Liliana Soares

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Liliana Soares ("LS") 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?

LS : Altempo is a team of two teachers and two alumni, creators of new configurations and interpreters of fundamental concepts such as innovation, changing and sustainability. What made Altempo to become a designer is the opportunity to improve people's lives and that is why Altempo have always wanted to be a designer!

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

LS : Design is a neverending chalenge.

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

LS : We are designers by choise.

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

LS : Altempo likes designing all kind of works, having the sphere of the past as a light to design human tomorrow.

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

LS : Young designers should work hard.

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

LS : The answer to this question must be related with time, place, circunstantes and persons. Sometimes we are great designers, because we act just in the right moment.

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

LS : The good design message has changed all over the years. Today, good design is much more related to social and environmental responsibility.

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

LS : It is something much more oriented to the process and to the connections between entities and persons, and disconnected from the origin and the end.

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

LS : It's not about time as we answer before, but about time, space and circunstancies.

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

LS : It is the one we're doing now.

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

LS : Work, energy and believing.

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

LS : Daciano da Costa, Dante Donegani, Giovanni Lauda, Enzo Mari.

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

LS : We like all the products we get to know.

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

LS : Shatron mute, because it is a product that solve sustainable, ecological, historical and symbolic issues.

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

LS : Work, energy and believing.

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

LS : I would have done everything to become a designer

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

LS : Design is about connections between all the elements that participate in the process, having the power to establish singularity products to society.

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

LS : Ourselves.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

LS : Ourselves.

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

LS : We suggest that companies look for designers who already have a course and qualifications and not those who either have not finished their studies or do not have the experience and, therefore, are abused.

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

LS : It depends on the context, the company culture. The designer must consider everything that exist in the reality he/she is interpreting.

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

LS : Our current project is focus on creating experiences and meaning into persons lives, relating different fields, entities and factors.

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

LS : The designer has a responsibility to contribute – with his/her knowledge and methodology - to the transformation of reality, refusing to be a result of that.

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

LS : Very important.

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

LS : Low technology and hight technology.

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

LS : It depends of the situation.

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

LS : Philosophy and literature.

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

LS : I look in the mirror and see my opponent.

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

LS : Creating was a dream.