their minds :))…if a design sucks, I appreciate the persons that can tell this to my face as long as they can also provide me with some constructive criticism :)

www.oonastudio.eu / adrian@oonastudio.eu / +40 744 425 431