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Iedde Mussel Knife by Giuliano Ricciardi |
Home > Winners > Design #149353 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
GR: Taranto, my city, is famous for the production of mussels. This year the Taranto mussel has become a Slow Food presidium and, on the occasion of this recognition, the inspiration was born to design an object that was linked to this typical Taranto product.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
GR: Analyzing the tradition, it emerged that the grammella was useful to best represent the city. Iedde, therefore, was born from the desire to create a re-edition of the traditional grammella. A redesign operation that is not simple because the traditional grammella is a poor object resulting from an anonymous design.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
GR: Iedde is already in production. The first series is of 100 pieces and is characterized by a progressive serial number useful for identifying the very first production. Being a symbolic object of the city, production will continue and, thanks to the support of the Municipality of Taranto, it will also become the city's cadeau. Furthermore, the name IEDDE has become representative of the brand with which I am starting the production of tools and products intended for the consumption and processing of the prized Taranto mussel
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
GR: The redesing of this concept required a careful analysis of the traditional grammella, but also of its use. Some prototypes have been made and the appropriate corrections have been made on the basis of these in order to obtain a functional and practical object.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
GR: I drew this concept for several reasons. the first is the desire to design a representative object of my city. it is also true that it had been commissioned as a gadget for a well-known restaurant in my city whose owner, however, judged the compensation I requested exorbitant.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
GR: Iedde is currently produced and sold by me, but a brand with the same name will soon be born and with which other concepts associated with the consumption and processing of mussels will be produced. The idea of transferring the production rights to another company is interesting and I will certainly evaluate the proposals that arrive.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
GR: the desire to create a symbolic object of my city and linked to tradition
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
GR: The grammella is a very simple object, but at the same time unique in its kind. I was inspired by the work of other craftsmen who produce oyster openers, but it is also true that this tool is different from mine because it is intended for a very different seafood.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
GR: Iedde does not have a defined target. It can arouse the interest of individuals who want a design mussel opener for special occasions or it can be purchased by high-level restaurants that want to offer their customers valuable tableware, but also by brands that want to offer their consumers particular gadgets. such as wineries or restaurant chains. The municipality of taranto wants to make Iedde official gift of the city
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
GR: in this product it is the ergonomics and the shape that make the difference compared to common tools for opening molluscs and seafood
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
GR: Iedde is the translation into the Taranto dialect of the pronoun "she". I wanted an iconic name for an iconic object, so when I'm looking for "she", I'm looking for "the grammella" and not a common grammella
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
GR: first of all I developed several pencil sketches inspired by the shape of the mussel. After the sketches I switched to a 3d modeler with which I modeled the object and made some renders to evaluate the finish of the handle. Finally, thanks to 3D printing, I produced the first specimen. This example was used by the craftsman who produced the first prototype
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
GR: Definitely the handle that takes shape from the mussels and the curved shape of the blade.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
GR: the project was entirely developed by me, but the support of the craftsman I selected to make the grammelle was very useful
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
GR: I wanted a handcrafted object, but, at the same time, always the same in each copy. To obtain this result, the use of laser technology for cutting the blades and numerical control machines for modeling the handles was essential. The chamfering of the blades and the finishing of the entire object is manual
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
GR: Research has been indispensable above all because the traditional grammella is a poor object born more from a necessity than from a project. The study was mainly focused on ergonomics and structure.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
GR: the redesign of an anonymous design object is already a challenge, precisely because these objects are often very minimal and with very simple functions. In my case, the grammella is a tool used to open and shell mussels. The main challenge was to evaluate the traditional object to improve it above all from the point of view of ergonomics and structure, thus making it an aesthetically refined object with an attractive design while maintaining simplicity of use and perfect functionality.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
GR: Dozens of design concepts are produced every year. Some of these are destined to become products, others remain prototypes, still others remain simple sketched ideas. A very refined design object, linked to tradition, territory, and in which the famous formula "form follows function" certainly deserves a nomination for a design contest
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
GR: Iedde is the first kitchen tool that I design. In designing it I learned a lot about ergonomics, dimensions, materials and finishes. Simplicity, even if combined with a complex shape, always wins over any applied decoration, especially if we are talking about an object intended for very manual use
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
GR: Design is a continuous evolution of itself, thanks to the improvement of technique and technology, new materials and new trends.
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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