Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Roberto and Fabiana ("RAF") 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.
RAF : Fabiana and I are both graduated in architecture and Urbanism with Master degrees from the University of Italy and Argentina.
RAF : We decided to become designers for the love of curiosity and to explore the limits of our ideas in the practical and tangible scale of the object design industry.
RAF : It was always a personal choice, maybe supported by our frustration when we looked around for modern good quality products for our architectural projects here in Kenya and we couldn’t find anything at a reasonable price.
RAF : We specially like to work on light and household products
RAF : Just do it, again and again until you find yourself in your design
RAF : A great designer tends to break any established boundary by pushing the limits of production techniques and technology.
RAF : We all live in a narcissist society so the first aspect we all analyses is the aesthetic quality of an object. The shape of a product can attract you in many different ways, from pleasure to disgust or curiosity and it immediately establish with the consumer an emotional link. The analysis on the functionality of the product come immediately after or even before according to Fabiana, as we believe that even the nicest object without even the simplest functionality is utterly useless. Otherwise, after our experience as volunteers for some community projects in Kenya we also recognize the importance of the positive impact that a product can have in every community.
RAF : Good design is timeless, therefore it always retain a value, either emotional or economical.
RAF : We always dream to design for brands like Artemide or Flos or to some extent Ikea
RAF : A big light installation for a contemporary space made of natural materials coupled with advanced lighting technologies.
RAF : Humbleness, curiosity and perseverance
RAF : Any of the Italian design masters of the sixties and seventies.
RAF : Icons like Parentesi or Arco the lamps designed by Achille Castiglioni or Eclisse by Vico Magistretti among many other.
RAF : Keep researching, travel a lot and build your network with other professionals from different disciplines.
RAF : We started as Architects so if it wouldn’t have been for our curiosity which supported our attempt to be designers, we clearly would have kept working in the architectural field. Otherwise I (Roberto) would have pursued my dream to be a famous musician.
RAF : To design is to answer to a necessity with a functional and aesthetically elegant solution
RAF : The organizers at Afrika Handmade Gallery gave us a huge boost of confidence and our friends and relatives always supported us
RAF : The administration of our Company and the business side of our work has been and still are two of the biggest obstacle in our career.
RAF : It always depend on the context, the type of product and the results you want to achieve
RAF : Our responsibilities are enormous, as the creators of products used by the masses we have the chance to show how to live a comfortable and pleasant life using object that have a minimal impact on the environment in a cradle to cradle production setup and which can possibly enhance the quality of life of the community
RAF : we are facing a major environmental and economic crisis and part of the problem is to be found in the mechanisms of mass production, if we want to increase our chances to survive we have to re-think our approach to industrial manufacturing, for example by using materials directly harvested from nature and by following a "producing on demand" philosophy
RAF : Time varies depending on the emotional attachment to that particular design
RAF : Our design process usually start with a conversation during a meal, with one of us rushing to look for a piece of paper and a pen, then follow a drawing, after that a small scale model to understand feasibility and then boom... the sky is the limit!
RAF : Just do it, again and again until you find yourself in your design
RAF : Powerful iconic designs always sets the trends, all the others just follow it.
RAF : Technology is playing a marginal role in our latest design; the only industrialized components are the electrical fittings. Our designs though are still evolving to integrate more hi-tech and sophisticated components.
RAF : Hands, pencils and paper for the concept sketches and working drawings. Simple handmade techniques and materials are at the core of our production line.
RAF : Textures, colours and emotional values are all enhancing the experience of the customer.
RAF : Most of the time we try to imagine the manufacturing process behind it’s realization
RAF : We are open minded and we believe that the future is in the collaboration of many disciplines and expertise.
RAF : Most of the Italian design masters of the sixties and seventies. Leonardo Da Vinci if I really could travel in the past.
RAF : Honestly this is our first awards and we’re still speechless but it doesn’t seem hard at all.
RAF : The joy of our son when we gave him is Giraffe Chair which we specially designed for him. Our surprised faces when we received the invitation to exhibit our products at the Afrika Handmade Gallery The shock when we realized that we won the Silver medal in the A’Award competition
RAF : Frankly we would have never imagined it
RAF : We will probably become extinct or we will have colonized other planets, meanwhile on Earth Nature will repossess its own spaces
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