Interview with Alan Saga
Designer of the Day Interview
10 July 2018
Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design and Product Development at Centro de Estudios Superiores de Diseño de Monterrey (Mexico). Experience in areas such as product design and contemporary art, participation with national and international companies such as Cervecería Cuauhtemoc and Dalmia Cements.
Design has been part of my life since I was a kid, I showed particular interest in utilitary gadgets and drawing. After graduating, I published the first design of my personal collection "Only Right Here", which was very well accepted nationally and internationally and I had the opportunity to receive a Platinum A Design Award and the title of the best industrial design of 2013 by Architectural Digest Magazine, this expanded my vision to continue exploring my greatest passion, design.
My priority is to have a well-founded and original concept before starting to design, the idea should sound very interesting with just describing it with words. Depending on the nature of the project, the research is a main part of the process, to know the real needs of the users and validate proposals. The 3D modeling is my strongest tool to develop a product, 3D analysis and create high precision models and prototypes.
The designing is a carousel of emotions, can be presented positively or negatively, however, there are no words to describe happiness to see a finished project.
Work several projects at the same time, constant self-motivation and the ability to manage the time to complete the most strict deadlines.
I'd like to create a responsible design product whose function is to save human lives or contribute to the care of the planet.
To make projects as complex as possible to increase the learning curve, explore the different areas of the design to identify which fits better to your skills and interests.
Be constantly updated with new technologies/softwares and avoid the comfort zones, the new and different challenges expand our vision and skills.
My daily routine is simple, always try to use as much time as possible to the design. I like to listen to music and Comedy Central stand up while I'm designing. I take every opportunity I have to visit design stores or anywhere.
I like to design series of products that reflect their own style. If the project has an artistic nature, I often look for inspiration in international culture, icons, sociocultural aspects or social critiques.
A well rounded original concept or creatively solve a real need. To evaluate, I like to imagine or see the product in their environment to verify if it truly fits into it.
A design can always be improved but I usually stop when my mind making relevant improvements in the basis of the design and I've already compared their different versions, together with a well-explored aesthetic and perfected manufacturing details.
"Only Right Here" is the piece that most makes me feel proud because I'm satisfied with the result and for the acceptance by the public. The inspiration lies in the bullfights, these activities I represented in a concept as a symbol of transition and the awakening of conscience of controversial issues not only in Mexico, but worldwide.
Gaston Bonaudi is a friend and a very cool designer as individual, very humble person who has extremely speed to design and projects with first level technology companies. The team of designers and engineers that I admire most are Bang & Olufsen and Braun.
I think any city can be inspiring because of it is cultural content and history. Part of my projects are inspired by the cultural heritage of different countries and I express this through a product.
I'm particularly interested in collaborating with people with a real passion for their work, can be from the same or different area.
I haven't had the opportunity to do a social project, it's one of my main goals. I really admire the people who make humanitarian projects, I can imagine the sensation of generating a positive impact through design, for me that is the industrial design in its purest expression.
It was a very motivating experience to have been part of the competition, I received a lot of support from the design publications and I had the opportunity to exhibit my work with many of the best designers, architects and artists in the world. I feel very fortunate to be selected as Designer of the Day and that my work continues to be recognized by A Design Award.
Design Legend Interview
26 October 2016
From college I liked my designs express a pure idea, a social critique and a cultural environment through the function of my products.
Both positive and negative socio-cultural concepts is an opportunity to express and explore my emotions and ideology through the design of objects.
From my childhood and youth design has been part of my life so I chose to be a designer.
I like to design within the category of art object, however I am open to any possibility, different products and unexpected.
Dedication, continuous work and believe in himself.
A great designer seeks to create pieces that transcend, with a high degree of originality and conceptual content.
Good design should be well-founded, owning an original concept, value as an object of art and of course functionality.
A good design has the power to improve the experience of everyday life, creating an opportunity to generate new links between a product / company and the end user.
I like to design for companies committed to the social and cultural wellbeing of people. And I would focus on products that create awareness among people, but without losing the goal of achieving a pleasant experience owning the object.
I'd like to devote time to responsible design, through biology and cell theory.
Capture or convey my conceptual ideology of an effective and concrete way in my designs based on socio-cultural issues, reflecting both positive and negative aspects creating awareness among people. Transcendent objects.
Gaston Bonaudi
Only Right Here is my best design that perfectly reflects very important to me, that is the awakening of consciousness international humanist subject.
Never stop learning and exploring different aspects of the design.
I had dedicated to genetics or a career related to biology, but it is something I still want to do in the future.
Is the act of creating something tangible or intangible, taking into account the physical and / or psychological needs of people, with the aim of developing new experiences.
My family, friends, teachers and especially viewers who appreciate my work, are 50% of my work.
The time I spend to explore and design. Also experience by working in different categories with other artists and designers.
Liquidity or funding to develop new projects.
Engage customer / viewer with a backstory, therefore it is very important to have a well-founded concept and easy to understand.
Developing a line of products inspired by cultural icons that reflect the social situation in which we live.
Create series of concepts that critically reflect human values.
My designs are focused for art lovers and people designer products.
By designing you can reflect both positive and negative aspects of our society, you can also help an awakening of collective consciousness.
I was selected for an artistic residence in India, where I am developing a series of 20 products, which I am exploring new materials and manufacturing styles, as well as entieniendo how fascinating it is to merge two cultures.
Only Right Here is the project that has given me more satisfaction so far by the response from the public, cultural organizations and the media. This design helped me to have the opportunity to learn about the different reactions and the way of thinking of the spectators, as well as its national and international spread.
I wish the products focus beyond aesthetics and function, making interact and reflect the people to see industrial design from a necessary perspective in our daily lives.
In the biodesign and in different fields of science.
Usually 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the category and product complexity.
I like to start with the conceptualization based on a preliminary investigation of the factors influencing the needs of the design project.
The most important thing is to have a well structured and defined concept.
The best designs create new trends, however there is also a chance to explore existing trends, and innovate.
It's very important both in the design and production, technology streamlines both time and cost the process.
I use Rhinoceros, 3ds Max and Solidworks to design, silicone molds, CNC machines and 3D printing.
It's a key to amplify the concepts and emotions that consumers can generate part.
The source of inspiration for my designs, as well as how it will influence people.
Understand all the steps had to solve to reach that result. As well as the degree of conceptual content that brings.
Someone who has the same passion for design and their main skills are different from mine to create a complement, resulting in stronger and influential products.
Designers who have a cultural approach philosophy as well as social criticism. But I admire any designer who has a very clear idea and the way it manages to translate it into their designs.
Donald Norman's books.
Developing products of different categories and investing as much time as possible to do what I like.
I feel lucky and grateful to receive platinum A Design Award, as I encouraged to continue to mature in my concepts. Also comes great responsibility to be recognized with these awards, because it forces you or not lower line quality and content of new designs.
My favorites are dark colors, I like Italy, the winter season and Braun is my favorite brand.
I constantly motivated to observe all kinds of situations that may arise during a new day, and how it could take as a reference or integrate my projects.
Since my childhood I liked to draw without specific references and had great fascination with toys like Lego, Betterware catalogs. Later, as I grew older I realized that everything I liked had a lot of well-rounded design, regardless of the product category or topic.
I believe that global ideologies have a natural collapse, so we automatically will be forced to find new ways to live in balance with the planet. These changes will be so trascentales in humanity, that all fields of life, such as medicine, technological developments, etc, will open a wide field of possibilities in the field of design as it will be vital to survive as a civilization.
You always have to have the humility to hear from anyone take the initiative to learn new things and eliminate the ego because it is the worst enemy of creativity.
Designer Interview
12 August 2018
Since my youth I have been particularly interested in activities related to creativity of a plastic nature. The development of this award-winning project was the fact that most marked me to enter the world of industrial design.
I'm an industrial designer focused on the art object, and I develop a series that represents the transition of the collective consciousness within the social-responsible context.
Is the creative way to express an idea, making it tangible to transmit emotions.
I'm passionate about all the areas of design. I have a particular interest in product design, from the art to electronic area.
Definitely "Only Rigth Here" is the design that has given me projection in national and international level. And which meets all expectations I seek for in my designs.
The design of a commemorative packaging of a recognized regional beer.
3D modeling
Definitely when I'm alone at night, and I can have peace to develop my concepts.
Mainly I focus on the conceptual part, and get to a high level of detail in my 3D models.
I feel emotions when I'm designing, both positive and negative. The best part is the satisfaction of watching when a design starts to come alive.
Normally comes a phase of total relaxation and satisfaction, which I use as motivation to continue creating ideas.
I think a design is successful when it manages to assemble a well-founded and original concept, and gets into the market to where it was headed.
The visual and aesthetic aspects is the first thing I judge, and how can it conceptually integrate.
Create designs that promote cultural values, and create awareness with the history that lies behind the product.
Globalization has greatly accelerated the future of design, expanding to new previously unexplored fields, but always tending to self-sustain, and use the planet's resources in the most efficient way.
October 2013, Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City. The next exhibition will be in August where I will present a new piece in the association CONARTE
My inspiration comes from my life ideology, and the concepts ingrained throughout the years. The sociocultural aspect of my country helps me feed my creative concepts, plus constant practice and feedback from other designers.
I would define my style, as a transmitter of cultural ideas, building on the original function of my products, and with minimal aesthetic.
I live in Monterrey, Mexico. I think the cultural heritage of Mexico is extremely rich and extensive so it directly affects my designs. However in a global society, my tendency is to make a fusion between my mores and international design trends, always keeping my roots.
In my short experience working with companies, I've done it via online.
It is essential that the designer to work both alone and as a team. And it is very important to detect the degree of commitment, and how can it pose different creative solutions to a same problem.
For my designs, the key phase is the conceptualization, where I make a cultural and market research, which allows me to land ideas with greater impact. And that is where product development begins.
One of my main characteristics since the day starts, is that most of my activities relate with design, I am passionate person in the whole aspect of creativity. I wake up, turn on my PC, I start designing, and when I find myself a bit saturated, I perform activities such as exercising, listening to music and reading, to release, free my mind and get on with my labors.
Although I'm still a young designer, I’ve always liked being open to explore different fields of industrial design, with this we I can discover with what to identify and my true passions.
there is always something to improve
The ability to develop a concept, creativity and certainty to propose different solutions to the same project design.
One of my main sources of inspiration are the books of Donald Norman and technically speaking my basic tools for designing are Rhinoceros, Solidworks, Keyshot and Google (blogs, social media, etc).
My daily activities such as eating, grooming, etc, I use them as a form of relaxation for the mind, so I can get more work done.
The percentage varies depending on the complexity of the project. However the average range is 1-3 months.
How I can express my talent to leave a mark as a Mexican industrial designer
Based on the complexity, the most important project in which I worked, was a draft design of electronic products, along with a team of industrial designers worldwide.
I am a recent graduate industrial designer. Some of the companies I've been in projects with are: Allen, Heineken, Gruma, among others.
The discursive design is what I enjoy the most, being a free style and versatile way to handle and express the themes of inspiration in the purest way.
My main goal now is to stand out as Mexican industrial designer, to have the opportunity to work abroad in a major design studio, where I’m allowed to develop my skills.
I design by myself, and I like receive feedback of others designers.
I'm working on the second project under my firm, which will be presented on May 1, 2014 at Behance.
www.behance.net/alansaga or adsaga87@gmail.com
I am a young industrial designer, interested in forming international business relations, boost my talent and commercialize my products.