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Interview with Zev Bianchi |
Home > Designer Interviews > Zev Bianchi |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Zev Bianchi (ZB) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Zev Bianchi 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?
ZB: With an engineer father and an artist mother, It did not take too long to discover design as the perfect career path for me. I have always been extremely mechanically minded but finding a profession like industrial product design finally created the pathway to really delve into both the form and function of all the products and pieces I create.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
ZB: Bcompact design is an interdisciplinary design studio with two major ethe at its core. Sustainability and Compact living. Using cutting-edge design techniques and new sustainable materials, we are very proud and excited to enter the new age with ideas and practices that are designed to create better futures for all living creatures and the planet on which we reside, currently.
FS: What is "design" for you?
ZB: Design for me is, first and foremost solving problems of all natures. Then creating better living environments with compact, clever, and sustainable innovations that people around the world can enjoy and love.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
ZB: Compact, space-saving, sustainable innovations, and problem-solving inventions.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
ZB: At the moment the design that is in my major spotlight, are the Bcompact, Hybrid Ladders, and stairs. A never-before-seen innovation that has taken the world by storm! A sideways, flat-folding stair-like product that has opened up a whole new area for compact living and sustainable design. This is only one of the many designs that I have and love but is an all-consuming development process currently. But I have many new and even some not yet fully developed ideas in the memory banks that I am loving to start and continue developing as some as the opportunities allow.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
ZB: One of the first things I designed for another company, of any significance, was a giant three-dimensional Easter egg, made up of over 2500 small golden spheres. Measuring almost 12 meters in height and 7 meters in girth. These enormous chocolate Easter egg displays were displayed in a number of grandiose shopping centers, for the Ferrero Roche chocolate company, Italy.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
ZB: My favorite material, hands down is Bamboo. Predominantly in its mad-made, composite board form. This material is the perfect construct to not only replace a large percentage of wood in its usual applications but can also be seen as one of the only species of plant that can possibly enable the reversal of the current global CO2 crisis we are facing.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
ZB: When I'm all alone in my design studio/factory developing new ways and ideas to solve design dilemmas and in the moments just before sleep takes over. Some of the most inspiring breakthroughs happen in this almost subconscious state of the design process.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
ZB: Emotions I feel when designing, range through the full spectrum of feelings and emotions depending on the design and the different points of its development. Generally, though, the feeling of euphoria and excitement fill me the most when new and innovative creation is coming to light.
FS: What makes a design successful?
ZB: A design is successful for me when it is realised fully. There is not always a lot of time in your life to create everything that is imagined. When I am pleased and content in its final state, it works and looks just right and finally, it is admired and appreciated by my peers and the general public alike.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
ZB: The responsibilities for designers today are becoming more and more relevant and important. As designers are starting to be the architects of the world today and for our futures. We create the environments and products in all our daily lives and moreover it is our social responsibility to take this extremely seriously as we hold so many decisions for living beings and the planet to coexist and prosper well into the future.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
ZB: Designers, engineers, artists, mathematicians, and theorists. We all have a role to play, some are becoming more prevalent today than others, like design but we cannot discount any learned disciplines that have evolved to this day and we cannot deny new and unheard-of beliefs and practices either. The world is ever-changing and we all have roles to play to make it better for us today and well into the future.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
ZB: My last exhibition was in Salone de Mobile, Milan, Italy, for the Hybrid Stairs and Ladders, in 2019. I wish to be on exhibition again soon with an entirely new range of flexible Bamboo furniture, lighting and products.
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?
ZB: My design style is minimalist, a meld of Japanese and Scandinavian. Incorporating high-end and sustainable materials with technology and innovation, with aesthetics and function at an equal level at the top.
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?
ZB: Australia is a new world compared to Europe and Asia, so there is not a lot in the way of heritage that influences my designs but on the other hand, this new world is not constrained by so many of the things that the old world and history dictate so often. Therefore I believe I have a distinct advantage in the world of design as it is a discipline to seeks innovation and forward-thinking.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
ZB: My design process is somewhat unique I think? I am not really the traditional sketch and extrapolate designer. I do a lot less sketching and much more thinking. Using my mind's eye to see the product or invention, and mentally change and design the parts and functions in my own three-dimensional world. This being done a lot in a sometimes meditative state during the middle of the day or quite often in the moments before sleep. The next stage is then to put these mental creations into a virtual 3D world, with specialised 3D design software, my favorite bing SolidWorks
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
ZB: My 'Kranich Lampe', Stainless steel and Bamboo desk/task lamp. The 'Aviator chair' a luxury, Leather and Bamboo flat-folding lounge chair. My Eames number 41, leather office chair My elliptical, Bamboo dining table. Flat folding and made for a single piece of standard-sized Bamboo board. The 'Skeletalbar stool' an intricate profile cut Bamboo bar stool that is creative and comfortable.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
ZB: Living high up a hill, overlooking the lush green county side and valleys of our central coast location in Sydney, Australia. The mornings are filled with family and animals. Welcomed by our dogs and opening the chicken coupe on the 50-meter walk to my design studio and factory on our 18-acre property., I spend my days partially in the workshop with the Bcompact employees, building and developing our Hybrid, stairs, and ladders, CNC machining and hand manufacturing parts and prototypes, and the nearby design office/studio, running the international business and designing new creations.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
ZB: Take advice and heed the greats from history but do not only follow others. Have inspiration from nature and design with purpose and passion, and always remember that the things we are commissioned to design should have longevity and only be made real if it is for the betterment of all life and the planet.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
ZB: Positives of being a design are being able to create new and never-before-seen innovations. Negatives can be having the responsibility of the world in your hands with the choices you make.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
ZB: Trust your gut and don't be intimidated by what others believe to be right, better, or beautiful. Always live by you your imagination.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
ZB: Passion and the desire to seek the new and unimagined.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
ZB: The brain, for imagination, and discovery. The pen, to realise the idea and develop. The computer, to fine-tune and see all the facets and functions. The hands and tools, to bring it into reality.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
ZB: Ferrero Roche, Westfield, Justin Hems, Nestle, White & Dixson, Vogue Living,
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
ZB: Currently, I design as a single entity for the most part. Occasionally when the need arises and I'm moving into areas outside of my comfort zone I employ the help of other designer friends and associates that have skills in these areas.
FS: How can people contact you?
ZB: Directly over the phone is the best and always available worldwide though contact details on our website and of course by email if timezones are restrictive, Zev@bcompact.com +61 413 769 303
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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