Marco Naccarella

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Marco Naccarella ("MN") 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?

MN : I Graduated in Architecture Design and Master in Industrial Design at the University of Florence. I had the joy of experiencing projects on the art of gardens, architecture, and the valuation and sale of buildings with historical and monumental value.

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

MN : My motivations derive from turning the imagination into reality. A dream of many, I am sure, but mine nonetheless.

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

MN : I have always had the freedom to choose in my life, including my studies, because according to my family it was my responsibility. I still don't know what they would have preferred for me. And I asked several times out of curiosity even years later, having made my choice.

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

MN : Each project is a new experience. It's like changing jobs every day. You have to reinvent yourself every day. Every day you have to research, study, change points of view. Every project, whatever it is, is a challenge. So the answer is that I want to design, and design anything that is new to me.

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

MN : Listening by memorizing everything possible. To observe. Keep your hand warm by drawing continuously. Reason absurdly and then file each project following the restrictions of the set guidelines, with the precision and patience of a luthier.

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

MN : A good designer just wants to improve his lifestyle. A great designer wants to improve your lifestyle.

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

MN : When it is accessible to all, and makes them feel uniqe.

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

MN : The value of a good design is subjective. I would not say there is a strict idea on it.

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

MN : Currently, my dream project is a theatre. Theatres, in my opinion, hold a lot of potential for realizing beauty in almost all the senses.

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

MN : The secret ingredient is to have no secrets. It is a great display of inventive and creative strength. I've always said that everyone can have "a giraffe neck" to copy your idea today, but I'll have ten ideas ready for tomorrow.

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

MN : I dont want to come off as controversial, but all the designers I managed to study.

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

MN : I have no favorite design, they all have their pros and cons.

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

MN : It is impossible to answer this question. Often it is not possible to change destiny and often destiny changes us as people. I could have been a high school teacher, or died in an illegal motorcycle street race. I can only say that I was lucky.

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

MN : I think I can only answer this question when I am seventy.

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

MN : My partner in life, my mentor Rocco Zulli, and my father who is no longer here. They are the people who believed and believe in me.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

MN : Social redemption. Undoubtedly.

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

MN : There were many that stood in my way, but seeing as they are too many to coun, I think it's best not to answer.

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

MN : Everyone has a personal, subjective style. A sense of uniqueness. The important thing is that behind every gesture and choice, there is a strong and justified motivation, and that your signature can be interpreted beyond every drawing. It's not easy.

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

MN : I don't want to get rich and I can't change the world. I would like to win people's respect.

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

MN : The same things that I expect from myself. To walk in the other person's shoes, and see the things from their angle.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

MN : Design allows us to preserve the old and bring in the new. It honors timeless methods of expression and combines them with new modes. It therefore transforms society through inspiration and debate.

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

MN : I have just signed a contract with the Indian government for the construction of a floating bar and restaurant in the Andaman Islands in India. But I'm already working on the next one.

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

MN : I always dreamed about less robots and automation in the production line, because I want to respect the brand and the manufacturer. Automation has become a rising issue within not just within the design industry, but also within the world.

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

MN : Each project is a puzzle. Sometimes it takes nine months just for preliminary studies and research, and the initial project.

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

MN : From the simple assembly of two ideas. One is not enough.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

MN : Talent is not a quality at birth. The pursuit of perfection is like a dog running hysterically in circles to bite its tail. It is not innate and it is others who recognize it in you.

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

MN : Trends distort the outward appearance of each model. Technology distorts design. Design creates a fashion. And the cycle continues.

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

MN : I hold it in high importance, especially within this current era of design.

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

MN : I try to keep up to date with the latest hardware and software available on the market, but a 0.35mm pencil, a Moleskine, a pen and an A5 size notebook with dots should never be missing. Let's leave the graphic tablet to those who want to erase often. The perfect hand drawing for a concept can be recognized with very few gestures. Sometimes less than 5 pencil marks.

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

MN : I reduce the number of colors and materials to the minimum amount necessary. I think that perfection in architecture is achieved with the combination of iron, wood, stone, glass, and water. In industrial design it's different, and I can't get attached to carbon yet. Perhaps because it is not recyclable.

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

MN : All or nothing. All if they are apprentices or colleagues in the sector. But nothing if they are buyers in the final market: they are probably more informed than me.

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

MN : I feel satisfaction and feel reassured not to feel alone. However, I often feel melancholic, wishing to be whisked away into another historical era.

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

MN : The ideal partner is any person, even a non-designer, who questions your work. Humility in learning is a necessary ingredient, and you always find someone who knows something more than you even if they are not from the specific sector of your project.

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

MN : Normal people and their daily needs. Or their dreams.

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

MN : I would say books that give you courage. They taught me that fear is a reaction, and that courage is a decision. I've never been afraid of wasting time reading a book.

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

MN : Continuously observing people with discretion and with great attention at their objects, even taking them apart if possible or necessary. You can also be a designer with a screwdriver or a wrench.

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

MN : Leonardo da Vinci, undoubtedly. Answering the same ferocious and atrocious questions that plague today's inventors and designers.

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

MN : A long way to go. Always open with an outstretched hand so as not to neglect the people you love.

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

MN : Nothing in particular. If I have to answer, maybe more than a thousand objects.

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

MN : I decided to become an architect at the age of 7 and with great determination. I wish I still had the same freedom with which my father made me draw on the garage walls.

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

MN : It is impossible to answer. There is no one clear answer, as the prospects of the future hold more than a thousand and one paths.

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

MN : They can safely ask me in private via email. I will gladly answer any questions.