Interview with Fabricio Ronca
I believe we can change a society with design, bringing opportunities for people's cultural and financial growth and showing what is good, beautiful and durable.
Designer of the Day Interview
6 January 2025
I've been in the market for over 20 years, I worked a lot with architecture and interiors, but today I dictate 100% to product and furniture design.
I grew up in Belo Horizonte, a city surrounded by mountains, music, art, folklore and the works of Oscar Niemeyer. As a child I went with my mother a few time at the Faculty of Fine Arts she did, and played a lot with clay, painting, woodcut, immersed in the art world then it happened naturally and ludicly my insertion in this universe.
I seek beauty, functionality and durability. Good design is always the one who sells well, our business is art, science and market, so we need to be aware of these 3 pillars to develop good pieces.
I seek the connection with God and nature, sometimes I feel light and confident with some pieces I develop, at other times I feel distressed by the process, I believe it is the biggest challenge, looking for new ways to do the same thing.But it is very gratifying to be able to see the pieces ready and the reaction of people when using them
One more important thing is to be resilient, you will receive many "no" in your process, take this as a fuel to improve, also take advantage of your small victories to be steps on your climb. Be very curious about everything, but retain only what is good. I believe we are products of what we concrete, if you consume good things, of course they leave you in the form of creativity. So look at good movies, read good books, listen to good songs, make different and enriching trips, eat and drink well to be happier.
I would like to draw more for foreign companies in Europe, USA and Asia, to have more geographic freedom.Also develop a design incubator for new talents and people under vulnerable conditions.
Try to develop a positive and strong mind to be resilient and face obstacles as if they were steps for you to go up. Seek inspiration from various types of environments, music, architecture, fashion, motorsport, etc. Look for good sources of inspiration, read, practice sports, meditate, pray and have a healthy life. The important thing is to have fun by creating, the design should never be heavy or disproportionate, all propositions and beauty are in nature, connect with the creator to gain access to these keys.
Your career depends on your life and how you see the world. Think of your career as a construction, a home. First start with the structure, a strong structure will not let your home crumble, so learn from the masters. 02, Strong your walls, seals, infrastructure and coverage with masonry and resistant roof, shield your mind. 03, decoration and details are important, refine your aesthetics and sources of inspiration. Develop your senses to be more sensitive and creative.
I'm a simple guy, I like to read, meditate, pray, play with my daughter, play sports, eat good food and rest. I travel a lot in lectures, fairs and events, so when I'm at home I like to be with my family and friends.
Today the world is globalized, everything is very close and fast. What we designed today, tomorrow is already being copied or someone had the same inspiration, this is the collective struggle.I like to classify my design as "warm minimalism" I seek the essence of things but in a way that brings warmth and humanization in my projects. People need real, human experiences, explore the true senses, I believe that in a digital world full of effeminate and pasteurized information, people will look for the custom, the warmth, the personalized, this is a trend for me.
Good design needs to have beauty, function and durability, and is also the one who sells well, who solves the problem of many people in a simple way.
Sometimes the piece is born ready and mature, in other cases it needs an incubation, care, cutting process, usually these are the most successful, as the process is the most important in developing a good design.
The pieces that were exhibited at Milao Design Week in partnership with the Brazilian team, and the Botero armchair that I just launched with Wewood, a European company.
I always liked Jacobsen's Scandinavian aesthetics, and also Carrera, I grew up in a multicultural country that has several sources of very rich inspiration and folklore. I admire the Brazilian modernists such as Zalszupin, Sergio Rodrigues, Tenreiro and Neiemeyer. Also Mies, and nowadays I like Nendo, Patricia Urquiola, Paola Lenti.
I have the nature, architecture and affective memory as my main sources of inspiration, music has always been part of my life, since I was little, I am a musician and amateur singer as well. I believe all areas of the arts are connected, the more you learn new things in other environments, the more creative you will be.
Before the pandemic I had a team of architects, interior, a large office, but today I work at home, with less volume, but more quality. To be a good architect and designer needs to be pro active, do beyond the prerequisite, go beyond and seek solutions to self -deviate
I believe design is a transformer of society, whether through solutions or sales. The chain that designs furniture covers is very extensive, when a good design goes well, it fosters from employees, factories, representatives, retailers, and the entire production chain and inputs. In addition to what a good design is lasting, it is timeless and becomes sustainable to go from generation to generation.
Being more recognized in the world, having more prestige in the midst of design, and also develops self -esteem to raise higher flights.
Designer Interview
6 January 2025
When I was little my mother did fine arts and I attended school with her, I grew up in contact with painting, clay, woodcut and drawing, this connected me with the arts in a playful and natural way, I lived in Belo Horizonte, a city very rich in folklore and art, where many works by Oscar Niemeyer are, in the Pampulha Complex. It is a city very rich in art and music.
Today I work at home where I have time to spend more time with my family, raise my daughter and have my moments of peace and rest. After the pandemic, a lot has changed, and I make the most of my days going to the gym, running, and traveling. I worked a lot with architecture, but now, i'm 100% in product design and furniture.
Design for me is life, it is what we can capture through the creator, the connection with nature, the experiences, the senses, and decode these elements and bring them to ordinary daily life. understand people's needs and try to bring the best to their lives. It is an eternal hybrid exercise of art, market and science.
Furniture and products, objects, i like a lot to panting and drawing too.
The favorite design is always the next one, the willingness to challenge yourself to create new things. But of course we have our favorite puppies, the Sella armchair, the Fofa, the dots collection and the Vello bar car are among them.
a headboard, then a sideboard that fell in love with the soccer player Neymar.
I like natural materials like stones, woods and leather. My favorite plattaform today is Rhinoceros and Keyshot.
When i'm in contact with God and nature.
I focus a lot on beauty, proportion, construction parameters and functionality. The Vitruvian triad.
It depends a lot on the project, sometimes we draw pieces to meet the needs of a collection, sometimes we surprise ourselves with affective memory insights and playfulness. It is a mixture, of pleasure and enthusiasm, and sometimes agrect for doing more and better.
Feeling of accomplishment, of seeing a ready and marketed piece, people enjoying, testing and xperimentating and being happy to use, is very rewarding.
This is very relative, because sometimes you project something with the certainty that it will be a success and does not happen, and sometimes a piece that took a long time to get out of the oven, get ready, years of testing and adjustments become much more successful , it's something about.
I like to analyze 03 Basic factors, form and aesthetics, function, and constructive aspects and durability. But other factors are important such as sustainability, adaptability and compositions, as well as adapts to the trends of the world and the future.
Design is a mechanism for social and cultural transformation, as designers we are responsible for transformations in society and a pole, for example, if a piece is successful and its sales are wide, we are strengthening and fostering an entire chain of employees, representatives , retailers, etc.
I think people are a little tired of the common standard, the repeated things, I believe that the search for crafts, experiences and sensations are very important for a more mentally and spiritually healthy life. The design will be more customizable, more humanized pieces and where the user gets involved with the piece, against the extremely digitized world people look for palpable things, real experiences and where they involve the senses and people.
Milano Italia. 2024 , I would like to go to Escandinavia !
My inspirations comes from nature, music, architecture, affective childhood memories, among others. I created an acronym called "Manah" which means affective memory, nature, architecture and hybrid, the elements I use as sources of inspiration, and refer to the mana that God sent every day in the desert to the Hebrew people in the Egypt estate. For me creativity is renewed with each morning, just like the manna.
I call warm minimalism, I look for the essence of things but in a way that brings warmth and well -being to people.
I live in a tropical country, where big names in the archetura and design have always been exalted, such as Niemeyer, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Artigas, Sergio Rodrigues, Campana brothers, among others. Brazil is a continental and multicultural country, the references are very rich, we have many opportunities for references, but the Brazilian policy and economy are against the quality of the country, is a rich country with poor mindset. Unfortunately. But I believe in the change of minds of people.
I work in partnership with the industries, develop the pieces, launched in collections and receive a percentage for each sale, through royalties.
I believe companies should set up a team of experienced designers and new talents, to balance the collection, but not work with many designers with various aesthetic because it ends up leaving the language and identity of the company without strength and character.
I always start by drawing your free hand, sometimes I use cutouts such as models and modeling, dick with watercolor or pens, then model in 3D software, render and present to my partners.
chair, vases, handle doors, ligth lamps, Kart bars.
I wake up early, I read daily, I pray to God, meditate, practice sports, then work a little, lunch, I take my daughter to school, then study the market and trends, drawing, I like to travel with family and work , I give many lectures and go to fairs and events around Brazil and around the world.
Study a lot, draw a lot, try until you can! The resilience and persistence are the keys of success. Read good books, watch good movies, like and drink well, listen to good music. You are the result of what you consume, if you consume good things, good things will come out of you as creativity.
Positive is being able to create new things every day, do different things, know new cultures and possibilities. Being able to have geographic freedom, etc. Negative, I haven't found it yet, and I hope it doesn't exist.
Good design is what sells
Resilience, ability to innovate and adapt, positive mind and be a good seller.
Use drawing and painting tools, sketchbooks, 3D applications, renders.
Usually I live freely, without much pressure to develop my designs, but sometimes I need to go back and get more hospitalized in the process of creating and developing parts.
The drawing process is fast, I have a database of things that inspire me, that I drew, I call an incubator, always revised to seek my old ideas that can be worth it. But the manufacturing process, constructive of prototyping and lenceness is a little longer.
How to sell my pieces to companies? Where your inspiration comes from?
Expose in Milan in design week and participate in the Brazilian design team, also draw pieces for the European brand Wewood.
Pado, Tramontina, Saccaro, Tumar, Wewood , Moveis James, St. James, Salva.
I love to draw furniture as well as objects, but I also like architecture and environments.
Draw for companies in Europe, Asia and the United States.
I usally has a team
I used to have a team, but after the pandemic I ended up making the most scale and better quality tapes.
Instagram: fabricioronca, Email: fabricioncca@gmail.com
https://www.behance.net/fabricioronca
https://www.behance.net/fabricioronca
Deliver your way to the Lord, trust Him, and the more He will do.