Himanshu Shekhar Soni

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Himanshu Shekhar Soni ("HSS") 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?

HSS : I studied master in design at IIT Kanpur in India. Because of my love and passion for design, I decided to be a designer; however, I was actually on the career path to become a Mechanical engineer until one interaction my senior colleague that changed my future. I looked at him and thought to myself ‘I will never be that excited about engineering. From that moment on, all I could imagine was a monotonous gray future with an adding machine stuck to my fingertips. So I began researching on the Industrial design and I found my aspiration to be a designer.

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

HSS : we designers tend to identify ourselves with our work. It’s not only a job, it’s who we are. This feeling is an endless source of passion.if we know that our work can solve a painful problem we can be unstoppable. The precise understanding of the issue allows us to stay laser-focused. This focus can be the source of the ultimate design motivation.

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

HSS : It was actually a natural progression for me to become a designer.I love painting and beautiful thing since I was a child and when I started my engineering, I thought to utilize my art and engineer skill together and then I began researching on the Industrial design and chose the design without hesitating.

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

HSS : All kinds of works from different products categories, from the smallest products to the biggest spaces. I love challenges.

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

HSS : Get an experience, understand how the design and technical development process take place to take it from raw sketch to prototype to production and Listen to themselves and believe they capable of anything .work harder than anyone to gain the skills and always continue to raise the bar in what they do.

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

HSS : I feel Great designers don’t tend to think about consumers; they think about people and what they want and need and look at what might all change in the short, medium and long-term, by engaging with the best trends and forecasting intelligence. Unlike other crystal ball gazers they use this insight to help them understand how they could bend the future, shape it to their vision.

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

HSS : Good design or really good design, it’s like delicious food that cooked with the proper proportion of essential ingredients, updating both qualitative and quantitative variable to achieve perfect taste. Similar in design just the right thing for a particular situation be it an intuitive use, user aspects, an awe-inspiring form, a memorable experience, color combination, a flexible solution, etc. and out of all most essential ingredient to consider contextual design aspects in product design.

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

HSS : Good design is about adding value through incremental or radical improvement and innovation. Investment in good design generates economic and social value improve the standard of living in order to take steps towards a better future.

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

HSS : Working with beautiful materials, attention to details, user aspect and showcasing a craft is what secret ingredient of my designs and It’s the combination of all these qualities that spark an emotion.

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

HSS : I always get inspired by Philips Starck and Stefano Giovannoni’s work.

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

HSS : Stefano Giovannoni’s magic bunny, cico egg cup, and Philippe Starck Juicy Salif and I like them their expressive designs skilfully play with the symbols and metaphors of the sub-conscious and their narrative qualities are fascinating.

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

HSS : Have not designed it yet.

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

HSS : Always be willing to learn and explore new thing and accept new challenges. Be curious and approach situations and problems from an open, childlike, mind unconfined by rigidity or preconceived notions.

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

HSS : engineer or artist

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

HSS : The design is the intentional and constant process of identifying the opportunities for innovation and evaluation.for me it's all about problem-solving for the user in context.

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

HSS : my ultimate goal as a designer to create a meaningful design and add value. The product has to be visually inventive so that the user is intrigued to try it and then discovers the meaning in its form. But the best experience is when the user discovers the unexpected- something that challenged him/her, during its use. These discoveries, are what the user wants to share with others which in turn makes the product meaningful.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

HSS : The design stage is critical from the point of view of social responsibility. Design decisions impact production processes and often the content of the industrial waste. Effective design strategies anticipate growing environmental concerns and responsibilities, sustainable design to eliminate or minimize the negative environmental impact.

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

HSS : The emerging trend that will be evolving the design field overall in the coming years. the societal and environmental changes our planet is experiencing will require new design solutions that must be cost-effective, localized and user-centric.

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

HSS : Design field heading next within the technology sector, an industry-wide shift to cloud, social and mobile services is democratizing access and lowering barriers to entry. The good news is that these trends – seemingly intractable challenges coupled with new and innovative solutions that can come from anywhere – are converging, creating the perfect opportunity for designers to focus their considerable expertise on solutions for a better future with impact design.

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

HSS : when I see a new great idea design or product the first thing comes to my mind is "Why didn't I think of that?"

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

HSS : I would like to meet Nicola Tesla, Michelangelo and Picasso

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

HSS : feedback from client and identifying or solving any problem makes my day great, this is what Extend my thinking and revolve my thinking more closely and keep me motivated.

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

HSS : during my childhood, I had many different careers path ...