Gaby el Ashkar

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Gaby el Ashkar ("GEA") 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?

GEA : I am a multilingual, multidisciplinary visual artist and an Interior Architect with a degree in Interior Architecture and decorative Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture, Lebanese University. I have over two decades of multidisciplinary professional experience spanning Interior and architectural design, visual arts, concept design, and 3D visualization.

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

GEA : It’s this need to explore and create, to sit down with a blank piece of paper, and a few pencil strokes later, a new concept sees the light, with description, character, and a name.

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

GEA : It was the natural expansion to my already existing artist facet; a more “framed” creativity.

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

GEA : It’s not about one design genre or type. If I’m designing on my own initiative and not for clients, I usually tackle what I question or what I’d like to explore more. If I had the choice, spaces aside, I’d do more car/industrial design.

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

GEA : I’m not very comfortable with that word, to be honest. I have a lot to achieve and a lot of innovations to compile over the next decades before feeling more at ease with such terms. That said, I can answer what they should do to progress and evolve. To that, I’d say be curious about other disciplines and skills, even if not directly involved within them. The skills and perception of both the world and their craft they can gain from these parallel disciplines can elevate their game and give them an edge in our field.

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

GEA : Persistence.

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

GEA : If it answers the questions I had on that first pencil stroke, and If I don’t have any questions when I revisit it.

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

GEA : Good designs are markers for society’s advancements, signatures of some sort, and platforms that transition from one period to another. Good design / Art is how we understand previous eras and how we define the next ones.

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

GEA : I would design self-sustaining compact residential units/clusters, built as monuments rather than shelters, for cities to help eradicate the increasing levels of homelessness.

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

GEA : I’m always dreaming, and I never have enough time.

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

GEA : A pinch of curiosity and a hint of persistence, bring to a boil, then simmer.

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

GEA : For me, it’s more about specific designs from diverse designers that inspire change and answer pending questions.

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

GEA : Designs that I find myself neither second-guessing the intention nor the development behind them, regardless of fame, name, or pedigree.

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

GEA : It’s always the one I’m currently working on.

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

GEA : Never believe what you know is enough.

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

GEA : I would have doubled down on my artist facet.

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

GEA : It is the art of imagining an alternative reality and inviting others to believe it as it becomes part of their own perception, thus turning “real”.

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

GEA : Weirdly enough, it was everyone that hinted I couldn’t do it, as much as it was everyone that believed I could.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

GEA : Believing I could become better and finding satisfaction in that journey.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

GEA : To be honest, most of the little wins were taken against all odds. And the list is too long to be divulged. What matters is that all hurdles were overcome.

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

GEA : Embedded with intention.

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

GEA : More dreaming. More doing.

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

GEA : To be part of the momentum pushing for positive change.

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

GEA : Not to compromise.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

GEA : It inspires it and reshapes it by conviction.

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

GEA : Art Wise: a series of life-size sculptures is in progress addressing the different states of defense mechanisms against adversity. Design wise: a series of lighting elements should see the light soon (no pun).

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

GEA : Private residential projects and the interactions with every dweller as they identify with their dedicated space and instantly adopt it as home.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

GEA : Less compromising on bold and genuine design for the benefit of benefits.

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

GEA : The design field is continuously evolving as it mirrors the tendencies and needs of an ever-changing society. The future of the field will closely follow the pragmatism and extravaganza of the society it interacts with. As long as designers are the ones designing, both the field and its society will bloom organically.

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

GEA : Every project is different, and every design genre is different. The time a project needs is the time I answer my own questions and make my case to showcase my answers in the best way possible.

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

GEA : Research, caffeine, sketchbook, and a 2B pencil. In that order.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

GEA : Imagine. Create. Believe.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

GEA : Designs set the trends, and trends set design frequency.

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

GEA : I limit the intervention of technology in the early stages, for I need my designs to be a reflection of my reflection. In the visualization and design drawings stage, I use all the technology I have access to communicate my design in the most complete and comprehensive of ways.

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

GEA : A mirrorless camera, an ultrawide monitor, a graphic tablet, a 3d printer, and a computer running AutoCAD, 3dsmax, V-ray, Adobe Creative Suite, MS Office, Rebelle, and a handful of experimental software to discover and widen the array of creative tools.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

GEA : They are integral building blocks of the finished work, as letters are to words.

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

GEA : The intention behind it.

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

GEA : I need to read about how it came to be.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

GEA : One that is well-versed in what I lack, knowledge-wise. Co-design can be fruitful and efficient if the partners are compatible and complementary, and it can be limiting when they are not. I have experienced both scenarios.

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

GEA : Everyone with significantly more experience than me, that at one moment or the other along the timeline of my design journey, stopped and shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse and wisdom.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

GEA : Less design books, and more books addressing psychology and the human condition in general.

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

GEA : I’m ever-learning and curious by nature, and I like to push myself to explore every aspect of this field, as well as related fields, and enjoy harnessing this cross-disciplinary experience. I’m never satisfied with just what is required.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

GEA : The alternate versions of “Me” that might had made different choices at past checkpoints on my timeline, and had branched out to other paths.

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

GEA : I wouldn’t say I’m famous, and fame is not something I seek. However, I would like for my work whether in design or art to be known and valued. I aim for the intention and reflection I put into my work to be recognized and not necessarily the face behind it.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

GEA : Black, my corner in my favorite coffee shop, pain-perdu, autumn, clay, and “inkrypted”.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

GEA : More than 2 decades of professional experience later, I’ve had memorable moments with collaborators and clients alike. If I want to mention one instance, I’d tell you about when clients insisted we create a duplicate of their reception space, only for it to be Christmas-themed with fixed built-in lights and decorations they’d for use instead of their main reception only during December and to lock for the rest of the year. They just didn’t want to bother with decorating & dismantling once every year. The room was dubbed “Lapland”.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

GEA : Any sunset that sees the design maturing and evolving more than it had been at sunrise is a good day.

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

GEA : The curiosity was always there, and so was the tendency to fix and upgrade all that was broken. However, art was the frontrunner in that child’s imagination.

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

GEA : One can hope the world will be a better place and this species will be more considerate and more mature; that’s hope and not a prediction. Any person, entity, or analysis that claims otherwise is delusional. One can only hope.

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

GEA : I will communicate all I want to say through my creations, as an artist and as a designer. I’m more fluent that way.