Artpeckers

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Artpeckers ("Artpeckers") 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?

Artpeckers : Artpeckers team consists of Kimon Gkologkinas, a civil engineer, Elli Gkologkina & Dimitris Sergentakis, architects and Iro Simaioforidou, a photography lover. Our various backgrounds have been combined, under the same taste, on designing unique creations. Elli & Dimitris graduated School of Architecture of Technical University of Crete and during their studies they were involved in various projects of different scales. Their love for design and especially furniture and small scale objects led them to participate to international competitions and win a silver and a gold prize. Kimon graduated Civil Engineer Department of Aristotle University and his interest for small scale constructions and his participation to various workshops reinforced his knowledge in construction. Meanwhile, Iro beside her studies in Law, followed her instinctual way to express herself through photography, by taking courses to specialized workshops. Each of us has his/her own scope and style but as a team we see our final result as a multi-factor procedure, where design should serve a need, propose a new technical issue meeting aesthetic standards and be presented under a certain concept.

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

Artpeckers : I love to create new worlds, new concepts. I feel like a child every moment i try to "structure" a model, figure, symbol, by using geometrical shapes.(Elli)

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

Artpeckers : As a team we design bags and jewels.

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

Artpeckers : Based on its functionality and aesthetics.

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

Artpeckers : From my point of view, thinking out the box on what you design and what can you offer more through your proposal is always motivating to improve our work. Moreover, we live in a high developing time and people who get involved in design, should definitely expand their knowledge and have an interdisciplinary approach on their designs so they can predict and manage any issue.

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

Artpeckers : Design is a tool to express an idea and deliver it from its formless state to shape.

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

Artpeckers : It depends on the difficulties we will meet during its realization. We usaully work on collections,so it usually takes five to six months to develop an idea to real form. But there are some projects that need fewer or longer time depending on the complexity and the concept.

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

Artpeckers : From the concept that will inspire it.

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

Artpeckers : We make an investigation for materials and colors. The most interesting part during design process is that through our patterns, we create a story that the user can share it.

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

Artpeckers : We work together as a team, so I couldn't believe more in co-designing. Of course some ideas and styles are coming from one person but the development of an idea or the realization is always better to be a result of cooperation. In our team, each of us contributes to the process in a different way. On the one hand, each member deals with his/her specialty, but all the big decisions are made by everyone. Sometimes even a supporting go on signal, when someone is frustrated, or a grounded stop signal, when someone feels super creative, is helping a project to be developed easier.

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

Artpeckers : Coming up with new ideas.