Designer Interview
18 Froen
When I was 3 all the art books in our house were full of my drawings. At 7 I found myself in a limbo deciding whether the Italian flag with green, white and red was more beautiful or the French one with blue, white and…
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?
When I was 3 all the art books in our house were full of my drawings. At 7 I found myself in a limbo deciding whether the Italian flag with green, white and red was more beautiful or the French one with blue, white and red. When I was 12 I could already detect any disorder around me. So, at 17 it was already determined that I was going to choose architecture and design or to be fair, it was rather vice-versa: the profession chose me.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
I am the creative head of XYZ Integrated Architecture, but without my great team I wouldn’t be able to succeed. Therefore I think that the most valuable asset of my company is the people I work with.
What is "design" for you?
3. Design is something born at the cross-section of image of the world and language. To me design is the most important thing in the material world. Due to its functionality the design is often relegated to an inferior position to art, whereby historically the first artifacts were purely utilitarian and we shouldn’t forget this fact. Without the things with function the world would be a far duller place to be.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
It doesn’t matter. Most of all I enjoy working on the products, where I coped with the task.
When do you feel the most creative?
After midnight.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
It’s simplicity and agility. To put it in terms of the classical Japanese poetry I like making design in a Haiku manner, or at least in Tanka.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
Something like when endorphins are released.
What makes a design successful?
Success can mean different things to people. To be frank I don’t know what success is as I haven’t experienced it yet (if we don’t count the A’ Design award, of course:))
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
It’s composition and functionality.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
I see the future of design somewhere between art and science.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
I use 6 different techniques in a creative process. Which I call aphorisms, randomness, mistakes, impressions, inner dialogues and quotations.
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 live in Tbilisi, Georgia and feel the cultural heritage not only of Georgia, but of the entire universe starting from the Big Bang. Thus, living in my country, in terms of influence, doesn’t matter to me much.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
Enjoy your age.
From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
I start with the negatives of being a designer: you are too dependent on customers, technologies, craftsmen, marketing, buyers etc. The big positive is that you are still alive.
What is your "golden rule" in design?
The golden rule is: there is no golden rule
What skills are most important for a designer?
The most important skill for a designer is the ability to reflect on own works and on oneself.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
The time doesn’t exist in design independent of space. So the main leverage to manage the creative process is the speed (i.e. space divided by time). So, if you don’t have enough time, just increase the speed.
How can people contact you?
Via our website and social media.
