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Interview with Cristian Carrara |
Home > Designer Interviews > Cristian Carrara |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Cristian Carrara (CC) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Cristian Carrara by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
CC: I studied graphic design in high school but my dream was to become an architect, for this reason, after graduating, I enrolled at the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic of Milan but after a few years of study and work at architectural studios my artistic vein and my propensity in Communication Design has led me to abandon my career as an architect, focusing on graphics and communication, always finding good feedback with clients who have always given me motivation to continue this path with the utmost commitment, always trying to improve my skills In this compound. To this day I do not consider this as a job but a beautiful game. Playing with graphics and communication gives me a lot of satisfaction.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
CC: I work for an architectural firm in Bergamo that also deals with publishing and the creation of cultural events and workshops. My job, within the studio, is to create communication graphics for events, logos, videos, websites and social network management.
FS: What is "design" for you?
CC: For me design is an art form created by people for people. A way to make everything better around us.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
CC: The logos because inside them, even if with simple and minimal shapes, manage to contain an infinite number of messages, as if they were a poem. And also websites, because they are digital architectures with rooms, corridors and doors ... immaterial places designed for people.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
CC: There are too many, I could not define a particular one, each one, if done well, with the right measure between usability and harmony, has its beauty.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
CC: A poster for an event. It was a blank sheet, I had no materials, I had nothing, just the idea of the company of what I should have communicated. From that blank sheet I started designing the logo of the event and from there it all started so I would say that the first thing was to design a logo.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
CC: I do not want to do as those who say that the pencil is the best means, everyone has their means, the import is the use that is made of it. I prefer the computer, obviously, many programs are essential for my work even if sometimes the pencil still remains among the tools I use.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
CC: During the night, when I would like to sleep but my brain has other programs.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
CC: Usability, communication skills and ease of understanding by the final public, then take these ingredients and give them a harmonious and captivating shape.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
CC: Excited and determined to do better.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
CC: This is very difficult to explain, it's like seeing something immaterial, which before was just a blurred image in your mind, taking shape, entering the real world and becoming something tangible. A bit like having a child I suppose.
FS: What makes a design successful?
CC: Being simple but full of meaning, not redundant, useful and able to excite.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
CC: There is not a good or bad design, there is only a right or wrong design. If design is an end in itself, if it is made just to be beautiful but has no usability, if it does not convey emotions, if it has no character and if it does not contain any messages then it is a wrong design.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
CC: Design is a great responsibility towards society and the environment. Today we are used to thinking about the environment and to people. If we take into consideration the design of the past, these things were not taken into consideration, this thought did not exist, but today we know that everything that human beings create affects our lives and the environment. Design must set an example for everyone.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
CC: Improve our lives and the earth more and more. I repeat, a design that is an end in itself, that does not promote anything new, is a wrong design.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
CC: I haven't attended any exhibitions yet but I hope to be in the next of A' Design Award.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
CC: Traveling, traveling always gives me new ideas. I love traveling, I love being curious and always discovering new things, new worlds, new cultures. When I travel the world I never miss an opportunity to look around for new inspiration for my graphics.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
CC: I would call it a minimal style. I have always been inspired by Apple's graphics, by its simple and clean communication, I do not say that I succeed but I aspire to that. My approach is to take away all the superfluous. Coat the message with a clean and essential graphic, or at least that's what I hope.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
CC: I live in a small provincial town in the Bergamo area but I consider myself a citizen of the world. Internet and travel allow me to feel part of everything but I am proud of being Italian, I consider it the home of good design and I like to feel part of something as great as Italian culture.
FS: How do you work with companies?
CC: I try to understand what they want to convey and work closely with them, giving my creativity to achieve the result according to my thinking.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
CC: A good designer is someone who gets by with little by creating something extraordinary, usable and understandable.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
CC: I always start by taking inspiration from other works by other Graphic Designers, a bit to not copy and a little to see the trend of the moment and see what others are doing, then I start to set my idea, I create drafts, I delete, I start again from scratch over and over again, I do some "exercise for example" as I call them with people who are close to me to see if they are on the right path, if the message arrives and if basically they like my idea, then I create the final project, I look at it, I don't like it, I'm not convinced, but the time has now expired and I have to deliver the work. Result, millions of drafts, one final job.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
CC: Light design, more even vintage. I like so much the Flos design (Parentesi, Toio and the 265...a must). I like so much the Juicy Salif of Alessi by Stark and the Red and Blue Chair by Rietveld.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
CC: I get up very late in the morning, I'm not an early riser. I arrive at my studio around 9.30am and prepare coffee for everyone, after a moment of conviviality I go to my desk and start my daily "game" until 7pm when it's time to go home. Obviously during the day there are many moments in which I get up from the sacrivania to enjoy a moment in the garden, in the sun, walk in the meadow while I think about the next step of my work or play with the dog of the studio, so much my brain never comes off entirely from design. in the evening at home or with friends except when I have some imminent delivery, then I go to bed and my brain starts to create, keeping me awake almost all night, even for this late arrival at office.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
CC: I still consider myself a young designer without pearls but I would be happy if someone wanted to give me some. There is always something to learn.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
CC: As far as my field is concerned, Communication Design has a very important role for society, the way in which it communicates can affect many people and this is a great responsibility that I consider a positive thing, but also negative if done badly. There are many positive aspects to being a designer. Being able to express one's creativity through something tangible is a great privilege. I have nothing negative to say for now.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
CC: Do something useful first and then make it beautiful. This is the golden rule transmitted to me by my mentor to whom I always try to refer
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
CC: For a Graphic Designer: communicate best with as little as possible.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
CC: In my toolbox certainly can't miss a computer, better if a Mac with good graphics creation programs like Illustrator, first for me, then Photoshop and others, but also the pencil never fails.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
CC: I am a great procrastinator, first the duty and then the pleasure don't do much for me. I spend time thinking of having to do that particular thing without actually doing it, entertaining myself with anything and then, a few days before the deadline, with the maximum anxiety, I turn on the computer and the idea comes to me.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
CC: It depends a lot on the period, sometimes a few hours, others take days and days to arrive at a solution.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
CC: Can you please reduce this photo to me in web format? I'm kidding ... but not too much!
FS: What was your most important job experience?
CC: I believe it was the creation of a touchscreen multimedia platform for a museum. I was asked for a simple list database to browse to create in two weeks. I disregarded the client's expectations by creating a real virtual exhibition with images, videos, moving graphics, music and much more in 6 months of work but with so much customer satisfaction. I believe it is fairer to interpret what the customer wants rather than giving him exactly what he asks for.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
CC: Among my clients there is an art and culture magazine that paginates, a cultural center of which I created and manage the website and a non-profit association for which I design posters and brochures for events. A winery for which I am designing the website and others...
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
CC: First Graphic Design but also interior and forniture design
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
CC: Continue to play as graphic designer and improve my synthesis skills more and more, or maybe else, I don't know, for now I think this although maybe I'd like to spend my life traveling the world.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
CC: I usually design alone in the concept phase but I also like team work very much, I like to compare myself with other creatives even though I often make my ideas stand out a lot.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
CC: Some are currently creating a new website that will be published shortly. Stay tuned!
FS: How can people contact you?
CC: Contact me on Facebook (@CristianCarrara) or Instagram (@ikanlive) or by emailing me at ikanlive@gmail.com
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
CC: None...thank you.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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