Carles Marquina

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Carles Marquina ("CM") 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?

CM : As industrial designers, we come from the same university - the Polytechnic University of Valencia- and the design there is taught from an engineering perspective, that also explains why we give so much importance to function in our designs. Also, the three of us have a pretty artistic background either at music, painting, photography or dancing. We even keep on working on these aspects currently.

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

CM : The thrill of creating something new while finding new ways to look at problems and paths to solve them. For us, design is the perfect blend between art and engineering.

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

CM : We choose it. Actually our families have barely nothing to do with design. We were just passionate about this field and choose to dedicate our lives to it.

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

CM : We do a design close to the user where we aim to make discernible and tangible the value of the design process behind it. We try to avoid the elitist view on design where the look is the maximum priority.

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

CM : We are just getting started! Honestly, if they perceive us already as design legends, we honestly don't know how we have accomplished this so we don't really have much to say to them apart from "believe in yourself, work hard and keep at it and you will accomplish whatever you want". Being asked this question and being able to answer it in a couple of dozens of years is what would really mean something for us!

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

CM : Regularity. Great designers are able to maintain the quality levels of their designs no matter what it is what problems they are facing.

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

CM : For us, that is the rationality reached when each attribute of the product has a functional justification that shapes its design.

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

CM : Progress and human development. Design is about solving problem, just kind of like everything else, really. ¿Who wouldn't invest on this?

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

CM : It is the second part of the questin the really important one. What to design is really less relevant if the commissioner gives you enough freedom to explore and reach the optimal solution. I (Luis) wouldn't mind to work for any space agency. I (Francesc) would like to design something for the music field, and I'm sure Carles also likes this idea.

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

CM : Our dream project is the Smallgran studio itself. For us, it will mean to make a living out of our passion surrounded with the people we love, what else can we ask for?

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

CM : We do have a recipe at our studio, literally. It consists of scrambled eggs in a baguette bread, our daily "almuerzo" -which is a meal that takes place in between breakfast and lunch at around 11 AM-.

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

CM : Bruno Munari and Mies van der Rohe are the most legendary designers we can think of that inspire us through their work. However, we also get inspired a lot by our local colleagues like "La Selva" or "La Mamba" studio!

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

CM : I (Carles) go for the Eames Lounge chair, it simply looks like comfort itself. Mamut by La Mamba or Loop by La Selva are also other great designs that explore flexibilty and adaptabilty in a very interesting manner.

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

CM : We simply can't choose. We are a very young studio and every one of our designs is hugely important for us. Our Álsol pitcher was our first produced design and also the first one to get internation recognition, so maybe that one is just a tiny bit more important than the others. What makes it great, we think, is how it combines tradition with modernity getting the best out of these two worlds.

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

CM : For us it was a game changer to learn how to manage projects in an efficient and effective way, that certainly made us better designers. We also think that in order to have a good creative brain is important not only developing it through design but through other artistic fields.

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

CM : Probably any other field in which we could also develop our creativity: music, dancing, science...

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

CM : Design for us means solving daily problems and satisfying needs from a functional perspective that guides the aesthetic outcome.

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

CM : Family, friends, at the end what matters is the support of the people you love.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

CM : We are not great designers! Yet!

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

CM : Above all, the money. If you have an economic base to help you get started I think it makes things a bit easy and in fact all the obstacles we have faced have been financially related.

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

CM : I think the best way to appreciate design is not to see it, but to use it. That makes an in person presentation the best way to present it.

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

CM : That depends on our clients! We have, however, bought a 3D printer so we will try to get the most out of it.

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

CM : Bring the design closer to the people, allowing anyone to appreciate the design in all its aspects, not just the aesthetic.

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

CM : Being a very young studio trying to make a name for ourselves, I think what our public expects is that we give our 100% in every project. We are still young and full of energy, so that is also something that guides them to think this way.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

CM : Just as any other field helps society: by constantly solving problems.

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

CM : 3d printing. We believe that is going to significantly influence the immediate future of design, so we must be a part of it.

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

CM : Practically any of what we have done so far, since many of them are of own initiative and come from ourselves.

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

CM : We would like to see more established companies helping young designers and entrepreneurs to develop their projects in an entusiastic way. It's not very common to find one that does, but the truth is that we have been lucky to find some of them and owe a lot to these kind of companies and from here we thank them for all their support.

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

CM : As I said, I believe that the immediate future of design goes through a compression, study and development of 3D printing. Further ahead, we have computational creativity and everything that comes with AI development. From that point on, we have no idea of what can happen.

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

CM : Well, it depends a lot on the project nature and also on what company we depend to carry it out and how closely we can work with them.

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

CM : Planning, I think we have a great process at Smallgran. We develop what we call project files where everything about the project must be reflected and from there we start to set organize everything.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

CM : Less is more.

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

CM : Great design is atemporal, so it has to be the trend-setter. There are, however, lots of good designs that appear because of some trends. All in all, we would say it is a symbiotic relationship between the two.

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

CM : Technology is great! It empowers us, really. We wouldn't be as great at organization and planning without computers, prototyping would take forever or cost too much if we couldn't rely on machining tools or 3D printing, etc... It is essential! That's why we try to keep us updated on every new technology that can be applied into the design process.

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

CM : Luis: We mainly use Adobe and Autodesk software, we are also very lucky to have our own workshop (originally wood working workshop from my grandfather that we are slowly expanding) in which we carry on a lot of manual work and experimentation.

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

CM : Color and ambient are important, but we certainly put materials above them. We love products that show the materials they’re made of without painting or misleading coatings, and we try to respect and celebrate the original materials of a product in every single one of our designs.

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

CM : The history behind it. People are very often captivated by the look of a design, but they rarely ask about the reasons of why it looks that way, of what defines that shape.

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

CM : It’s very hard not to think “why I didn’t come up with this earlier”. But apart from that I instantly want to learn more about the designer and also want to let everyone know how good a design that is.

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

CM : The final user, hands down. I do believe in co-design, but I think it requires a very efficient and strong leadership that I don’t think any of us has reached yet. We’re only 25!

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

CM : We are pretty young and new to this design world, so it must be our teachers. On this specific project though, we worked with some carpenters that gave us very valuable insights about the materials and shapes that definitely affected the outcome.

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

CM : It is necessary to cite some classics like: “How the objects are born” of Bruno Munari or “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman. Less design-related but also influential have been “Mindset” by Carol Dweck.

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

CM : Working and creating real projects. Failing, learning and advancing. There is no other way. It is vital to surround yourself with people who hate you to tell you how bad your design is.

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

CM : Albert Einstein, but time and space would be the matter.

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

CM : It is great to feel the love and support from all the people around you. Also very important to us is to know we’re in the right path and this awards and recognitions certainly show that. We haven’t felt any signs of fame, so there must be something wrong there.

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

CM : Luis: blue, a Mediterranean cove, falafel, summer, 3DPrinter and SpaceX Carles: green, anywhere with my friends, paella, summer, musical instruments and Barilla. Francesc: blue, Valencian terrace, potatoes, spring, music and Fender.

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

CM : Going for the first time to the Stockholm Design Fair as an exhibitor on a Designboom stand just a few months after creating the studio was pretty funny. All the other designers were thoroughly prepared with merchandising stuff, and we only had brought the products with us, so we had to work against the clock and basically develop a branding for ourselves in order to pretend we were at their level.

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

CM : For me (Luis) a creativity session is always a great way to fix my day, even if I’m sad (I actually love it when I’m sad because it allows me to explore some areas of my creativity I usually don’t). We are a small studio composed only of designers with a kind of well-thought plan consisting of several projects that each one of us manage, so seeing as the projects come together and get completed is our great motivator.

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

CM : We didn’t know that we wanted to be designers until we had to enroll on the University. So, if somebody saw it as obvious he never told me (Luis).

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

CM : I (Luis) am looking forward to IA and their ways to tackle creative challenges. I’m pretty confident this is going to happen in the next 100 years and I think that whatever comes after that is going to be unfathomable.

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

CM : We are pretty simple guys, so if we really have some fans out there we would love to hear from them. Please engage with us on social media and ask us whatever you want! We will be very pleased to know that you enjoy what we do and it’ll definitely help us to go forward!