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Mix and Match Seat by João Faria |
Home > Winners > Design #97546 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
JF: Fun, you must have fun with our work.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
JF: When you look for this kind of furniture pieces, to place in waiting rooms or entrances, you realize they are boring. Either you have sofas, benches or individual chairs, they usually are not very special. Unless in luxury places; but this is not for that ending. We could have in the future a luxury version of Mix & Match, with different colours and materials, but these are young, fresh and edgy.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
JF: Make design variations. In fact, version 2.0 already exists, with different bench design. And we will continue to look for different chairs, as well.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
JF: Designing the first idea took about one hour. After that, we spent about two months solving problems and making the prototypes.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
JF: I followed an inspiration. This was my first piece with upholstery. For a long time, I was afraid of design chairs and sofas. This piece has a compromise. The chairs are not mine, only the concept of a new interpretation.
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?
JF: The idea is to produce with other partners. As I said, the chairs are not mine; they are produced by Portuguese factories and I change them and adapt them to my piece.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
JF: As all Emotional Objects, it´s a fun piece that can bring joy to those who use it.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
JF: Chairs always fascinated me, mostly the classics from the first half of the 20th-century. Until now, I don´t understand how designers were so forward-thinking in those days. It also happens in architecture and engineering; they were extraordinary and bold. Designing this piece was the way of paying tribute to them. Not copying as we see a lot, that is unforgivable.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
JF: It´s more suitable for commercial and hospitality projects.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
JF: I never saw anything like this, frankly. I love the idea of changing things, mixing and matching objects, colours, materials, etc. In all our emotional objects I always create a lot of different choices, because people like to choose. Marketing experts would say that is a mistake, giving clients, many different choices, but I disagree.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
JF: It´s obvious. People can choose different chairs, up to six; different colours and fabrics; different combinations. This is all about personalization, mixing and matching as they like.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
JF: AutoCAD, always; 3D Studio and CAD/CAM tools, as well.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
JF: It´s its originality and versatility.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
JF: I had to speak with other Portuguese companies, discussing the chair's specifications. Besides that, I worked with all my suppliers - Laser-cutting, welding, carpenters and others.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
JF: In fact, it has! We have included a USB charger for phones and tablets. Many times, when we are waiting in airports or for meetings, we need to charge our phone. This can happen while you are seated in the Mix & Match.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
JF: We are not so analytical; we are more emotional. We haven´t done any research for designing this object.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
JF: In fact, adapting the chairs to our designs was a challenge. All the chairs had to have the certifications for contract and hospitality projects, saying that we couldn´t only look for a good design chair, we had to combine the two requirements. Beautiful chairs, with fabric options, but also with certifications. Besides that, the large bench has to support the weight of up to five users and that is not easy to solve. But it´s solved.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
JF: Because in the end, we realize we have achieved a nice design piece. The concept was tested during the Valencia 2019 trade show, last September, and it was a huge success. People stopped by our booth, seating, changing chairs between them and having a lot of fun. That was the time we decided to go further and submit the piece into this contest.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
JF: I lost the fear of seating category. Since that time, I already drew two more different pieces.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
JF: I would like to add that this product, like all others, is made in Portugal, by Portuguese artisans, respecting the best practices of social responsibility.
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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