Interview with Diana Sokolic

Design is an immense field that includes so very different types of artistic creation ( like graphic and industrial design) that it can't be explained in few words. 80 categories of this competition verify that.

I like to design things I like to wear, use, read or surround me.

My newest design is always my most favorite one.

I create all the time - it has become an inseparable part of my life. New ideas come all the time, but only if a person is completely immersed in art as the way of living and thinking.

Simplicity and function enveloped in esthetic value.

Whenever I am creating something I feel overwhelmed with joy and happiness, I feel belonging to the eternal, and I feel as the part of the Universe itself.

When I finish my creation , when it becames TACTILE ( no matter is it a graphic design or a product design ) I feel contentment and satisfaction but at the same time I feel the urge to start with a new project, to realize a new idea.

The duration of the design is the proof of its approval and success.

Function , practicality and then esthetics are the first components I consider when judging a design.

A designer should design things that will be used and liked for a long time. In that way one would not throw something just because of its looks.

My last exhibition was in Zagreb, Croatia and in London, in 2015. Any place where a lot of visitors can see the exhibition is a good place to exhibit.

Whatever I do, from ironing and cooking to teaching, I have creative thoughts in the background of my mind. And then, like in the cartoon, an idea pops up an finds its way in front of everything. Reading, watching movies, going to theatre, travelling, seeing exhibitions, talking to connoisseurs in different fields... all of that feeds my creativity and strengthens it.

The style of my design is a part of my artistic creation, part of my artistic handwriting, part of my world view.

I live in Croatia, country rich with cultural heritage and inexhaustible source of inspiration.
It can be used as the inspiration in design in many ways but alas , I rarely come in situation to design for a client.

I do not work with companies.

Let them work and interfere as little as possible.

Chairs are my most favorite design items at home: Stark's Ghost, Le Corbussier's chaise longue LC-4,
BKF or Butterfly chair ( my parents had it long before I was born ), than Raul Goldoni's (Croatian artist ) glass ball and the table inspired with the Thonet brothers table that I have recently designed .

Lot of dull but necessary work and some joy acquired by creating.

Since I am not ONLY the designer and I don't have to deal with clients often, for me there are more positive sides than those negative. For me the most positive thing is that I can develop my ideas by myself , without interferences from aside.

Functionality , simplicity and elegance.

The most important skill for the designer is to visualize the finished project.

Being a painter by profession , my main tool is paper and pencil, PC comes later, when elaborating the idea.

The most beautiful time in my life is the time when I create. All other things in life are then easier to manage.

It depends of the object to be designed.

How much will it cost?

When I said NO to the potentially very well paid job because I didn't want just to draw the client's bad ideas. I never felt sorry because of it.

I like to design things that I invent and produce by myself (or with help of few connoisseurs).

The next thing I want to do is to try to present my designs outside my country.

I develop my designs by myself.

People can contact me through my web-site.