Designer Interview

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Interview with Laura Ferrario at Tuesday 7th of January 2025

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?
LF: In fifth grade I won a competition for the Duomo in Milan: we were asked to reproduce some part of the Duomo and I chose to reproduce one of the windows in glass. My project won the competition and that’s when I knew my future destiny.

FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
LF: My studio specializes in visual communication consultancy for companies and in this we assist the customer at 360: logo design, corporate identity, catalogs, brochures, layouts, packaging and web design.
I’ve been working as a Graphic Designer for over 20 years, aiming to face every single project by asking: who is the message to be communicated aimed at and how can I reach the end user in the simplest and most immediate way.
In fact, the phrase that represents me is: "For all companies who want to keep up with the pace of the world, but attract the gaze of those watching". To achieve this in a society full of visual inputs, it is necessary to strike immediately to be recognized with a few well-directed messages.
Creativity is being able to attract attention through the visual message and make people stop, even just for a moment. It’s being remembered!

FS: What is "design" for you?
LF: Design is simplicity: being able to express everything with just a few elements.

FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
LF: Anything where I can express my creativity freely without too many limitations.

FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
LF: I enjoy following a company 360 degrees, from the design of the logo to its use on social media, creating the entire corporate identity.

FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
LF: The logo for my uncle’s company of Helipads.

FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
LF: Communication tools are endless, although my favorite remains paper, with its thousand nuances enhanced through the senses: touch, thanks to embossing, thicknesses, or materials; sight, with different printing technologies; hearing, the turning of the pages; and smell, the scent of ink.

FS: When do you feel the most creative?
LF: When I am alone in my office.

FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
LF: Research what competitors are doing and then look for something different and always new. My specialty is finding new and unexpected symbols.

FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
LF: When I find the right thing for the client, something I know can work, I still get excited like a child and work on it until I find the right balance between colors and shapes.

FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
LF: Sad because it's over.

FS: What makes a design successful?
LF: Simplicity, which is often a synonym of genius.

FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
LF: Whether it has a good mix of creativity, functionality and simplicity.

FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
LF: It is essential to design with the awareness that the world has changed and that it is necessary to preserve it, considering the impact of our actions on the future of the planet and generations to come.

FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
LF: The pace is becoming faster and faster... customers tend to no longer prioritize quality and functionality, focusing only on the price.

FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
LF: From everything that was made in the past.
Art, design and traveling
Internet, museums, books


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?
LF: In a world where everyone is racing to go faster it’s important to understand how things are being observed and the importance of providing a clear communication and a strong
visual impact. This is the winning approach I have adopted over the years for the most diverse clients, who have enabled me to maintain an open mind and that creative freshness needed to guarantee solutions that are never obvious or predictable.
Because working every day in different fields means having one single specialization: that of quality.


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?
LF: I live in Milan, in Italy, the capital of Fashion and design.
I consider my country an infinite source of cultural wealth and I think that our style and elegance is recognized all over the world. Unfortunately, however, many Italian companies do not consider investments in visual communication essential.

FS: How do you work with companies?
LF: I have always worked with the end customer and I prefer medium sized companies where the contact with the management is direct. I think I have a certain sensitivity to quickly understand what the client wants and/or what would be good for him.

FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
LF: Evaluating the designs of the designer, talking to him/her and not leaving the final choice to a mere tender, a design cannot be evaluated only based on its costs

FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
LF: Combining creatività with technical aspects to provide a functional but impactful product.

FS: What was your most important job experience?
LF: All of them in their own way have always taught me something that allowed me to grow!

FS: Who are some of your clients?
LF: Wine farms, jewelers, paper factories, packaging manufacturers, B&Bs, natural hair products, shoe store chains, spatial engineering, etc.

FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
LF: I am not specialized in one particular field. I like to explore different and new fields because they give me new stimuli.

FS: How can people contact you?
LF: laura@ferrariodesign.it
Tel +39.02.8322303


FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.

A' Design Award & Competition 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 & Competition cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.

Designer of the Day Interview

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Interview with Laura Ferrario at Tuesday 7th of January 2025

FS: Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
LF: I have been working as a Visual Designer for over 30 years.
I have worked for large industrial clients like Johnson Controls but I preferred to choose smaller clients because I could be more creative and refined like in the wine sector or boutique hotel.

FS: How did you become a designer?
LF: My creativity reached an important peak when I was 10 years old and won a contest for the Duomo in Milan where I reproduced an actual glass window.
That was when my motto became: When I grow up, I’ll be a graphic designer.
this year I celebrate 30 years: ThirtYears of projects, ThirtYears of passion for what I love doing.

FS: What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?
LF: The most important thing is to first put down a precise briefing to share with the client, defining the target it refers to and the values it wants to convey.
Then I start researching what is done in the industry, once this is done I put down 3 concepts to be developed from which I pull out three projects to show to the customer: better to show a few things but of which you are extremely sure.

FS: Which emotions do you feel when designing?
LF: When you get the idea of the concept to express before falling asleep and you can't wait to put it down graphically and then find the right symbol that encloses everything you had in your head: which must be simple, incisive but especially unique.

FS: What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
LF: Designing to me has always been a process focused on my clients, on listening and understanding their needs. But that’s not all: I have evolved over time, always following the trends of my industry, and addressing worlds that go beyond traditional graphic design such as the Digital and New Media. I listened to and followed the spirit of the times, offering my experience combined with the new opportunities yielded by the web to propose a complete and all-round form of communication. In my view, doing Visual Design means tailoring every single project, making it unique. In fact, I would say that the phrase that most represents me is: For all those companies who want to race at the pace of the world, but also catch the glance of those who observe them.
I face the biggest challenges with creativity, attracting the attention of those who are bombarded with visual inputs every day!I start with the sign, like primitive peoples or children, I express myself by means of it to then create an image, as a primary need of communication.
Communication tools are infinite although my favourite one is still paper, with its thousand nuances that are enhanced through our senses: touch, thanks to embossing, thicknesses or materials; sight, with the various printing techniques; hearing, with the turning of the pages; and smell, that unmistakable scent of ink. My secret is to never stop. In a world that keeps moving faster and faster, what’s important is understanding from what point of view things are observed, with the right rhythm. Working in different sectors every day means having only one specialisation: quality.

FS: What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
LF: Right now I'm working on a big rebranding project for an Italian foundation which is a big bet because I never, ever thought they would choose me. I have always worked for small clients and always having direct contact with the client instead of here I am inside a gear with many actors. It is very interesting but also very tiring. At this moment I don't have time to think about it but I think I'll go back to my type of job that reflects my way of being more.

FS: What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
LF: There is not only creativity. If you want to be a good Visual Designer you must also be a technician: understand printing, know about cards.
Don't stop if someone tells you that you can't be a graphic designer if i did i wouldn't be here now.

FS: You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
LF: Never stop, keep learning, studying, traveling and hanging out with young people.

FS: What is your day to day look like?
LF: I'm creative and I don’t have a routine skills. The best thing for me is not to have a routine trying to change every day.

FS: How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
LF: It is important to evolve and follow trends but everyone has to keep their own style to be different
Infact the phrase that most represents me is: For all those companies who want to race at the pace of the world, but also catch the glance of those who observe them.

FS: How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
LF: A visual design project must be composed of a few elements that represent what you want to express in a simple, direct and clear way.

FS: How do you decide if your design is ready?
LF: When I have achieved the right balance between the shapes and colors that represent it.

FS: What is your biggest design work?
LF: I believe it is the Mosnel wine label that won a Platinum.
To make this label I drew inspiration from Franciacorta, a splendid region south of Lake Iseo, in the province of Brescia, which extends up to the morainic hills. The concept of the label comes from the graphic reworking of the historical image represented by the morphology of the lake: as Lake Iseo bathes the shores of Franciacorta, so the sparkling wine bathes the walls of the glass, enclosing all the energy of a bottle of Riserva just uncorked.
I believe I have combined the values of the territory with the communication of the Company's brand and the uniqueness of the product.

FS: Who is your favourite designer?
LF: I don't have a favorite designer, I look back with respect but I look to the present to be ready for the future Once a brand was just a sign while now values and marketig have been added to transform it into a brand. We will see what will happen in the future.

FS: Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
LF: I live in Milan in Italy but I have always traveled a lot and London and Ny York are my inspiring cities for graphics. I am very sporty and I love nature where I free my mind to be more creative.

FS: Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
LF: I almost always work alone because I have seen that I have brought out the best in myself in projects done by myself. I think I am scared to see the project at 360 degrees and find people to collaborate with on that project using freelance when I need it so that I can choose the right one for the job I am doing.

FS: What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
LF: I am really following the Association Rene e Bambino nel Mondo Onlus, Kidney and Child in the world. I designed the Brand and the website and I try to help them in communication in general and obviously pro Bono.

FS: What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
LF: When you see that you are in the top world rankings it is beautiful. It's nice to see the quality of the other projects you are competing with. It was very nice to attend the first award ceremony on Lake Como because I came with a client of mine who unfortunately is no longer there. It was a beautiful day that I always remember with pleasure. Then

FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.

A' Design Award & Competition 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 & Competition cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.