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Interview with Sofía Enríquez |
Home > Designer Interviews > Sofía Enríquez |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Sofía Enríquez (SE) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Sofía Enríquez 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?
SE: Since I was a kid I used to spend a lot of time imagining and I had always enjoyed drawing, painting, hand-crafting... Seeing this pasion my parents enrolled me in painting classes. I can't tell that I have been always aware that I wanted to be an artist or a designer as a profession. It was during high school that I found, among the answers of a vocational test, about a degree that gathered both the use of the right and left sides of the brain: industrial design engineering. I liked the idea of having these two options - the analytical and the artistic - coming together in one degree, so this is where I am now.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
SE: I just graduated from university, so I am more of a freelancer in my free time right now. I do graphic design for those who contact me and as for my personal projects I have been mostly experimenting with painting techniques.
FS: What is "design" for you?
SE: The art of creating, improving or transforming with the intention of finding solutions to problems, needs or desires.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
SE: Products and packaging.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
SE: Notch, the tea packaging is my favorite design until now because of the high impact it has reached, being published in Packaging of the World website and Favourite Design annuary in 2015 and now having won in A' Design Award.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
SE: On 2015, I was an intern in an architecture studio, the most symbolic things I designed for them are: their logo and a plaza for a contest in which they were participating.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
SE: Autodesk and Adobe programs.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
SE: When I feel the most creative is after seeing an art exhibition, a great design or a delightful construction - especially when I get to regard them in person.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
SE: How it will work and what will the final aspect look like.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
SE: Like a hamster-wheel brain - haha! I am full of thoughts and ideas, I feel really inspired and focused on what I am working on while time just seems to fly by.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
SE: The feeling of accomplishment. It is really satisfying to finally conclude what you had been working on. It is as if my mind sighed, took a step back and gazed at the final result while smiling.
FS: What makes a design successful?
SE: When it fills someone's need or desire. When it is functional and aesthetic at the same time.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
SE: If it is easy to understand and if it actually works.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
SE: To make people's lives easier while avoiding to harm the environment.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
SE: I think the design field has plunged into the technology of things, artificial intelligence now more than ever and looking towards alternative energies and eco friendly solutions.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
SE: I haven't had design exhibitions, but I'd like to hold a design exhibition the next time there is a design event in my city.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
SE: I get easily inspired, so design inspiration for me always come from different sources: from everyday life, while taking a shower, from web surfing, by seeing art, when spending time in nature, by sharing ideas... I feed my creativity by reading, wondering, imagining, doing research...
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?
SE: I am still working on defining my design style, to be honest.
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?
SE: I live in Chihuahua, a city in the north of Mexico. I don't believe the heritage of my country affects my design style. Cons: In my city, there is not much design appreciation yet. Pros: There is a lot of cultural heritage were you can gather inspiration.
FS: How do you work with companies?
SE: I haven't worked with companies - yet!
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
SE: Design may sometimes seem as a luxury, but rather than that, it is the element that makes the difference. Companies can select a good designer by seeing their portfolio and speaking to them to get to know them better and see if their style and way of working suites that of the company.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
SE: I don't really have an established design process. But most of the time I get a concept, then think of ideas and search for inspiration, afterwards I start sketching, 3D designing or prototyping. Next I work on the final design. I may make some changes while going through these steps and I also iterate the steps the times necessary. The last part is giving the final touches.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
SE: My laptop, wacom, sketch pad, stylograph and design programs.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
SE: Right now I am doing an internship in continuous improvement and working on my thesis to get my engineering degree, so whenever I am not doing one or the other I like reading, working on personal projects, learning french and going out to have fun.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
SE: I - as a young designer - can suggest to other young, up and coming designers to be curious and search, read, learn for you. Don't expect that school is going to teach you everything, because there are so many things you can discover outside.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
SE: Positives: You can create many of the things you can imagine and find clever solutions to problems. Negatives: Not everybody is going to love what you do and sometimes critic is hard and demotivating.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
SE: To recognise the value in something, and apply it to your designs.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
SE: Observing, understanding, visualizing, creating, problem-solving and resilience.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
SE: It all depends on what I am designing: Illustrator and Photoshop for graphic design. 3Ds Max, Rhinoceros and Showcase for virtual designs of objects (or 3D printed prototypes). For physical prototypes I use cutter, ruler, pencil, brushes, paint, I enjoy working with my hands... But for the real and final objects I create the technical plans and go with, say, carpenters, electricians... I use internet as a main source of inspiration.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
SE: I am quite an organized person, I like to make - mental or written - schedules and set due dates to myself.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
SE: It all depends on the object and the time available. Sometimes weeks, sometimes months.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
SE: There is not a particular question I get asked.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
SE: Being an intern in the architecture studio I previously mentioned. My bosses were certainly a source of everyday inspiration and knowledge, I was able to improve a lot in that period of time. I am so happy and grateful that I got to live that experience.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
SE: Friends and acquaintances .
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
SE: Anything that is free-style design, because it is there where I can really express myself without any restrictions.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
SE: I would like to find a job where I can design and maybe later on open my own design studio. I would like to keep learning, do a master degree or a diplomat.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
SE: I design by myself.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
SE: I am doing a Mondrian-inspired 3D puzzle that is composed of eight equally shaped elements made of wood and hand-painted, that can be assembled into a cube by following the form of the elements and their patterns.
FS: How can people contact you?
SE: Through my personal Behance or LinkedIn: Sofía Enríquez
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
SE: I am a young designer and I believe I still have so much to learn, but being able to share these thoughts with the readers makes me feel full of gratitude and inspires me to keep working hard. Thank you for reading.
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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