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Portuguese Story Jewellery Collection by Diana Vieira da Silva |
Home > Winners > Design #50606 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
DV: I was inspired by the ceiling of the church of Santa Maria de Belém of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
DV: The primary goal was to create a collection that would link jewellery, architecture and Portuguese cultural heritage with a contemporary perspective.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
DV: Designe new pieces based on this concept, once I feel there is still a lot of material to explore.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
DV: First sketches were made in August 2013, with first exhibition coming in September 2014.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
DV: This collection was conceived by me for the jewelry brand Monseo. The briefing was to produce a collection that could become the new icon of the Brand. At Monseo I always had creative freedom. I wanted Portuguese culture to be the starting point, so we could tell more about our history to our external clients. During the all process, I wanted to articulate new designs with Monseo DNA.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
DV: Portuguese Story is one of the collections of the Portuguese jewelry brand Monseo®. The Portuguese Story collection is produced and manufactured by Monseo in Porto, Portugal, where I am doing Creative Direction, apart from jewelry design.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
DV: The intent was to create a fine jewelry serie of pieces that could be worn casually, keeping at the same time the high quality standards we always pursuit to achieve.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
DV: Of course Jeronimos was an inspiration to me. However, I always kept in mind a Portuguese art work during the conception of this project, which was a panel from the sixties of the Portuguese artist Almada Negreiros, present at Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
DV: Affluent self-buyers: mostly women, savvy buyers and jewellery connoisseurs, and men that are gift-buyers for special occasions.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
DV: The fact that it is a jewelry collection with a strong contemporary modern image but that evokes a historical, almost mystical identity.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
DV: Portuguese because I want to suggest the name of Portugal; Story refers to the portuguese history, but especially the stories that are part of our past.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
DV: I can say that my work as a designer only ended when the piece was completely finished. Fortunately in Monseo I have the opportunity to follow the entire production process and to make some changes, if necessary. As design tools, the whole process was done with hand drawing and with the 3D modeling tools. But the 3D printing in wax for the first prototype and the modeling by hand are parts that I always follow with great care.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
DV: The Portugueseness effect.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
DV: Yes, after my first sketches and technical drawings during the design process and before the 3D printing, I worked on the project with a friend of mine, Pedro Varela that is also an architect. He worked with me in the 3D model algorithm that allowed to generate multiple alternatives. It was very important because we tried different hypotheses testing different variables, such as the weight of the parts, which I wanted to be the lightest possible within the high quality standards we wanted to achieve. During the production I worked together with Monseo jewellers team with high-end jewelry skills.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
DV: In order to develop and produce this collection, different technologies were used such as 3D modelling tools with Rhino and Grasshopper and 3D printing in wax.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
DV: The research focused on finding forms in the Portuguese cultural heritage, which could serve to create a strong contemporary image.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
DV: The main challenge in creating this collection was being able to transfer the ceiling design geometry to an integrated algorithm in a 3D modeling program. This tool was essential to adapt the design to different forms of jewelry, whether they were rings, earrings, rings or pendants.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
DV: During my career as a designer I realized that being present in the local market is not enough. It is very important to diversify audiences and reach as many potential clients as possible. It is very important for me as a creative woman living in a relatively small country to take small steps towards recognition and to be able to export the products produced with my designs.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
DV: I ended up defining more and more the path I want to follow as a designer.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
DV: I think we did a good cover on every aspect of the collection!
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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