Giuliano Ricciardi

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Giuliano Ricciardi ("GR") 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?

GR : My approach to design was born during a practicing in the carpentry workshop of Gioacchino Salvago. After 4 years of apprenticeship, I started working in an architectural firm, Kino Workshop where I learned the first notions of technical drawing and interior design. I finished my journey with university studies, during which I integrated and consolidated the concepts learned from previous experiences

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

GR : I have always felt the need to express myself and, growing up, I found 2 excellent means to do it: photography and design

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

GR : it was an autonomous choice

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

GR : my design is mainly focused on furniture, even though I'm also involved in product design.

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

GR : they must look beyond the schemes, experiment with their ideas even if they appear bizarre, because everything that is new and unusual appears bizarre in the eyes of the observers. they must trust their instincts, filtering the opinions of critics

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

GR : Comparing it with music, a good designer is like an academic musician. He knows how to reproduce forms and ideas as the pianist knows how to reproduce the music of a score, but a great designer stands out for his creative talent, he is able to amaze with his lines like a composer with his musical notes.

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

GR : a good design contains the essential in itself, rejecting all that is superfluous.

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

GR : the design has two components in it: an artistic and a functional one. Good design enriches with its presence, but beauty alone would only be a decoration and for this reason its functional component is indispensable

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

GR : I would like to design a chair, a chaise longue to be precise

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

GR : I'd like to design a modular home

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

GR : my recipe is: the right sensitivity, a good dose of foresight, a lot of passion and an unusual point of view. My big secret? perseverance

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

GR : Franco Albini, Carlo Mollino, A. & P. Castiglioni, Charles Eames.

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

GR : The choice is very wide, the first designs that come to mind are: Cavour Desk (Carlo Mollino, 1949), a piece of the future designed in the past. TS522 Radio Brionvega (Zanuso-Sapper, 1962), due to its minimal shape with soft edges Veliero Bookshelf (Franco Albini, 1940), an extremely technological object for the period in which it was designed

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

GR : Lounge Chair and Ottoman (Charles Eames), for the perfect mix of elegance, technique and comfort that has made it an icon

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

GR : It is absolutely necessary to be curious, because curiosity leads to research. The experience in carpentry has enriched my knowledge of wood, when I had the Goccia prototypes built, I followed all the processing steps. Practice is essential. It is also important to learn to observe the world around us because in reality it is the "world" that tells us what it needs.

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

GR : Perhaps the carpenter or maybe the photographer

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

GR : Design is awareness: being aware of the present and imagining a future.

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

GR : there are many people I met and who supported me along my educational and professional path. Surely my family and my friends are in first place for moral support, but, from a professional point of view, anyone who has believed in my abilities is a great supporter of mine. Then there is Mauro, an important friend, a person who helped me during a very difficult period of my life when I lost faith in my professional skills. For the rest I owe much to myself, to my stubbornness.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

GR : The desire to express myself through something useful

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

GR : The first difficulty was to move from the carpentry workshop to the architecture studio. The second was to leave a good job to begin university studies. After university the difficulties have increased. I didn't have a rich portfolio, finding the first customers wasn't easy. Not gaining enough it was difficult to make prototypes of my concepts, so they often remained on paper.

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

GR : The presentation techniques are different and everyone chooses the one with which he can best express himself. I prefer to tell the story of each design starting from the sketch and concluding with a good render.

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

GR : I have recently completed the realization of the furnishings for a client in Berlin. For some days I have been devoting myself to the design of furnishings for an important private client in my city. As on other occasions, I will choose the most interesting designs to include them in my catalog. Meanwhile I follow the realization of a fiberglass table lamp designed for an Italian company.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

GR : in the past it was the designer the guru. He dictated the trends, he decided the forms, and not only, of the lives of consumers. The Human Centered Design approach places the community at the center of the role of guru and therefore today it is society that "confides" to us what needs must be met. I believe this is the best contribution that design can make.

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

GR : right now there are two projects from which I am particularly captured: a fiberglass lamp, commissioned by a company belonging to a sector far removed from design, which is setting up a new brand. it is the first of 4 concepts. I am the first designer the company has selected. The unique furnishings for a notary's apartment in my city. It is a very interesting and very demanding job. He explicitly asked for my stylistic imprint and this excited me a lot.

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

GR : Goccia, because it succeeds in enchanting anyone who observes it. Chiglia, because it is the first design object I designed.

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

GR : on the one hand, design, like fashion and art in general, lives on trends. it is a constant look back with the eyes to the future. on the other hand, the continuous mixing of cultures (whatever the reason, from globalization, to migration) is a large form of input. More and more often we come into contact with objects belonging to different cultures, the result of craft traditions from other places. What changes is the technological contribution. The technology is constantly evolving; technology has reduced the size of bulky objects, improved performance, etc. Over time we will have more and more technological objects derived from a mix of different cultures.

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

GR : From 2 to 4 weeks, but it depends on the complexity of the project and the creative vein of the moment.

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

GR : The first step is to draw up a requirement analysis to define the characteristics of the object for which I must take care of the design. The second step is the comparison with the same type of object already present on the market. The third step is the sketch and so on the other steps

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

GR : If it already exists, you haven't invented anything, but nobody can stop you from making the difference by leaving an imprint

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

GR : I firmly believe that it is the trend that influences design very often, that fashion defines moodboards, but it is definitely a winning design that sets trends

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

GR : Technology is my right arm. 3D modeling, rendering, 3D printing, etc. are everyday bread. it accompanies me throughout the development of a project.

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

GR : AutoCad 2020, ArchiCad, Rhinocheros 5.0, Cinema 4D+VRay, Adobe CS (Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator).

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

GR : Color generates visual emotions, materials stimulate touch and smell, the environment is the cradle that will host these emotions

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

GR : Style, personality, aesthetics, functionality ... my imprint

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

GR : WoW, why didn't I invent it? i'm joking ... the first thing that comes to mind is: "luckily I have time to improve"

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

GR : My ideal partner has an open mind and he is a person capable of understanding and questioning my ideas. Yes, because I believe that the comparison of ideas coming from different points of view is indispensable

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

GR : Gioacchino Salvago, the carpenter with whom I practiced, taught me simplicity. Bernardo D'Ippolito is the architect for whom I worked as a draftsman and he is the first who felt my potential. Its technical precision and rationalism have greatly influenced my design.

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

GR : I Mobili di Carlo Mollino (F. & N. Ferrari) Spoon (various authors) Il progetto della bellezza: il design fra arte e tecnica dal 1851 a oggi (M. Vitta) Storia del Design (R. De Fusco)

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

GR : With study, practice, experimentation. First reproducing, then reinterpreting and endlessly inventing furnishings

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

GR : Carlo Mollino, because we share a great passion for design and photography, but I would not despise a chat with Rietveldt because, like him, I started in a carpentry workshop

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

GR : When I received the results from the organization, I could not believe that I had obtained 1 award for each project presented. I'm very excited. "Being famous" is strange. At first I didn't feel the difference, maybe because there were so many emotions. Over time, I realized my way of approaching a project has changed. I have always been very critical and careful about my design, but now I am much more. This requires much more effort. I hope that the amount of work also increases at least as much as the commitment

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

GR : The colors are periodic, at this moment the sage green. The Sea. Orecchiette with turnip tops, a typical dish of my city. Late spring, early summer. My digital SLR. Horm

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

GR : A concept idea that comes to mind when I least expect it or the call from a customer who gives me the go-ahead to start a new project.

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

GR : Maybe yes maybe no. I was certainly a creative child. I was fascinated by music and photography, I wasn't good at drawing, but I often drew the furniture I had at home.

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

GR : The world will be more digital than material. We will have a virtual currency and with it we will buy data packages that will have the form of furniture, products, services and much more.

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

GR : If it already exists you haven’t invented anything, but no one can stop you from making the difference by leaving an impression