Interview with Stefano Rosselli
Stefano Rosselli is a freelance self-taught illustrator and visual designer, based in Geneva (Switzerland), whose specialties are digital illustrations, user interface themes, icons and logos design.
Interview about Two of Hearts Illustration Design Interview
Design Legend Interview
8 July 2024
I am a freelance self-taught illustrator and designer. As far as I recall, I’ve always been fascinated by aesthetic and very often I could be seen with a sheet of paper and pencil in hand, creating my own designs. During my younger years, comics and video games played an important role in rising my interest in becoming a professional illustrator and designer. Since 2010 (the year that I started freelancing), I had the pleasure to work for clients such as Thomson Reuters (Geneva, CH), The Swiss Red Cross (Basel, CH), LDES University of Geneva (Geneva, CH), The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Geneva, CH), amongst many others.
I became a designer, because I simply adore to create meaningful and playful designs which may contribute to enhance, in various ways, people’s experience while they interact/come across with the designed product. And as a way to share a vision with others too.
I chose to become a designer. It was part of my childhood dreams. I couldn’t imagine my life without designing, professionally or not.
Digital illustrations, user interface themes, icons, and logos. I used to wish to design more UI themes, but since a couple of years I am so much enjoying to design fully customized playing cards decks that I would like to mainly focus on this kind of projects now on.
This is a difficult question to answer, because it is a blend of so many factors over which we don’t always have control. I would simply advice to be persistent, to always work with great passion, to always look to improve oneself, to be curious, to have an open mind, empathy, welcome feedbacks, to have an eye for details and to create meaningful unique designs which tell stories that resonate with the audience they are made for.
I think that the ability to reach a very high level of clarity about the design intent is what often distinguishes a good designer from a great designer. However, creating an unambiguous striped down design which highly enhance the user experience can be extremely difficult.
In my opinion, a really good design is a great blend between aesthetic (even if this is subjective), meaning, honesty, usefulness, uniqueness, attention to details, user experience enhancement, timelessness, clarity, and effectiveness in solving a problem.
In my opinion, good design is supposed to enhance people’s life. Making life better, easier and, to sum it up, more enjoyable is the aim of good design. Therefore, if economically possible, I think it’s a no brainer why everyone should invest in good design as much as possible.
As a huge fan of sport, I would love to design a full brand identity for a basketball/soccer team and/or a tennis player (all these three sports being my favorite ones).
Beside realizing full brand identities related to the sports I like the most, I really would like to create a wide collection of fully customized playing cards decks.
I would tell that’s all the passion, attention to details and the meaning that I incorporate into all the designs that I create.
James Gilleard and Malika Favre are two design masters who are a great source of inspiration. Both are absolutely awesome artists.
I am a great fan of James Gilleard and Malika Favre illustration design. It’s hard to pick a favorite design amongst their works as they are so many that I particularly appreciate. I really like their designs, because of the high level of sophistication, elegance, but also playfulness they manage to achieve by using simple shapes and geometry. I also highly appreciate their color palettes and, specifically for Malika Favre, her use of negative space (so clever). Their works are absolutely fantastic.
Till now, I think that « Two of Hearts » is my best design. The aspect of that design that I particularly appreciate and makes me think that’s my best design is the way I managed to visually translate the bond between the deep personal meaning I wanted to share with others and the one that’s often attributed to the two of hearts playing card. It is a universal message related to Love that all people who have read « The Little Prince » from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry can connect with.
As first by realizing that they can always do better. Then by always seeking for feedback and various source of inspiration at any moment and any place, by being curious and constantly willing to learn, and finally by not being afraid to do mistakes and to experiment.
Teacher at primary school.
In a nut shell, for me, design is an answer to a problem which can contribute (in a relatively important way) to make people’s life more enjoyable.
Undoubtedly my dear loving wife. She is always there for me no matter what. Her honest and relevant feedback often helped me to improve my designs… even if I must confess that sometimes I had hard time hearing and digesting them ;)
Besides my wife’s tremendous feedback, my passion, dedication, persistence, hard work, attention to details and constant questioning helped me a lot.
Lack of self-confidence, of knowledge, of experience and prejudices toward me based off the fact that I am a self-taught designer.
Many more fully customized playing cards decks, UI themes and various brand identities for personal projects.
To create my own brand(s) and, through it(them), share my vision of design without compromises.
Timeless, well-crafted designs with a particular attention to details. Understanding of their need(s), honesty, respect of deadlines and great communication.
By solving problems that can make life better, easier and, overall, more enjoyable. The happier people are the better society can potentially be.
A new fully customized deck of playing cards.
The creation of two souvenirs playing cards decks. Mainly because it was a long time that I wanted to create items which the design is entirely dedicated to the country and, also, more specifically, the canton where I was born and raised. All that as a modest tribute which could contribute to promote them inside and outside theirs borders and, also, to show my attachment to them. I consider both these projects as my main design legacy.
Maybe less prejudices towards self-taught illustrators/designers.
Quality over quantity.
I think that design sets the trends.
As a digital illustrator and designer, technology plays an important role when designing.
For the first iteration(s) of my designs, I mostly use a simple pencil and paper. Then when comes the moment to create the digital version, I do mainly use the industry leading vector graphics design software, sometimes coupled with photo editing and/or layout ones.
To describe the design process.
By thoroughly analyzing other designers works and understanding the way they convey an intent. Also, by reading as much as possible articles, design presentations precisely describing a design process.
Antoni Gaudí.
Favorite color: royal blue, favorite place: Barcelona, favorite food: mezze, favorite season: spring, favorite thing: playing cards decks, favorite brand: Caran d’Ache.
When I get positive feedback by users/clients (via phone calls, emails, etc.) about my work that for sure makes my day great and gives me even more energy to keep on going.
No, but I for sure wanted to design for a living so I could spend even more time each day doing what I love. That was clear in my mind.
I just would like them to know that all the designs that I create are made with all my heart and that if I contribute to make them happy in any way thanks to my designs that means a world to me and fuels my will to keep on designing.
Designer Interview
4 May 2020
I am a self-taught illustrator and visual designer. As far as I recall, I’ve always been fascinated by aesthetic and very often I could be seen with a sheet of paper and pencil in hand, creating my own designs. During my younger years, comics and video games played an important role in rising my interest in becoming a professional illustrator and visual designer. This quickly turned into one of my dreams. But, in the end, I was discouraged by many people to follow this aspiration. All that led me on a different path until my passion unexpectedly caught me back. Indeed, while I was studying Educational Sciences at Geneva’s University, one of our professors asked us to work in small groups to create attractive pedagogical tools conveying knowledge about human brain related topics. In the group which I was part of, we decided to create a booklet and I offered to draw myself a series of illustrations that would go along with the explicative text. The positive feedback about the illustrations and the great pleasure I had in using my illustrative skills for an educational purpose sparkled again in me the will to make use of my design abilities in a professional perspective.
The kinds of works that I like designing most are vector illustrations and user interface themes. Concerning illustrations, characters (especially portraits), oneiric scenes, sport, nature, architectural constructions are some of my preferred aspects to feature in my works. About user interface themes, I particularly enjoy to create “dark modes” for applications, web sites or operating systems.
The first thing I designed for a company was a series of digital illustrations for e-learning. Given that I graduated in Educational Sciences, I was really delighted to use my design skills for this kind of project.
This can vary from day to day, but I would tell that usually I am the most creative at morning and/or late at evening. At morning it can be due to the fact that in general I have more energy after resting well during the night and, at evening, there are less chances that I can be interrupted during my workflow or simply distracted by surrounding noises.
The inspiration for my works can literally come from anything surrounding me. Even when I am not supposed to work, if I see, hear something that may be interesting for my design work, I do my best to keep track of it (take a picture, sketch it, write down a note, etc.). It doesn’t necessarily need to be something related with what I am working on at the moment, it can simply be a potential inspiration for future works. Otherwise, I spend regularly time watching design works/items on the web (Instagram, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Behance, Dribbble, etc.), in books, magazines or shops.
I would define my design style as clean, colorful and playful. I explored more this style, first of all because it has characteristics that I particularly appreciate from an aesthetic point of view, but also because of pragmatical, technical reasons as it adapts very well to many use cases, therefore it offers great versatility. Plus I really like the challenge behind simplifying something so what is central, essential could stand out. In few words, I would summarize my approach to design the following way: understanding the problems to solve, the constraints, the target customer's profile and finding appropriate design solutions that are clean, legible, singular, visually appealing and easy/pleasant to use.
I'm born and live in Switzerland. Personally, I have the feeling that my environment considerably influenced the way I design my works. Indeed, the main principles behind my designs share a lot in common with what can be considered characteristics of the “Swiss style”. No matter if I create an illustration, an icons set, a logo or a user interface theme, I’m very often aiming at making that design to look clean, simple, minimalist and precise. I have also the feeling that I “inherited” from the place where I am living that constant need to push myself forward, to always aim at doing better. This state of mind is clearly something which helps me to constantly improve the quality of my work, but at same time it can turn into an obsession and, therefore, a downside.
My most important job experience to date was when the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) of Geneva hired me in 2015 to rework the “Making Cities Resilient Campaign” visual identity for its 2016 re-launch. I was really happy and honored to bring my modest contribution to this international campaign.
It’s hard to only pick one, but if I have to, I would tell user interface design. I really enjoy this type of design work, especially because it can bring together many designs fields which I am particularly interested in, such as icons design, illustration, animation, layout or typography. But also because UI design is something really useful in everyday life. Operating systems, applications, web sites are more than ever part of most people’s life nowadays and will surely be even more in future.
The best way to contact me is by sending me an email. My email address is accessible on my website “www.stefrosselli.com”. Otherwise I can also be reached on platforms such as Behance, Dribbble, Instagram or Twitter (my username on these platforms is "stefrosselli"). But email is definitely the best way to go.
Interview about Two of Hearts Illustration Grand Interview