Interview with Corentin Bricout
Corentin is a passionate designer : he is mixing his passions for sport and design in his everyday life. He is imagining new solutions for footwear, apparel and different kinds of products.
Designer of the Day Interview
21 May 2019
I had the opportunity to design different kinds of products and different ways of designing along my past experiences : I was designing perfume bottles during my first internship, in Grasse. My first experience in sport goods design was at Drom, where I designed paintball protective gear, studs and other accessories. The next step was Puma, where I was part of the teamsport footwear team : the biggest part of the job was to design football shoes, it was a great experience ! At the end of my studies, I had few projects and masterclasses about sport and footwear with clients like Decathlon. I then joined Kipsta (teamsport brand of Decathlon) to design footwear and equipment for different sports. And since 2017 I am a designer at Kiska, where I work on product design and apparel design.
Designer Interview
16 May 2019
I wanted to create things since I was a kid and finally decided to become a designer. I studied industrial design for 5 years, a bit of transportation design, but mostly product design.
I am now working as a designer in Kiska, designing both products and apparel, sometimes motorcycles parts and other very interesting projects.
Design is not easy to explain but if I have to define it, I would say design is a way to give a sense to products. The design thinking is part of my life at any moment, I'm trying to pay attention to any detail around.
Footwear, apparel and any sport related product are my favorite design topics !
I designed perfume bottles during my first internship, after my first year of design studies. It was in Grasse (France), at Jean-Christophe Gaydon Design.
I don't have one absolute favorite material but I do have a strong interest for materials in general, especially when designing soft goods.
When I have fun and when I like what I do, definitely.
It's always a great feeling to see my own idea become real, especially when it is a product that I can use or wear myself.
If the design is creating a solution to an existing, identified problem, it is successful.
I'm asking myself these questions : What is the use ? Who is the target ? What is the context ?
The designer's work can have a big impact on society and environment. It is essential to pay attention to the process and materials of a product or the interaction people will have with it, what could change and how, in order to make a change in the good way only.
I think the design field is following the big trends, getting more digital, making the environment one of the main priorities, etc.
Inspiration comes from multiple sources. I am constantly looking at what's new to be aware of the footwear and sport goods industry for example. But inspiration is coming from any field, it's good to be open to different things.
I like to have a user-centered approach, to understand the users and their needs as a starting point.
I'm currently living in Salzburg, Austria. Being in such a nice environment is for sure a good point while designing, especially sport products.
Every project has a different process, but the common steps are :
Analysis, understanding of the target user(s), the lifestyle, the problems to solve, etc. The second step is the ideation (my favorite !), creating different proposals and directions. The next phase is the development and refinement of the selected concept. And when the development process goes till the end, I like to do the sample review and sample report.
Analysis, understanding of the target user(s), the lifestyle, the problems to solve, etc. The second step is the ideation (my favorite !), creating different proposals and directions. The next phase is the development and refinement of the selected concept. And when the development process goes till the end, I like to do the sample review and sample report.
My 5 design essentials are my Cintiq, my sketchbook, some fine liners, some nice markers and the environment itself, I like to have products around me while designing.
A typical day at work starts around 8:00, most of the time with a coffee. I spend 8 hours per day in the company, designing products, having some design reviews to discuss about the modifications to bring or next steps of the projects. At lunch time, I like to eat outside if the weather is good. And after work, I like to do some sport before going home.
Observe, try, fail, try again ! Enjoy and have fun doing what you do. It is all about practice and passion.
A great thing in the job of a designer is this opportunity to create things.
A negative thing could be that some people don't understand what it takes to become a designer so they might not fully understand the value of our work.
A negative thing could be that some people don't understand what it takes to become a designer so they might not fully understand the value of our work.
Understanding people and provide innovative solutions.
I use the common design softwares, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Solidworks, Rhino, Keyshot... I also love to sketch by hand, I always start with a pen and paper.
I organize my time, make a list of the multiple tasks to do to have a good overview. It's important to be organized in order to know what to do in the right time.
This really depends of the kind of object.
Puma was for me a big step and an amazing experience. I was part of the teamsport team, designing footwear, mostly football boots, but also some equipment. It was great !
Footwear and sport goods, for a simple reason : I'm into sport since I was a kid, this is my passion.
In my work, I work as a team most of the time. I like to work also, to have my hands on the project and know exactly where everything came from and where to go next.
You can contact me by email, linkedin, behance and instagram : corentin.bricout