ALAN SAGA
LEGENDARY INTERVIEW
Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Alan Saga ("AS") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.
DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?
AS : From college I liked my designs express a pure idea, a social critique and a cultural environment through the function of my products.
DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?
AS : Both positive and negative socio-cultural concepts is an opportunity to express and explore my emotions and ideology through the design of objects.
DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?
AS : From my childhood and youth design has been part of my life so I chose to be a designer.
DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?
AS : I like to design within the category of art object, however I am open to any possibility, different products and unexpected.
DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?
AS : Dedication, continuous work and believe in himself.
DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?
AS : A great designer seeks to create pieces that transcend, with a high degree of originality and conceptual content.
DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?
AS : Good design should be well-founded, owning an original concept, value as an object of art and of course functionality.
DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?
AS : A good design has the power to improve the experience of everyday life, creating an opportunity to generate new links between a product / company and the end user.
DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?
AS : I like to design for companies committed to the social and cultural wellbeing of people. And I would focus on products that create awareness among people, but without losing the goal of achieving a pleasant experience owning the object.
DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?
AS : I'd like to devote time to responsible design, through biology and cell theory.
DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?
AS : Capture or convey my conceptual ideology of an effective and concrete way in my designs based on socio-cultural issues, reflecting both positive and negative aspects creating awareness among people. Transcendent objects.
DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?
AS : Gaston Bonaudi
DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?
AS : Only Right Here is my best design that perfectly reflects very important to me, that is the awakening of consciousness international humanist subject.
DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?
AS : Never stop learning and exploring different aspects of the design.
DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?
AS : I had dedicated to genetics or a career related to biology, but it is something I still want to do in the future.
DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?
AS : Is the act of creating something tangible or intangible, taking into account the physical and / or psychological needs of people, with the aim of developing new experiences.
DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?
AS : My family, friends, teachers and especially viewers who appreciate my work, are 50% of my work.
DL: What helped you to become a great designer?
AS : The time I spend to explore and design. Also experience by working in different categories with other artists and designers.
DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?
AS : Liquidity or funding to develop new projects.
DL: How do you think designers should present their work?
AS : Engage customer / viewer with a backstory, therefore it is very important to have a well-founded concept and easy to understand.
DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?
AS : Developing a line of products inspired by cultural icons that reflect the social situation in which we live.
DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?
AS : Create series of concepts that critically reflect human values.
DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?
AS : My designs are focused for art lovers and people designer products.
DL: How does design help create a better society?
AS : By designing you can reflect both positive and negative aspects of our society, you can also help an awakening of collective consciousness.
DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?
AS : I was selected for an artistic residence in India, where I am developing a series of 20 products, which I am exploring new materials and manufacturing styles, as well as entieniendo how fascinating it is to merge two cultures.
DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?
AS : Only Right Here is the project that has given me more satisfaction so far by the response from the public, cultural organizations and the media. This design helped me to have the opportunity to learn about the different reactions and the way of thinking of the spectators, as well as its national and international spread.
DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?
AS : I wish the products focus beyond aesthetics and function, making interact and reflect the people to see industrial design from a necessary perspective in our daily lives.
DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?
AS : In the biodesign and in different fields of science.
DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?
AS : Usually 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the category and product complexity.
DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?
AS : I like to start with the conceptualization based on a preliminary investigation of the factors influencing the needs of the design project.
DL: What is your life motto as a designer?
AS : The most important thing is to have a well structured and defined concept.
DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?
AS : The best designs create new trends, however there is also a chance to explore existing trends, and innovate.
DL: What is the role of technology when you design?
AS : It's very important both in the design and production, technology streamlines both time and cost the process.
DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?
AS : I use Rhinoceros, 3ds Max and Solidworks to design, silicone molds, CNC machines and 3D printing.
DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?
AS : It's a key to amplify the concepts and emotions that consumers can generate part.
DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?
AS : The source of inspiration for my designs, as well as how it will influence people.
DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?
AS : Understand all the steps had to solve to reach that result. As well as the degree of conceptual content that brings.
DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?
AS : Someone who has the same passion for design and their main skills are different from mine to create a complement, resulting in stronger and influential products.
DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?
AS : Designers who have a cultural approach philosophy as well as social criticism. But I admire any designer who has a very clear idea and the way it manages to translate it into their designs.
DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?
AS : Donald Norman's books.
DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?
AS : Developing products of different categories and investing as much time as possible to do what I like.
DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?
AS : I feel lucky and grateful to receive platinum A Design Award, as I encouraged to continue to mature in my concepts. Also comes great responsibility to be recognized with these awards, because it forces you or not lower line quality and content of new designs.
DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?
AS : My favorites are dark colors, I like Italy, the winter season and Braun is my favorite brand.
DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?
AS : I constantly motivated to observe all kinds of situations that may arise during a new day, and how it could take as a reference or integrate my projects.
DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?
AS : Since my childhood I liked to draw without specific references and had great fascination with toys like Lego, Betterware catalogs. Later, as I grew older I realized that everything I liked had a lot of well-rounded design, regardless of the product category or topic.
DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?
AS : I believe that global ideologies have a natural collapse, so we automatically will be forced to find new ways to live in balance with the planet. These changes will be so trascentales in humanity, that all fields of life, such as medicine, technological developments, etc, will open a wide field of possibilities in the field of design as it will be vital to survive as a civilization.
DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?
AS : You always have to have the humility to hear from anyone take the initiative to learn new things and eliminate the ego because it is the worst enemy of creativity.
