Daniel da Hora

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Daniel da Hora ("DDH") 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?

DDH : I’ve came from an artists’ family, so the visual background was always part of my experiences. Finding the Graphic Design university was quite a natural move for me.

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

DDH : I have more than 25 years of experience in the industry. I was a founder and an active creative (Design and Art Director) for two companies - one from 1997 to 2005 and other from 2010 to 2021. Nowadays I’m an independent designer, working on projects that I can carefully select and that make sense for me, as a creative and if they have something new and good to deliver, and also a Professor / Resaercher at the Visual Arts and creativity fields for a federal. university in Brazil.

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

DDH : I love printing and posters, but also brand identities as well as editorial design. In the odder hand, I’ve always been really close to digital technologies, and that made me feel really comfortable to play with digital and mobile design projects.

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

DDH : Always be passionate about researching, evaluating and seeking for new. Also, a profound knowledge about arts, creativity, aesthetics a help solve problems in a faster, better way.

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

DDH : The very possibility of being the solution for a problem, specially if it considers both company / brand and users. Also, we have to think about the market and all the possibilities the brand or the product has to deal with. Considering all of those aspects can make a design successful.

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

DDH : During my career I’ve honored with som many prizes, but the most joyful works come from those which can have a real impact on sensitive themes. A very new and awarded project was for a Brazilian NGO for cats / kittens adoption. During pandemic and right after that, the number of abandoned animals on streets in Brazil increased dramatically. But, specially cats, that suffered with fake news about transmitting covid-19 to humans. Because Adote Um Gatinho is an ngo that works with abandoned cats and their way to a new home, we saw an opportunity to increase awareness and also address an important message.

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

DDH : Certainly, I’d to be a full time visual artist.

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

DDH : Design is the alchemy of transforming the mundane into the magnificent, a symphony of form and function where aesthetics and utility embrace in a harmonious dance. It is the thoughtful response to a need, a silent dialogue between creator and user, where each curve, line, and texture is a whisper of consideration. Design is a deliberate act of empathy, an understanding that materials are not mere substances, but the very skin of our ideas, bearing the weight of environmental and social impacts. In its essence, design is the art of crafting experiences, a philosophical quest to balance the tangible with the intangible, sculpting the world not just as it is, but as it could be - a reflection of our highest aspirations, desires, and dreams.

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

DDH : During all my career I’ve had full support of my wife and partner.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

DDH : Working with design takes a lifelong commitment, and a sense of responsibility on what’s about changing the world. It’s a search for the new, fulfilled with dreams and beauty. I’m a person that is very into all those things.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

DDH : I’m passionate for craft and how we can make things with virtuosity. The care with details and lil the aesthetics aspects is something that I really look for.

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

DDH : I have a commitment on solving problems, in a creative way. That’s what people should always pay attention about my designs.

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

DDH : I always make my “homework”, trying to understand the brand / client’s background, as well as knowing the audience in a deep way.

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

DDH : Technology and Design are two unbreakable things. They work and live together. I consider myself an early adopter and a technology lover.

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

DDH : As a designer, the tools provided by Apple and Adobe are a must have, for sure. But also, the handmade work, with paper, glue, scissors and pen and pencils is something I don’t let go of my process.

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

DDH : Because I was very close to my grandparent - one of the most important Brazilian artists ever, seeking for anew, creative and innovative solution, where the visual was the king, shaped my vision about working with design.

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

DDH : Awards and recognition are a consequence of good, committed and hard work. I feel very comfortable and honored with all of those things. But I also always try to share and divide the knowledge I acquire with all my awareded projects.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

DDH : As a graphic Designer that I am, when I had to write a book for my Primary School myself because of our aplphabetical learning, I was really into the book “design” - illustration, the size of letters, the caligraphy, etc. I can clearly remember it until. Now.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

DDH : The future will be shaped by design, in all aspects of life. Everything will be mediated and a good, responsive, interactive and precise design will always be a necessity.

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

DDH : I am a hard user of social network, specially instagram (@danieldahora); but I can work very well by e-mail too: danieldahora@me.com