Francesco Dolce

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Francesco Dolce ("FD") 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?

FD : Since childhood, I have always been surrounded by art. I grew up in my grandfather's uncle house, he had been a well-known Neapolitan art critic who was contemporary with artists such as De Chirico and Picasso. His house was literally filled with pieces of art. Paintings and sculptures of the last century marked my daily life during my childhood. Despite all these stimuli, I would never have thought of starting an artistic career.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

FD : I moved with my father in northern Italy during my adolescence and the search for a new apartment together with the architectural renovations have ignited in me a passion for architecture and design.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

FD : I was not forced to become a designer, rather the opposite. I had to fight to make my family digest the choice to undertake architectural studies.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

FD : I design whatever comes to my mind, I prefer to design functional objects. My wish is to design more.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

FD : I'm not a design legend, maybe one day I'll be. If I had to give advice to younger designers, I would suggest them to master any design software they like.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

FD : The great designer is the one who spends a lot of time on finetuning the details.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

FD : A good design is a useful and functional design made for people and their daily life, simplifying it and adding aesthetic features to every single object.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

FD : The value of a good design wants to convey meaning in the society that surrounds it.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

FD : There are many ideas that come to my mind all the time. Every time I have to face a new project I see the challenge of delivering something that has to stand out from the context with a new interpretation.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

FD : My dream project is something related to urban mobility but i still need time to visualize it and put it on paper.

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

FD : Perfectionism is the key ingredient.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

FD : there are so many great design masters that is difficult to identify the one who is responsible for my inspiration. Every time I face a new project there is a new legend to get inspired from.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

FD : Anything that is well designed, that has stood the test of time, were easily adopted by a vast majority of the population, and, as objects are so user-friendly that they disappear into daily routine is a good design and an inspiration for me. This could be anything from a the smallest, but highly functional paperclip to the widespread and highly connective Amazon products.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

FD : My greatest design has not been done yet. The path to get to it is still long.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

FD : Everyone is different and should follow anything that helps them in improving their sensitivity. Traveling, for instance, is a good activity that anybody should experience. Music is a great mean to convey emotions. Passionate study is also a must.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

FD : this is really hard to say but I think i would have studied something related to computer science or machanical engineering.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

FD : Design for me is culture; it is problem solving; it is being able to make a change to how people experience the world. It is not merely creating objects that look good, but it is to fill the gap between purposeless design and everyday use technology to give the consumers the best possible experience.

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

FD : Family played a big role in this. Once I started my production they realized this could be my future and supported me a lot.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

FD : Born in a country where art and design is not just a profession but a part of the culture, I have always been inspired to be a designer, from a very young age. At first, my interests led me to pursue architecture at Politecnico di Milano first and then at Universidad di Belgrano. Later, being inspired from the design society around me, combined with my interests in attention to details, I moved on to designing products that are highly functional and aesthetic.

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

FD : For now, my plans for the future are realizing the winning design- Luna Smart Lamp with potential stakeholders and setting it up for production. Also, we plan on promoting Luna through trade fairs and exhibitions. This would happen parallel to the addition of more products to our existing product line.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

FD : As designers, we have a responsibility to work - working through the design process to achieving success ; responsibility to people - solving actual problems to ease their life ; and responsibility to future - creating solutions that are sustainable and yet up to date in terms of design and technology.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

FD : Right now, my company and I are in full swing to launch Luna Smart Lamp via a crowdfunding campaing on Indiegogo. Can't wait!

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

FD : Design is a fast evolving field. The importance that design and designers have today is very significant. They are active players in shaping a better future. I think we are moving fast in terms of building technologies and systems that make our lives easier and there is design involved in each step of this. Without design, without a designer, the human factor would be missing. So, I feel design has a very bright future and is an inevitable process that is related to our lives.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

FD : You can’t clearly define a time period for any project as it is a constant process. But, for an idea to be realized into a first viable form to be used for user testing, it can take upto a year from my experience.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

FD : My design process starts with empathizing with the consumers to define the problem, followed by ideation stage where I brainstorm along with my team on possible solutions. The next step is prototyping the selected ideas to be used for user testing. Once we gather the feedback from user testings, we iterate our ideas further to best match our client needs. This goes on in a loop until we reach the most prefered solution.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

FD : I follow the KISS principle - Keep it Simple Silly.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

FD : My company, Woodie Milano, is a pioneer in combining design with cutting edge technology since 2015. We followed the same principle also in the creation of Luna Smart Lamp. Since wireless charging and voice assistants are becoming more and more popular and adapted worldwide, Luna is a future-proof product.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

FD : As softwares I use Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, Keyshot, Cinema 4D for rendering and Photoshop for post production. I also believe the most results are achieved when you “make your hands dirty”. I experiment on different media for prototyping based on the project, but for quick prototyping I use a 3D printer. Inspirations are drawn from multiple sources- maybe it’s something Italian, maybe it's something I saw during travel or the books I have read.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

FD : As I stated before, my culture and my habitat has always had an impact on me from a very young age. There is definitely an influence on my design thinking. I think the best part of that is the constant drive for perfection. We are Italians and we are skilled at what we do. I think this also becomes a weakness as we are in constant need for perfection and sometimes this can cost us time.

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

FD : I consider good communication skills, leadership, teamwork and staying up-to-date as the most necessary skills for any designer.