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Interview with Andrei Korsun |
Home > Designer Interviews > Andrei Korsun |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Andrei Korsun (AK) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Andrei Korsun 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?
AK: My journey into the world of design began when I was a child. I was just a boy, but I already loved cars and everything about them. Like many others, I wanted to draw my own version of each car that passed by. Years passed, but interest in creativity only progressed and in high school all my notebooks were painted with sports cars, chairs and just patterns. When entered the State Aviation Institute with a potential degree in hydroaerodynamics, I was looking forward to not just drawing pictures, but designing and seeing the end result of my work. While the education was amazing, unfortunately, there were no job opportunities in this field in my country. I worked for some time as a sales manager in various companies, and then got a job in an architectural bureau. It was there that I first saw the result of my painstaking work - the entrance group to the office building. It gave me a huge boost of energy. I entered the British Higher School of Design, got my second degree and since then I was forever connected with design. Subsequently, there were internships in furniture companies, working as a freelancer, working as an interior designer and working for a manufacturing company engaged in the production of consumer goods from plastic. I have never regretted any of my career steps because it has given me such valuable experience, I have learned from many mistakes and still passionately love every part of designing something.
FS: What is "design" for you?
AK: For me, design is some sort of a language, a way to communicate with each other. By using it, you can talk to thousands of people from different parts of the world at the same time. With the help of design, you can emphasize any problem, you can boost someone’s confidence or, just comfort him, cheer him up or you can even scare him. You can let the design be a significant part of something, or vice versa, you can make it an almost invisible helper. Good design is, mainly, a function, but just like a word can be used in different ways, the design of one object can be done in so many diverse ways. By communicating with society through design, we free ourselves from language, distance or national barriers. This creates an amazing feeling of unity with the whole world.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AK: I would say that my most beloved areas of design are perhaps furniture design and lighting design. I like to design furniture, because despite the infinite number of variations of each item and the established canons of convenience - there are still billions of unspoken ideas. It invigorates, energizes, it presents a challenge every time. And the design of light is a mystical art that allows you to create thousands of form variations through interaction with light and shadow.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AK: I can’t single out something specific, I’ll rather name a few areas of design that impressed me the most. One of them has to be the Streamline - I love that era in the U.S. - powerful, dynamic, confident. I like the courage and the scope of buildings and products that were being designed at that time. At the same time, I am also very impressed by the Bauhaus. This is the most iconic phenomenon in the design world in my opinion. Masters of their craft, who presented a whole scattering of beautiful timeless products. It seems to me that this is a great indicator of excellent design, when the product passes the test of time and is still relevant, desirable, and fresh.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AK: The very first thing I designed was the entrance group to the office building. It's more of an architectural project. There was a сurious case with that project: the company was not offered to participate in architectural supervision. Instead, the customer decided to save some money and arranged a fine finish without finalized drawings, solely based on renders. As a result, the workers who laid out the tiles in the hall decided that the black stripes running along the floor from the columns were in fact some other black tiles and made diagonal stripes across the entire hall. In reality, these stripes are shadows. The entire lobby had to be remodeled...
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AK: I adore working with marble for the variety and depth of the drawing, as well as the feeling of it - it can be homely warm, or it can be cold like space. At the same time, I like modern composite materials (e.g. forged carbon) - they give you more freedom in terms of working with the shape and it can look really impressively.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
AK: Usually at night) my family is not very happy about it)) If I am being serious, I am always in creative mood and try to look around for inspiration and pay attention to the surroundings. It's kind of an endless quest to find something new and then create new products based on it.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AK: I mainly try to focus on such things as: impact on society, user experience, shapes and forms, quality and selection of materials, place in time as I want to rather create the products that would not correspond to today’s world, but items that will remain relevant many years later.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AK: It feels like I meditate. When I fully understand the task, immersed in the process of creation, time ceases to exist for me. I will not stop and leave the table until I finish the thought that has formed into the product.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AK: It is the ultimate form of pleasure, that's what I work for. Seeing the materialization of your idea is a great reward and then seeing another person using your product which makes him a little bit happier is the highest honor.
FS: What makes a design successful?
AK: Society's reaction. If your design makes the people react - it's a successful design. And the more active and large-scale the reaction, the better. And in order for society to react, it is necessary to be a part of it, to understand what it needs, what problems and experiences it has. This is an important social aspect of the design.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AK: Since the very first impression is visual, the first aspect would be relevance. If you can imagine the design to be relevant in 10-20 years, that's great. I also look for some hidden features, that play a little mind trick with the customer. If the product has some little details that are imperceptible at first glance, but what they do is actually bring an emotional component when it is noticed, that's perfect.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AK: I am convinced that every designer, whether beginner or professional, has a major influence on these aspects. You are able to conduct a dialogue with society in any way possible and also select the materials and think about their future fate at the very beginning of product development.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AK: It seems to me that future technologies will allow us to make a revolutionary leap in the field of design. Neural networks, augmented reality, 3D printing, all this is developing very rapidly, and no doubt will remove many existing technological limitations. And the processes of design production and presentation will change - the future is at our doorstep and it sounds amazing)
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AK: It can be a lot of things that surround me every day, events, people, places. The most important thing is to always be interested in something new and keep your eyes wide open. I can be inspired by a chip on the kitchen table or maybe by Gaudi’s sketch. There are no boundaries here.
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?
AK: I think it's a paradoxical mix of Bauhaus and Streamline) It seems to me that functional, strict, laconic forms can be perfectly combined with exceptionally high-quality materials and can sometimes be supplemented with a little artsy details. This creates some intrigue.
FS: How do you work with companies?
AK: Usually this is a remote collaboration, but I never refuse a chance to fly in, get acquainted, see how the production operates. It can be both contractual work or a one-time order.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AK: It’s actually very simple. Browse the current competitions and the work of participants, select a few you like. Ask yourself why this item is made the way it is and what the designer had in mind. Ask him the same questions. If the direction of your thoughts converge, I think you will be comfortable working with him.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AK: During the development of a new product, even before the market analysis, just after receiving introductory information from the customer, I make a few sketches, the first thing that comes to mind. After analyzing, identifying problems and ways to solve them, working out the idea, I try to keep that particle of inspiration in there, which makes the product more alive.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AK: Since I am a fairly young designer myself, I can advise them to remain passionate about your work and always stay hungry for new knowledge.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
AK: I can't name a single negative thing in the designer's work. If you truly feel passionate about it, then all obstacles will only help you to gain useful experience. If we talk about the pros - what could be more beautiful to then making the lives of people around you a little better?
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AK: I would say I actually have three of them. First, is to do only those projects that are interesting, that will solve an actual problem or bring joy/benefit to people. Second, is to use the minimum amount of funds to get the maximum effect. And last, but not least is to be yourself, do not lose your vision for the sake of fashion.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
AK: In my opinion, the main skill of any designer is to have a broad outlook. It all starts with it. Your talent, the ability to communicate with people, the skills to use the software, academic knowledge - it's, of course, important, but if you don't look around enough, it's unlikely that you will become a good designer.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AK: For me, it is pretty simple, I can work on the project for days until I finish it. The project, the idea, completely absorbs me. Perhaps this is not very good from the health point of view, but I cannot do it any other way around))
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AK: It seems to me that this question is being asked to every designer - how did you come up with this? Where did you get the inspiration?)
FS: Who are some of your clients?
AK: Right now, there are several companies producing plastic goods and a startup engaged in woodworking. However, I am actively looking for new customers involved in furniture, lighting and bathroom equipment.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AK: My short-term plans are to connect with as many potential customers as possible, implement the concepts that I already finished and continue to participate as actively as possible and win in international competitions and exhibitions.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AK: I currently work as an individual, but I am always open to contribute to a team.
FS: How can people contact you?
AK: There are many ways you can reach me. I am always looking to connect Behance: https://www.behance.net/andreykors23 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrei-korsun-5a5132252/ e-mail: andkorsun@gmail.com mob. phone: +7(707)070-67-71
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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