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Interview with Adrián Gustavo Pierini |
Home > Designer Interviews > Adrián Gustavo Pierini |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Adrián Gustavo Pierini (AGP) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Adrián Gustavo Pierini 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?
AGP: I define myself as a professional of design and communication, with a vast experience, based on 18 years of practice in the world of massive products. I graduated with honors from Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and I started working freelance. Then I was employed as a junior designer, after as a senior, and finally as director, in a prestigious local agency. For 14 years, my practice has been uninterrupted, so I had the opportunity of developing over 400 projects for leader companies, many of them for different markets and countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, USA, England, Belgium, Thailand, and South Africa. Five years ago, I founded my own agency, which has currently 20 people working in it. It has become one of the most important visual communication companies in Argentina, with a great possibility of growth. Regarding what causes me becoming a designer, I could say it was a mix of love for the illustration, the desire of creating, and the emotion of knowing there was someone out there who could interpret my vision and value it. It was impossible to think in being a designer when I was a child and teenager, as the profession was not establish yet, and the activity was restricted to a select group of architects, artists and interior decorators.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AGP: Pierini Partners is dedicated to branding with a strong bond with strategic packaging. My experience with leader companies has given me more knowledge, which I can now apply in future launchings and create real and concrete solutions, according to the necessities current marketing teams have. My agency aims to establish a field of stratetic debate, which can enhances the client’s needs, giving them solutions based on suitability. The basic aspect is demand; we look to achieve the best quality and the proper combination between reason, aesthetic and emotion.
FS: What is "design" for you?
AGP: It is the possibility of transforming the reality, it is the ability of simplify the communication between people, the amazing chance of improving life quality.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AGP: I prefer those which imply an important challenge, in the conceptual and formal aspect, which demand an extreme care in the selection and application of the graphic resources.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AGP: I believe Rexona V8 packaging was one of the most important works in my career. Its creation has a very positive repercussion in the market, it has changed my bond with the client (causing the company the desire of a solid and strategic relationship), and it represented the beginning of my professional growth and my agency’s.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AGP: There were very simple things, with no commercial relevance.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AGP: I choose Macintosh and the basic design programs. I do not need anything else.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
AGP: Generally at night, when I’m at home, alone, completely focused on the problem or challenge I have to face with.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AGP: I focus on the capacity of communication. I give priority to the strategic function of the resources, above all.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AGP: Joy, intrigue, challenge, sometimes nervousness and desperation, jaja!
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AGP: If the result fulfills the aims and the client is satisfied, then I’m completely satisfied too, and I want to keep on creating, to design even better pieces that the ones already launched.
FS: What makes a design successful?
AGP: Effectiveness, a clear message, the resources applied in the proper way. Basically, the correct fulfillment of the brief.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AGP: I do not believe designs are good or bad. For me, there are designs that work, and others that don’t. If the piece accomplishes the commercial aims proposed by the client, then for me, it is a "good" design. The aesthetic aspect must be subordinated to those commercial aims.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AGP: Designer, as a communicator, has the obligation to create messages ethically correct, to create a better world, simplifying consumers’ life and, why not, making their sales actions happier.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AGP: Design is playing a more and more important role. People see in it an important added value, they understand that plus ti gives. Future is eager for new creations and challenges. As far as technology is concerned, there is a noticing evolution, which will drive, undoubtedly, to a more and more virtual way of relation. And design has a lot to offer to that environment.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AGP: Projects are exhibited in each of the workshops I give, all around Latin America. The lasts one were in Mexico and Bolivia, and the next one will be in Colombia.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AGP: Inspiration comes from the desire of playing, of breaking with what is established, of imaging how I would like things to be. I use my imagination, my life, what I watch from my environment and others.
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?
AGP: My style is primarily classic and very rational. But this does not mean the results are extremely formal or boring. Instead, behind every piece, there is a structure that allows me to get to the public in a simple, direct, and absolutely functional way.
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?
AGP: I live in Buenos Aires, the provincial capital of the Argentina. It is a rich province, in which a lot of different cultures coexist, as a result of the immigration, at the beginning of the last century. Architecture and all the artistic manifestations express a combination of European and Latin-American styles. From this mix my inspiration comes. My works are the result of both styles, and that may be the cause of it global effectiveness.
FS: How do you work with companies?
AGP: I work in a close way, looking for their participation, their integration in the different projects. A Pierini Partners’ design has always a quote of projectual vision and from the client’s market.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AGP: It is a very complex task. I believe a good designer is one who feels passion for his work, who fights daily to improve himself, and who not only thinks in the money and the future recognition.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AGP: It is simple. I could divide it in phases: Brief decoding, application in concrete objectives, investigation, interpretation, conceptualization, and, finally, creation.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
AGP: My house is a strange combination of designs and cultural manifestations. It is full of gifts from colleagues and institutions from Latin America. They are presents made with affection, and that is what I see on them. My interest for its design, in these cases, is put aside.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
AGP: I wake up early, I go to the agency, I check my emails, I talk to my accounts executives about the projects we have to work on, I supervise constantly my creative teams. I sit on my desk and design all the special projects I have. Then I speak to my clients, regarding different situations, until night. All these steps implies adrenaline, tension and fun.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AGP: They should simply study, prepare for a career which is pleasant but dangerous at the same time, as it seems simple when actually implies great challenges and knowledge. I would tell them to listen and watch a lot before acting, to think more in the consumer than in themselves. And above all, I would tell them to understand they are not artists, but fundamental pieces that should act in the consumption and strategy system.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
AGP: The positives one are the capacity of expressing oneself, of making oneself known, of enjoying the fabulous phenomenon of visual communication. The negatives ones are, in my case, the daily stress of having to get on time with the clients’ deadlines. And another one is the difficulty of establishing a proper balance between personal and professional life. I could not solve this problem yet.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AGP: You always can. You always get on time. You can alwas be better.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
AGP: I think they are the capacity of learning and the ability of becoming a more and more effective communicative piece. Patience and the power of observation are also worthy.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AGP: I use all the knowledge available. Nowadays books continue to be a mandatory material to consult, but the Internet allows us to extend our vision and keep on with all the innovations.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AGP: I do not handle it properly yet. Some days I do not sleep and others… I do not sleep either, jaja.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AGP: It depends on the level of complexity, the client’s urgency, the clarity of the brief, etc. There are projects that last two days, others 4 months, a year, or even 3 years.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AGP: I remember once a student at University asked me: “At what age you start understanding how to design?” That necessity of creating an automatic, easy, effortless way is a typical characteristic of new generations. Regarding this desire of “magical solutions”, I answered them they will never be ready enough. The constant practice and the approach to different problems will cause a more and more solid base, which will help them to face challenges. But this growth demands a permanent feeding. Ignore that base provokes shortcut and decadence.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
AGP: There are many cases, but I think that working in the USA and in Mexico were very enriching opportunities, which have changed the way I think and which placed me in a more global situation.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
AGP: Unilever (England, Brazil, Argentina), InBev (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Dominic Republic, Paraguay). Sherwin Williams, Pernod Ricard, Pepsico, Kraft, among others.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AGP: Packaging design totally passions me. I love it capacity of interacting with the consumer.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AGP: We plan to keep on growing, having clients all over the world. We also mean to optimize our operative systems, and to establish a quality standard. We want to be recognized for having an unique service, which integrates speed, quality and a great price.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AGP: The projects which mean a fundamental strategic value, or the ones which implies a major challenge, are developed by me. In some occasions I work the basic aesthetics and, once they are approved by the client, my team continues the process, under my strict supervision, of course.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AGP: Confidentiality does not allow me to do so.
FS: How can people contact you?
AGP: They can write an e-mail to info@pierinipartners.com, or they can visit our website www.pierinipartners.com and leave us a message in “Contact” section.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
AGP: I would like to thank the jury, and all the people working in A’ Design Award, for the price they gave me and for living my agency the opportunity of becoming an example of creativity among South-American designers.
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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