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Interview with Tommaso Masera |
Home > Designer Interviews > Tommaso Masera |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Tommaso Masera (TM) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Tommaso Masera 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?
TM: I have an international background, after working in Italy, Brazil and China; I set up my design studio in Honk Kong in 2012. Since 2005 I worked in different areas of industrial design, also experimenting graphic and exhibition design. This experience in several countries gives me the possibility to explore different design fields, markets and cultures increasing my curiosity: the main characteristic of a designer for my point of view. I was always very curious, design satisfy me and my curiosity. The dissatisfaction is a creative energy that give me motivation to do this job and explore new solutions.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
TM: Masera Design, established in 2012 in Honk Kong to be near to the world’s center of watch component manufacturing, keeps its hand on the pulse of the most recent updates on the manufacturing possibilities, new materials and technological innovations. The design studio core business is watch design, following all the steps from the concept to the prototype, also works in product and exhibition design. In 2016 Masera Design launches in the market its first brand: Atto Verticale, an unconventional mechanical watch. A design studio that believes in its concepts, has a strictly knowledge in production and distribution can realize its ideas and sell directly in the market, trying to break the rules. This is the vision for my design studio, in other words the designer serving the end-users.
FS: What is "design" for you?
TM: Design means quality, and quality is a dynamic concept, a constant improvement. Dissatisfaction is a creative energy that a designer must have, together with technical knowledge. This tools are the base to design a quality product, where the quality is not only the material longevity, but also an intangible quality: the products that goes beyond their function have a longer life. Design has to satisfy not only the need but also the emotion of the consumer, an high quality product should not necessarily be useful, or more precisely, it is useful everything that helps us to live better, emotion included. To describe the meaning of design for the next decade I borrow a concept from David Grossman. “In the beginning, designers were serving producers and producers were interested in growing consumption as much as possible on the short term .What we feel is that it’s important to make a small change from designers being servants of the producers with the producers deciding what is good for their short-term benefit to the designers serving the end-users to think about the long term. It’s a little change in words, but it’s a very big change in the way that designers see themselves and the way that the general public sees the designers".
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
TM: I enjoy designing products out of the box, the ones that can break the rules in their market. A brave product that challenges its competitors in unconventional fields. For me sabotage is one of the goals for a design product. My last work, the watch Atto Verticale, is an example: in the hyper-connection era, I design a watch with a mechanical hand wound movement, assembled on colored aluminum case with an unusual shape. I try to break the rules, the main risk of this watch was the hand wound movement: media and lifestyle say to us that we have to be connected, smart oriented and technological victims. But we need also to be unconnected and find our time, a old school movement in a modern and colorful case was an experiment that I made to live the future in a different point of view. The first market feedback are positive: people like the idea to have a hand wound watch, to have a special product that is in contrast with the daily life standard.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
TM: I have several, master designers of last century as Castiglioni brothers, Ettore Sottsass, Giuseppe Terragni. Nowadays I like many others too but two of them in particular: Cleto Munari and Giulio Iachetti. Cleto Munari was one of the first designers that build his own brand (between 1960 amd 1970) and its concept was very simple: edit the work of designer without any restriction in terms of marketing, he just produce the ideas that his designer friends gave to him. Some of its collection is at Moma Museum of New York. Giulio Iacchetti is designer that I really like for his products and for his thought of design, some of my opinion about design I learn from his writing and publications
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
TM: It was a glass coffe table for an Italian brand, that I designed when I was working in Milan for a design studio.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
TM: Most of all I like color lightness. Material that can have texture or natural material that you can touch and smell.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
TM: When I have to find a solution, when there are limits in a process the designer has to be creative make the limit a value.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
TM: I like to follow all the design process, the design is a bridge between all the actors involved in the creation of new products. The concept step is the most exciting, the sample step the most satisfying.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
TM: A mix of emotions that end in the calm after the storm. The quiet is very important to make a good design.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
TM: Same emotion as a child when receives a gift for his birthday: surprised, happy and that trembles to open and use his gift
FS: What makes a design successful?
TM: When has a intangible quality and a immaterial longevity (the most difficult to achieve). A good design has to be sustainable, and does not think only about the profit. A successful design product enters in the market to create an innovation, and to break the rules of the market, after its launch the market has think in a different way. So I good design has to touch the people and let them thinking in a different way.y.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
TM: Very first thing that I consider is the aesthetics according with the proper use of materials. The compromise between aesthetics and sustainability in more important that the function itself.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
TM: The designer’s responsibility must serve the end-users to think about the long term, it’s a very big change in the way that designers see themselves and the way that the general public sees the designers, as David Grossman said.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
TM: The future of design is in the designer hands, more that in the brands or in the market. The design role is always to think in a different way and let the market follow the new rules that the design writes. In the last period of time the design follow to much the market rules that are more and more focus on short-term benefit and profit. Designer has to change this trend, taking risk and go ahead with their idea. One option for the future of design is that the designer makes its own production and brand, putting in the market new strong ideas and products that can impose questions. On my hand I made it, with my new brand watch Atto Verticale.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
TM: My last exhibition was in April of this year in Shenzhen, during the design week. Next one I want to do when my studio Masera Design will launch its next own watch.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
TM: Qualitative research: to have a huge knowledge of the history of the product that you are going to design, with this research you can predict the future. Be curious, understand the past, read the present and design the future creating something that is not already done. Look around a take reference from other fields.
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?
TM: The style is a thinking aptitude, more than a matter of shapes. So the style of a design born after several considerations such as material involved, sustainability, production skill, and so on. The style is a good compromise between aesthetics and sustainability. My approach to design is to sabotage, create a product out of the box, and explore the unconventional
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?
TM: I'm living in Shenzhen, and I came back to Milan two or three months in a year. Living in Shenzhen make me the opportunity to be near the production and the concept has to be near the production. It is a very nice city that is growing up, and where design is growing up, many designer are working here, and also many designers from abroad are visiting their client or their supplier
FS: How do you work with companies?
TM: The companies that I work with, know that my studio can develop a full package, from concept to engineering for production and even 3d printing or mockup sample. Most of the companies I was working on selecting me because I can create alternative products.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
TM: Companies have to select the right designer for their need and their perception of design. Designer and company are partner in the project. The designer before start to work with a company has to know the identity, values, and skills, potential, most as possible of the company, to be part of the team. The company after make decision to work with a designer, have to trust on him, and go ahead together. .
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
TM: Research to understan, sabotage to create, technical skills to enginnering, follows to prototyping
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
TM: rco lamp (Achille e Piergiacomo Castiglioni for Flos), Merdolino toilet brush (Stefano Giovannoni for alessi), Bialetti Moka Dama, Cleto Munari Carpet, a German drafting machine from 1930 made by unknown
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
TM: I wake up around 7.30, shower, coffee breakfast at home, take subway to the office, read during the trip in subway, coffee before go to office, talking or meeting with the team, check email, follow the projects, eventually meet clients or suppliers, meet friends or other designer friends for entertainment and to be updated, dinner.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
TM: Always be curious, self-critical, do not follow in love with the first idea, change the point of view, do not be satisfied, the sketch is nothing without knowledge of material and production, if you see a red chair it's the time to do a blue one!
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
TM: Positive: _ You can do this job only with passion, it's not just a work it’s your main activity _ Always you can learn something new _ You can meet many interesting people _ You can see and touch your work Negative: _ You will not sleep or take lunch sometime _ You will be obstructed from someone
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
TM: Change the rules, be unconventional
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
TM: Dissatisfaction as a creative energy together with technical knowledge.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
TM: Meet people face to face, talk with people, listen the people, be updated not only in design news. My design studio works with pen and marker pen, Rhinoceros, Solid Works, Adobe, video editing. I'm connected with people around the world through several social media.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
TM: Managing the priority let your team grow up and follow some task under my supervision. Sometimes I like spend time in details or secondary items, that are not so important, but maybe they will be important in the future.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
TM: Depend on the product, and on the communication with the client. Usually from concept to engineering it takes around 3 weeks 1 month. For exhibition 1 week more the set up.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
TM: What is design for you?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
TM: The watch Atto Verticale, for several reasons. It's my own brand, I follow the entire project in detail: from the concept to the production, the branding, the distribution model, open the market and find new markets, photo shoot, promotion and so on. Is a great experience for my carier, not only as a designer but also as entrepreneur, that face me all the process to build a brand and distribute the product in the right way.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
TM: Ezio Smart Wear, Wenger, Faze-In, SIFE, SZ Creative Week, Charger Link
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
TM: I like the creative process that is not only the concept step, but actually is in every step when you have to find the right solution
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
TM: My next is developing new version of Atto Verticale and let the brand grow up. Masera Design is producing also another model launch in the market very soon.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
TM: As team
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
TM: I'm working for an exhibition, to set up a pavilion to make a design events. It's in the very beginning step, where we are working with the client to define strategy and general concept.
FS: How can people contact you?
TM: info@maseradesign.com
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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