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Interview with Alex Bazyl |
Home > Designer Interviews > Alex Bazyl |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Alex Bazyl (AB) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Alex Bazyl 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?
AB: I became an artist as early as my childhood. When other kids were already busy with other things, I continued to draw. I was fascinated with drawing and inventing comic strips. I decided to be a designer during my studies at the Art School with the Academy. It was then that I made up my mind to work with space.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AB: I started with real projects during my third year of studies at the Academy – projects of private apartments and country houses. After graduating from the Academy of Design and Fine Arts in Kharkiv, I worked on custom furniture projects. I started my own business in 2008. First, this was the Future-O studio. The projects were in a variety of style areas. But the emphasis was on streamlined solutions. In 2015, I decided to start a new design line – dynamic/kinetic design, and set up the Alex Bazyl - Dynamic design studio.
FS: What is "design" for you?
AB: For me, this means interaction of man with the things surrounding him, and with space. Design should be customized – it must be as individual as every person is.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AB: Design and creating private interiors and furniture.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AB: I like to make distinguished objects, partitions and wall solutions. With each project, I offer one or several interesting solutions.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AB: The wish to realize a drawn idea and a sketch.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AB: I like the plasticity and strength of artificial rock, gypsum or fibrous gypsum.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
AB: I feel myself most creative when I create a concept of a future interior or an object. This is the decisive moment. Often this occurs suddenly and I have to catch the idea with a drawn sketch. At times, I am immersed in analyzing an object/space, and inspiration comes when everything is in place, and the next phase is the concept itself.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AB: Design is a process. The topping of all this is the creative process in itself. Each stage must be a delight and an understanding that the next stage will be a continuation of the process. And when the goal is achieved – this is the idea and the concept realized.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AB: Only positive ones. I am happy when a customer sides with my ideas.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AB: This is a knotty question. I feel satisfied that my concept has been realized and I recognize that I want to realize a next one. The outcome is that each new project is better.
FS: What makes a design successful?
AB: When a design makes people happy and, at the same time, is environment-friendly – that's an overwhelming success.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AB: First, I look at the emotion evoked by the idea the designer has embedded in the project. If there is no idea – there is no design.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AB: Make the design nature-friendly, rather than being a hazard. I always say that one has to give something to nature rather than taking from it.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AB: Of course, design came into being since those times when man started procuring food, and tools were needed for this. The future is in utmost unity with nature and in populating outer space.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AB: Last time I participated with a "Blue Lotus" apartment project in my country when I ranked third.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AB: I love nature, and all of nature's creations are unique. That is why I look at all things surrounding me.
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?
AB: I work in my style – dynamic design. My product is a comfortable personal space harmonizing my inner and outer world. In the objects, things and interiors that I create, a key component is their impact on the quality of life. Dynamic design allows using space properly when its convex and concave parts play both a decorative and functional role. This allows using space with utmost freedom to add functional shelves and niches for arranging decorative things, books and other accessories. I help a person synchronize one's environment and inner world to create a qualitatively new life. A comfortable environment helps man and society become better.
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?
AB: I live in Ukraine, and my country is going through an extreme test. Such a condition helps doing away with the old and moving on to something new. That is why I hope that my vision will be in demand in my country. This is one of my goals: to create an environment that will improve life.
FS: How do you work with companies?
AB: These are companies that make different customized products. They help me realize my ideas.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AB: When I conceive an idea and develop it, I elaborate the production process at the same time. This approach helps making adjustments in time to keep the idea intact and make its implementation with utmost benefit. I believe that understanding the implementation of a concept is the main answer to the question of how to choose a good designer.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AB: Yes, with pleasure! I start each project by analyzing the object and defining its strengths and weaknesses. Next, I collect all the requisite information for the concept and come up with an idea. I first develop the space-planning concept and next I refine it to an optimal form. The next stage is three-dimensional modelling. After the visual part has been approved, I make the drawings for the project. The final stage is implementing the project.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
AB: In my projects, I look to mobile systems that can be shifted, moved or concealed. 1. Places for keeping things - closets 2. The kitchen 3. The TV set zone 4. The worktable 5. Sanitary ware
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
AB: I'll try to be brief. My morning starts with planning the day. I identify the key objectives and tasks. I start meeting these objectives and as soon as I have completed a task I mark it with a “+”. This keeps me in line and reminds me to stay focused on what's important at the given point of time. I like to listen to music and to look out the window, seeing how the town image changes during the day. I finish working late at night. Actually, this profession doesn't mean working to a fixed schedule. For me, it's life. Sometimes I wake up at night and sketch an idea, or do this while travelling by train.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AB: ● When designing a space the key thing is to show the individuality of the room –ephasizing its uniqueness. ● The best effect is made by a project that evokes associations. They are often connected with nature. The link of this association with the object itself and for whom the design is made (a person, a family, a company) is also important. ● Never do a project for the sake of money. Do a project so that you can be proud of it and add it to your portfolio without any doubt. ● While creating a project, you have to feel that everything is going smoothly so that all the puzzles fit into one picture. If something doesn't fit, then it's time to revise the work done and make proper adjustments.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
AB: The positive thing in design is that you can look into the future and come up with something that no one has done earlier. I am also excited with the process of realization when I feel that the idea is being materialized in front of your eyes. I try to pay no attention to the negative sides, but sometimes they are linked to the project budget. Good ideas often cost more than run-of-the-mill ones, and not all people are willing to pay for this. This is why one has to do something interesting and cost-effective.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AB: My core principle is an individual approach to each customer. An understanding of a customer's feelings and an analysis of the environment allows finding options that reflect a person's character or a company's style.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
AB: Creativity, learning new technologies, and practice.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AB: The basic tool is the skill of drawing by hand – this is what my father taught me. This helps to grasp an inspiration and idea on the spot. Further development requires using Archicad and 3ds max. I also like to make sketches on a workpad. I am inspired by viewing nature documentaries.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AB: I work out a project schedule and do my best to meet all the milestones. I also set plans for each day.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AB: It depends. Projects can be fast-paced ones, though they can be drawn-out ones as well. On the average, a project goes for four to six months.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AB: Will it be beautiful, or can our object be transformed into something interesting? This is a question asked often. People should trust professionals. Then such questions will not be asked.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
AB: If a project has an innovative solution or a technique that I have never used, then for me this is a significant experience because I strive to think through the solution for its proper implementation. Among my latest works, this is the “Blue Lotus” relief gypsum wall.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
AB: Mainly they are private customers for whom I have designed their personal space.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AB: I have a big liking to making drawings and for the sheets to be attractive, and to deliver presentations of ideas. When I calculate all the dimensions and everything fits – then this is the biggest pleasure. At the start of the project, I like to make sketches by hand. They are like peculiar impulses of ideas whirling in my mind, and I want to draw them as fast as possible.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AB: I am planning to start designing public rooms, and getting involved in architecture and in designing pieces of furniture.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AB: Presently, I do the entire project part myself, but if the studio workload increases, I attract dedicated specialists, a 3D modeler, a visualizer, and a drafter. My partners, construction workers and contractors, implement my projects.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AB: Yes, right now the "Blue Lotus" apartment project is being implemented. It's a very treasured and significant project in my practice. It reflects my approach to the environment very precisely. And I am glad that my customers have fully supported and accepted my ideas.
FS: How can people contact you?
AB: When a project is in my country, the customers call my personal number, we arrange a meeting, and discuss project stages and tasks. If an object or customers are in another country, the most convenient way of communicating is by email or skype.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
AB: I guess that one interview cannot cover all the issues. The questions posed are sufficient for talking about my design work.
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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