Amor Jimenez Chito

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Amor Jimenez Chito ("AJC") 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?

AJC : I've always been fascinated by how things are made and why they evoke emotions in us. As a child, I drew buildings, cars, houses, boats, without really knowing what or how they could be made. It wasn't just about drawing, but about imagining new forms. Over time, that curiosity became my profession. I studied industrial design engineering and later a master's degree in transportation design, where I specialized in yacht design because I felt it was the most authentic expression of my identity: where creativity, engineering, and nature come together. I've always loved transportation, and as an engineer, I sought fulfillment in this field. As for my creative side, I always sought to imagine and create. I was born and raised in a coastal town and have always been connected to the sea. Designing yachts isn't just a job for me; it's my way of creating and expressing my creative side within an extremely technical context.

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

AJC : I've always felt the need to create: to improve objects and imagine new experiences. Design allows me to merge the rational with the emotional, transforming ideas into something useful, beautiful, and meaningful. I became a designer truly out of vocation and because it's where I feel most capable of making a real contribution.

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

AJC : It was completely my choice and a feeling of calling. It felt like the natural path. Since I was a child, I'd always drawn vehicles, sketched objects, and taken things apart to understand them. No one pressured me; design simply felt like a part of me.

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

AJC : I primarily design yachts, from personal water toys to tenders, yachts, and superyachts. I design both exteriors and interiors. I'd love to design more boats, it's that simple.

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

AJC : Don't strive to be a legend, but rather work and experiment. Be obsessed with learning, stay curious, and commit to understanding problems thoroughly before attempting to solve them and offer more opportunities. Know your tools, but also know yourself.

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

AJC : A good designer solves a brief. A great designer challenges it, reframes it, and often finds a deeper need behind it. Great designers also create emotions and experiences, not just objects.

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

AJC : If it works better than expected, feels natural to use, and looks like something from the future, it's probably a good design. If it also tells a story or evokes emotions, it's a great design. I like to apply Dieter Rams' 10 principles of good design as a way to maintain measurable parameters, where the possibilities of each project are discussed.

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

AJC : Because good design improves lives in subtle and consistent ways. It's often invisible when done well, but it makes everything flow better: from tools to environments to relationships. It can also be so good it amazes and excites people.

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

AJC : I would design a spectacular vessel: possibly multi-hulled, modular, and transformable, with multi-use areas, many facilities such as a gym, leisure areas, a spa, swimming pools, a large, varied and fun garage, and sustainable. Not just for leisure, but also for exploration and adventure.

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

AJC : Perhaps one of my first projects, the Triunfo Superyacht, a 50-meter vessel with a system that transforms from a monohull to a trimaran, using revolutionary and innovative composite materials, 100% sustainable powered and a very distinctive aesthetic, full of personality, elegance, and daring. Perhaps at that time, there were technical difficulties in its manufacturing, in addition to the large budget involved, but perhaps in the future, with a revised design, it could be built.

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

AJC : I don't have any secret recipe or formula. I apply my knowledge, experience, and logic to my work. Perhaps research, creativity, and empathy can be great allies. Design with a purpose, understand the market, the client, the consumer, their needs, their tastes, their desires. Everything else is aesthetics, structure, and performance; it's based on that.

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

AJC : There are so many good designers and so many different disciplines. I admire designers like Marc Newson, Dieter Rams, Philippe Stark, Zaha Hadid, Charles and Ray Eames, the Bauhaus School generation, Giorgetto Giugiaro, and Pininfarina. In the yachting world, I have great respect for Espen Øino, Tony Castro, Marco Ciampa, and Christian Grande, among others.

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

AJC : It's a very difficult question to answer. I may have several designs in mind, such as the Eames lounge chair, the iconic Frank Stephenson's Ferraris, Mini copper or McLaren, for example.

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

AJC : It hasn't arrived yet. But for now, one of the designs I'm most proud of is undoubtedly the One 16. For everything it has meant and continues to mean to me on a personal and business level, for being a design with a purpose, with emotion behind it, designed for functionality and excitement. It's timeless, bold, striking, adaptable, and challenging.

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

AJC : Don't rush. Design comes when you stop imitating or with experience. Listen more than you talk. Be interested and curious about what's around you and what might affect your future. Try to develop your own vision, cultivate discipline, and surround yourself with discerning people. Learn from those who know and those who feel. And above all: design with your feet on the ground, without limits or filters, and your eyes on the horizon.

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

AJC : Probably something related to engineering, architecture or in the recreational nautical sector.

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

AJC : For me, design is a conversation. Between materials and imagination. Between utility and emotion. Between what already exists and what could exist. Good design solves problems, yes, but good design creates experiences. It invites people to participate. It makes them feel something. That's what I strive for with every design: not just performance or aesthetics, but connection. I can think of design as an emotional strategy.

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

AJC : My environment and my family, without a doubt. Without them, I wouldn't have gotten to where I am.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

AJC : I always ask myself why I design something, for whom, where, under what conditions, what it offers, what it solves, and for what purpose. Good design is born from intention, not decoration. I also collaborate: I share ideas, I am generous, and I remain curious. I avoid settling too narrowly into one niche; I explore, take risks, and invest time in understanding other disciplines. Design thrives at the intersection of worlds.

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

AJC : Self-doubt. Doubts about how the industry actually works, internally. Limited access to industry contacts. Rejection due to lack of age or experience. Having to learn a lot on my own. But those challenges shaped me.

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

AJC : With clarity and humility. Let the idea speak, but guide the audience through its reasoning and emotion. Make it a conversation rather than an announcement.

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

AJC : There are currently several projects in the making. I'm also working on more specific versions of the ONE 16, one for families and another for professional and water sports.

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

AJC : That's too broad a concept. Perhaps it could be having a blank canvas—and a blank check, why not?—and having the client blindly trust my abilities and my design intentions. Being able to translate those emotions into a real concept. And having a multidisciplinary yacht design team like the great ones.

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

AJC : Originality with purpose. Elegance, boldness, logic. And a clear sense of direction.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

AJC : It makes systems more humane. It reduces waste, creates opportunities, and improves accessibility. It helps people live better lives.

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

AJC : We're preparing for a broader international launch of the ONE 16, adapting it to different climates, user habits, and business models.

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

AJC : The most satisfying ones are the ones that surprise me at the end. When a customer says, "This is better than I imagined," it's magical. The One 16 delivers on that.

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

AJC : Less obsession with vain and materialistic trends, more focus on impact. Also, greater recognition of small-scale innovation, not just flashy launches.

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

AJC : Toward regeneration. Beyond sustainability, toward systems that actively repair or enhance ecosystems and create new opportunities.

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

AJC : It varies a lot. Some may take 3 weeks, others months. But I always try to find a balance between speed and depth.

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

AJC : It starts with observation and research. With questions. Why? For whom? In what context? Then I move on to sketching, and research again alongside it. I move from paper to plans, to 3D, to rendering. And then to production. Then to the sea. I always come back to the user: I imagine what they'll do, how they'll interact, what they'll remember. It's a process of trial, error, intuition, and many iterations until I get it right.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

AJC : "Less is more," but with purpose and intention. (Yes, I'm borrowing that from Rams; it's timeless.) I would also add that "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard".

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

AJC : Design has the power to set trends. When the opposite happens, it's usually not design.

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

AJC : It's a facilitator and an indispensable tool for my development. It helps me elevate my ideas.

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

AJC : Rhino, KeyShot, SolidWorks, Photoshop, Illustrator, Phoenix FD. And lots of paper and pen.

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

AJC : They define how a product feels, both emotionally and physically. They're not just window dressing; they're part of the story. For me, color, material, and finishing (CMF) are essential to a complete design and how it's perceived.

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

AJC : Where the idea comes from and what is the purpose.

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

AJC : “How did they get there?” I’m fascinated by the process behind elegant solutions.

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

AJC : Absolutely. The best work happens when egos are left at the door and ideas are shared openly. I've been collaborating with other studios like Coase Design for years, and we have a truly positive synergy.

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

AJC : Marine industry experts, boat builders, users, and many professionals from other sectors who help me stay connected.

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

AJC : "Design as Art" by Bruno Munari. "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman. "Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko. "The New Basics" by Lupton & Phillips. Among others. And, honestly, many specialized catalogs and magazines.

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

AJC : Through practice, self-criticism, continuous work, and repetition. Also, through talking with other designers and discerning people about certain designs and work proposals.

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

AJC : Probably with figures like Leonardo Da Vinci or Espen Oeino, for example. Also charismatic figures like Enzo Ferrari or Ayrton Senna.

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

AJC : Awards are an honor, but what matters most is the work behind it. I focus on improvement, not performance. I wouldn't consider myself famous at this point either.

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

AJC : Color: Living coral. Place: Mediterranean coast. Food: my father's. Season: summer. Thing: notebook. Brand: Porsche.

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

AJC : Probably once a client wanted to have a leather shelf over 6 meters long in one piece. Imagine having to find that cow!

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

AJC : Seeing progress. Even a small improvement in a curve, a sketch, a rendering—that's fuel. That feeling of accomplishment that keeps you going.

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

AJC : I've always been fascinated by how things are made and why they evoke emotions in us. As a child, I drew buildings, cars, houses, boats, without really knowing what or how they could be made. It wasn't just about drawing, but about imagining new forms. Over time, that curiosity became my profession.

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

AJC : Hopefully we’ve learned to design with the planet, not against it. Or even beyond Earth. Design will be regenerative, intangible and more about essence than objects.

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

AJC : In case, I have them. My designs have a purpose and an intention. They are experiences. I believe in functionality, aesthetics, and emotion. If there's something that makes you smile, get excited, or dream, then I've done a good job.