Ontwerperinterview
18 vragen
I received my license in product development from the Antwerp institute of Architecture and Design,Belgium,and pursued subsequent design training in California at Azusa Pacific University.
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 received my license in product development from the Antwerp institute of Architecture and Design,Belgium,and pursued subsequent design training in California at Azusa Pacific University.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
We design on an exclusive base for several Chinese and Hong Kong companies. We mostly design outdoor furniture and lighting, both for indoor and outdoor.
What is "design" for you?
Design is all about atmosphere and feelings. Good design will never let you down, it will help you get the job done and will cheer you up when you’re depressed.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
My preference goes out to outdoor furniture.
What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
Foamzoo, a very clever and simple concept for kids furniture. It comes flat in a box and can be assembled without any screws or tools.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
Indoor lighting.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
It must be a combination of materials: aluminium, teak wood, etc
When do you feel the most creative?
Hard to say, but traveling and experiences certainly stimulate my creativity!
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
Most important aspects must be functionality, comfort, production ease and cost and finally esthetics and recyclability!
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
designing products is a journey that often leads to joy
What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
If the product is well designed and the end customer enjoys the product, it can be very satisfying.
What makes a design successful?
If it looks great, it makes people feel better, if it is priced reasonably and if it is in harmony with nature.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
Is it useful and is it needed.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Design will become more and more important in the future.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
We live in a very visual world in which we are constantly confronted with colours and shapes. Inspiration comes from everything in everyday life. People you meet, things you see, simply everything. As a designer I developed a certain way of looking at things and how to deal with these images in terms of creativity. It’s hard to explain but sometimes ideas or shapes pop up in your mind. It feels like a sort of database of images or thoughts that is consulted unconsciously when needed. It’s a sort of hard disk that constantly needs to be filled with fresh images so it’s important to have a hungry eye at all times
What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
PATIENCE!
Can you talk a little about your design process?
What always fascinated me is the element of coincidence that often occurs during the design process. Some of the most interesting solutions are the result of pure coincidence, or so it seems. I tend to think of this so-called coincidence as being a critical part of the design pro-cess. A series of decisions lead you to that coincidence and therefore I believe that this factor is a consequence of a subconscious thinking process. The difficult part is to allow this factor to (partly) control your thinking process.
A purely methodological way of designing excludes any ‘out of the ordinary’ thinking. It urges you to control every single aspect of the design process, which, in my opinion, is simply impossible because creativity is involved.”
What is your "golden rule" in design?
Love what you do!
