Maja Matas

Specialized in Design.

Maja Matas

About Maja Matas

Maja Matas is the Director and Chief Creative Officer at Amblem. She manages the Creative agency in Croatia which builds products and services with a focus on branding and design. From fashion lines to political campaigns, she believes in the importance of getting good insights before building better experiences. Prior to Amblem, Maja was first Head of Corporate Identity and then Head of Private Label Design at Croatians leading home improvement retail chain. She managed the design department and defined the company’s brand architecture and designed new brands and creative solutions for products and product lines. Apart from the in-house roles in the retail industry, her background in advertising agencies and freelance roles as an industrial and graphic design allowed her to work for global brands. Maja has a Doctor of Science Degree in Graphic Technology and Design, and has worked at several Universities as a Lecturer in the field of Visual communications, Design in Market communications and Security print. Throughout the years, Maja won a number of International design awards, was published in international scientific journals and is a jury member in the leading creative marketing festivals such as the Clio awards.

  • Winner of the A' Design Award.
  • Specialized in Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs

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Interview with Maja Matas

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 always created scenarios, made presentations about the simplest things, like asking my parents to go out. I feel like I always found a spectacular way to present an idea or information, and ultimately that let me to choose the designer job.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
I am currently the Head of Corporate Identity department at a major retail corporation in Croatia - Pevec, and am also working as an Lecturer at the Academy of Arts in Osijek.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
Depending on my mood, I would say currently its packaging design for fun products like snacks and home products with twist.
What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
I have to say Christmas Tee packaging concept. The final design came as the end result of thinking about the meaning of Christmas. Ultimately it was the sharing of your time with your loved ones, so the packaging concept was pushing the idea of sharing a warm drink during the cold days of Christmas.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
It would be wood, because of the natural feel, even though I don't use it that much.
What makes a design successful?
Its originality and the ability to solve a problem or to present information the best possible way.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
To reduce unnecessary products, solve problems and tell the truth.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
The future is unknown. There are so many shifts towards the digital field - the tangible and virtual will have to coexist within same projects.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
It was in 2016. in Zagreb and I want to hold my next somewhere I didn't before.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
It comes through thinking and research, and sometimes when I stop and relax.
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?
Since I wold in a couple of disciplines - from visual communication design, packaging to product design its hard to pin point an exact style. I would say its contemporary mixed with the impressions I gather travelling the world a lot. My design is never plain or crowded. I would describe it as clean with a special twist which creates new usage.
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 Croatia. I am not so dependant to the county I live in because since I was little Ive travelled a lot and seen many different cultures which had a great impact on me.
How do you work with companies?
Sometimes easy breezy and other times hard but at the end Ive never had a client which wasn't satisfied with the design.
What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
I would suggest for companies to search for designers which have solved similar issues like the one the company has. For each project someone who would be a fit for that individual project. It is hard to match up, but with a little luck everything is possible. My experience in the ones who shouts about their design the loudest have the weakest designs ;)
Can you talk a little about your design process?
It includes briefing, a lot of research, prototyping and sketches, meetings and sleepless nights.
What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
My favourite design items at home is Louis Ghost chair by Phillipe Starck. Others are Rex chair by Niko Kralj, a movable bed which Ive designed, Kikkerland everything (for example wooden guitar spoons), my red electric bass guitar...
Can you describe a day in your life?
Each day is a bit different but for instance last monday Ive woken up at 6:30, drove to the corporation I work for, did a lot of different branding and packaging projects till 4, drove to the university and did work for my PhD, came home for an half an hour to have some dinner, went to meet a client and played tennis till midnight.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
Apply to workshops, competitions, internship as soon as possible!
From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
The positives are that you are able to create, evolve, produce, thrive. The negatives are that you don't have free time where you can stop seeing the world through the eyes of a designer.
What skills are most important for a designer?
Organisational skills, persistence, bravery and visualisation skills!
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
Adobe softwares, Mac hardwares, Design books and everything else that comes handy in-between.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
Very well as to the business site, except for the fact that I take on too much so my whole day is basically evolving around designing.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
It depends on the task and especially on the client. From a couple of days to a couple of months.
What was your most important job experience?
I think that the different job that I had - leadinga design studio, designer at an agency, lecturer at a university, freelance designer and now a head of a department in a corporation are all equally important and pieces of a greater puzzle.
Who are some of your clients?
Ford, Opel, Burn, Nestle, Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, Ministry of Justice Republic of Croatia, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek, Croatian Mediation association, Fashion Incubator etc.
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
I am always looking for new challenges, so I think the next step is abroad!
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
My latest project is Samopev packaging which won the bronze A'design award and I am currently developing more packaging designs for other products in the Samopev series, which is exciting.
How can people contact you?
The contact information is provided on my website http://www.majamatas.com. People can contact me either via e-mail, phone or social media.

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