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Interview with Mikhail Chistiakov |
Home > Designer Interviews > Mikhail Chistiakov |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Mikhail Chistiakov (MC) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Mikhail Chistiakov 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?
MC: Perhaps the fundamental thing here is the desire to create. Create new forms, new objects, new meanings. I have always had this desire.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
MC: My studio is engaged in industrial and object design for customers around the world. Starting with porcelain (this is our favorite material) and ending with plywood.
FS: What is "design" for you?
MC: n the process of the evolution of professional development, this word meant quite different things. At first it meant a beautiful form, then a solution to the problem, then a beautiful idea. Now it is rather a complex of several factors such as shape, ergonomics, response to the needs of society, sustainable production. The perfect design is the perfect balance of all these factors.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
MC: The very first project was a manual dental X-ray. Now this project seems a little naive, but it is still relevant. And it is still used in clinics.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
MC: Of the materials, these are porcelain and wood. and in technology, research in the field of 3-d printing of artificial intelligence and the reuse of materials is especially interesting. Working with these technologies, as it were, opens the veil to the future.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
MC: On a trip and in discussions with colleagues. Brainstorming, discussions with like-minded people allows you to give birth to great ideas.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
MC: First of all, I am looking for new entities, additional layers of meanings of the subject, so that the design is not limited only to appearance or commercial success. I strictly follow the proportions and usability of objects. I also try to agree with the production technologists so that the solution is reasonable and technological and of high quality.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
MC: First of all, this is the excitement of the search, when a new and non-trivial solution may arise at any moment.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
MC: At first, after the project is implemented, it always seems that something else can be improved. But as time passes, pride comes from the fact that the world has become a little better.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
MC: My last exhibition was held in Moscow. Plywood objects of my project Fanera.Design were exhibited on it. This exhibition is a reflection on sustainable production, and a creative rethinking of the use of industrial waste. Now an exhibition of my porcelain works is planned. Possibly in early 2022.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
MC: Travel, ethnographic expeditions, nature observations. The strict and precise beauty of the northern edge of my country inspires and constantly pushes new ideas.
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?
MC: I live and work in Russia. It is a country with rich traditions of wood processing, ceramics firing, as well as culture, architecture and crafts. Therefore, this whole cultural layer inevitably affects my work. And although some design features are very distinctive and are not always accepted by people with a different cultural code, in general, the appeal to ethnic motives is very interesting.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
MC: Do more with less.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
MC: Empathy and curiosity
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
MC: Project work requires strict time management, deadlines at all stages. In this case, project management methods from IT technologies come to the rescue. For example, compared to the classical approach, the agile approach to development can have more control over the project management.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
MC: As a rule, on average, a project takes six months, with design research, approvals and the launch of production.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
MC: How much does it cost? And why is it so expensive?
FS: Who are some of your clients?
MC: PJSC Aeroflot, SDI Gifts, Pirkenhammer Manufactory,
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
MC: This is conceptual design, sketching. When hundreds of ideas are born and developed on paper in the form of simple sketches. Never again in the design process is there such a concentration of meanings.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
MC: The directions of metamaterials research, sustainable production, 3D printing are very interesting for me.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
MC: It very much depends on the project. Complex industrial design projects cannot be done alone, you need the interaction of designers, designers, managers, technologists. And I have a team that I attract for this kind of projects. Another thing is creative projects of subject design. Here I can develop a project on my own from start to finish.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
MC: I try not to disclose details of current projects. But it will be a series of plywood art objects.
FS: How can people contact you?
MC: The easiest way to do this is via mail m@chistiakov.design
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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