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Interview with Paolo Iarossi |
Home > Designer Interviews > Paolo Iarossi |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Paolo Iarossi (PI) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Paolo Iarossi 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?
PI: I’ve always been interested in art and design, it’s a passion I’ve cultivated since I was a child. I’ve always loved to draw, but for a long time I didn’t consider it a job, it was only a hobby or an escape route. the first recognition I had participating to a contest for amateurs “IMAGO” organized by “Comicon Napoli”. I took the road of drawing seriously after high school, when I left University ti study “Illustration” at “Scuola Italiana di Comix”, then I study there “Concept art”.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
PI: I worked at “GBS Italia” for almost two years, after two weeks from the end of my studies. I looked after: illustration, concept and development of character, assets and environments for the production of 2d games also taking care of the animation. A few months ago I decided to leave the company to become freelance.
FS: What is "design" for you?
PI: Design is a fundamental part of the work, comes before the return and treatment of the work, it gives a soul to the idea: it makes a production work. I think that design is not only the appearance of a product, but the result of a precise and targeted research.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
PI: Surely planning the design of characters and environment of a videogames; I like to participate in the planning phase of the project and turn the idea into a drawing.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
PI: In respect of the Sci-fi part “Antheme destiny” are my reference point; for Fantasy world “war of warcraft” is; I like to use as reference artists and stimulating products to expand my point of view and to evade the forms like “Antheme destiny” and “war of warcraft” do.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
PI: Illustration and interface for a videogames screen
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
PI: I studied and worked all the classical and manual techniques, but now I work in digital with Photoshop only and i think that I’ll never come back.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
PI: In the morning in a quiet and calm situation
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
PI: My focus falls on image silhouette and shape, so I prefer the global vision that the spectator can have at the first sight, and so I like make functional what I’m drawing, it is a fundamental thing to make the live and credible product.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
PI: I’m usually a curious person, I love seraching anything that i don’t know what it is,I think that it’s a funny process.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
PI: it is always a source of happiness and pride to see your work finalized. often the creative process can be full of difficulties; when I see the finished product, it can give great satisfaction and I forget the fatigue.
FS: What makes a design successful?
PI: a successful design is the result of careful research, I try to teach the client something innovative, but it must also give emotions, like something already tried in the past. For me this is a very important aspect
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
PI: How the shape is interesting and how much the silhouette can tell me
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
PI: I think that the designer responsability is to show through their own imaginary and their own ideas, a differnt concept of things, trying to direct people towards creativity. another important aspect is to combine the aesthetic shape with the functionality of the object.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
PI: is a sector that evolves very quickly, rich of creatives people, i’ve seen in these yars a search for new forms that has given great result; however I noticed that the trend is going towards a return to the past, so I think that we can see a reworking of obsolete things in a modern key.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
PI: I’ve never participated in an exhibition, this is the first.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
PI: there are many creative people with exceptional abilities, they are my inspiration; I look at the work of my masters and profetional of concept art, they inspire me to give my best.
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?
PI: I call my style semi-realistic, something between figural realistic and stylized approach of shape and colour; I think that this kind of approach is more free because it gives me the opportunity to experiment instead of a well-defined style that places limits. I prefer a type of approach in my job that allows me ti undertand how to give strength to the image with few lines. For the first time I define an idea and than I add the details.
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?
PI: I live in Naples, its cultural heritage. influence my way of working. I have always used this cultural heritage like a reference. I don’t find any good and bad, naples is a city that has a lot to offer, I try to exploit the positive to my advantage.
FS: How do you work with companies?
PI: Now, I do it as an external resource and as a freelance.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
PI: select people based on their skills and ideas, and not only their CV and schooling, I think that the experiences, the abilities and skills are the most important in the creative sector.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
PI: when I start a new project first i seek the inspiration in my favorite art references: the creative process consists of a series of tests to give shape to the idea. initially work with essential shape so not to waste too much time, than I Step to the study of the character, trying to maintain a traditional approach also in the digital form.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
PI: My Mac, the cintiq I work with, my watch, my workstation chair and my kitchen furniture
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
PI: Usually in the mornig, I wake up at 8.30 and one hour later I’m at work. I start with exercize to loose the hand for 20 minutes, than I work until 13.30. after lunch I rest for an hour or two, tahn i work until 19.00. in my free time I do some sport and meet my friends.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
PI: I remember a day when my teacher asked me only “Why?” and I aswered “ why not?”. Ait was in that moment, I think, I have earned his esteem. no one can tell you what you can or cannot do. Just do it.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
PI: The positives aspects are: do a challenging and challenging job, love what you do, think outside the box. Some situations are not easy to manage especially short-term deadlines, bring stress.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
PI: Never give up. this is a job for seekers, you can’t settle for the first test.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
PI: Mental flexibility and problem solving and a great fantasy.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
PI: I work in digital with a cintiq 13yd, on Photoshop the instruments such as levels and brushes are chosen according to the kind of work, my favorites I use them always adapting them to the situation, my supporti are: a manual of colour and imaginative realism, photo and reference by pinterest and art station.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
PI: I dedicate the right time to things in draft phase, without having a time limit, i know when the lines guide are clear and good for the next step.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
PI: It depend on the project that i have in my hands, usually for a commission does not take more than two days.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
PI: A lot of people ask me “How can you imagine such things?”
FS: What was your most important job experience?
PI: although as a freelancer he had many satisfactions, i think that the most important training experience was working in a studio.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
PI: currently working for private commissions, occasionally for companies and companies with short-term projects under illustration and concept art.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
PI: i love work on environments, I find it interesting to experiment with wider color ranges and I think it is relaxing. I like working in character’s visual development phase, because I love planning their shape according to theirpeculiarity.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
PI: I just started working as a freelancer and the lockdown stops my plans. I will devote my time to job search in the videogames, board games and editory sectors.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
PI: I also worked in team and as art director, but now I work alone at home.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
PI: I’m starting to design new illustrations in fantasy, and conceptual entironment for a personal study of colour.
FS: How can people contact you?
PI: On my personal mail address: p.iarossi_6@libero.it On Behance you can see my online portfolio and contact me:https://www.behance.net/piarossi_67294 On My Instagram profile:https://www.instagram.com/paoloiarossi/?hl=it On my Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/PaoloIarossiArt/ On Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolo-iarossi-7a583316b/?originalSubdomain=it
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
PI: I would remind those who do my job never to be discouraged. it’s a long and winding road especially if you have a few people who believe in what you do. I feel like saying thank you to the people who have always believed in me.
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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