Interview with Tina Gorjanc

I am currently working as a freelance designer and I am constantly looking to collaborate with different organisations and companies to develop interesting speculative and critical projects.

Design is a form of creativity that is driven by the current or future needs and demands of our current society.

My passion is showcasing a critical approach to design based on an in-depth research on developments and events present in our current society.

The research enables me to speculate on future scenarios that might evolve as a consequence of those events. I am always trying to illustrate the concept behind the project in the clearest way possible in order for it to be easily understood by the public.

I am fascinated by critical design that is able to provoke a change in our current society and tackles unexposed thematic in an innovative way. A really good example is Cody Wilson’s 3D printed gun the “Liberator”, which besides showcasing the potential and dangers of an open source platform also tackles a whole series of problematic dealing with legal rights.

A speculative online platform selling human bodily material as a commodity.

I find biological material, especially the ones of a smaller scale (DNA, genes...), really intriguing as I believe that the new advances in research that are dealing with those materials are enabling the evolution of exciting new technologies. Besides creating new alternatives and products, those technologies also enable the implementation of the mentioned materials within domains with which they were not commonly associated.

When I run upon a social issue or a new technology that hasn’t been properly exposed before.

My design direction relies on designing products and systems that are informed by an in-depth research. When designing those products and systems I try to make every decision influenced by information gathered through this research and not purely by my personal preferences. I really enjoy challenging my research skills to overrule my personal taste. With that said, I also do enjoy the making part of my projects as it gives me the opportunity to learn new crafts.

I think as most designers do I also go through the emotional roller-coaster of the design process:
1. Uninformed optimism
2. Informed pessimism
3. Stubborn determination
4. Hopeful realism
5. Informed optimism

When the designs are getting close to being executed there is the strong drive of impatience and excitement followed by satisfaction and joy while seeing all the design components assembled in the finished work. Unfortunately, the end phase lasts for a really short time as I quickly begin to analyse what could be improved with the newly acquired knowledge.

Successful design direction is often determined by design intelligence, which is the intuition that allows the designers to find design opportunities and understand their challenges.

I tend to assess the success of a design based on how easy it is to understand the premises behind it and whether it is considering how the design can impact different aspect with its production or implementation in the society.

Designers have a responsibility to make progress and contribute to a variety of fields, such as materials, methods, products, sustainability, systems, ethics, etc. They have the obligation to move the design development in the right direction. However, the decision regarding what the right direction actually is depends purely on the designer him/herself.

I am a really big believer that future technologies will be shaped by biology – if not by using biological sources than probably by mimicking natural systems in order to make them more efficient -which is the reason why I am fascinated by biotechnology.

My last exhibition is currently still going on in the Lethaby gallery in London and I am really grateful to have three more planned across London and New York in the future. I would be also really keen to showcase my project on several future events or even contribute it to a permanent exhibition.

I noticed that my work most of the times revolves around the luxury industry which is probably partly due to my background experience in the field. However, what I believe is the main driver for me to engage with this industry is that I find it extremely inspirational. I think that the main underestimation of this field comes from the fact that the luxury market gets generalised most of the time and that it is viewed as unnecessary and shallow. On the contrary, I believe that this market is the perfect platform to present and bring new technology to the public as it allows the implementation of those technologies into other major fields of our society.

Due to the nature of my design direction, I always lead the context of the project to dictate the style of the objects and everything surrounding them. The main purpose of my design outcomes is to illustrate the story that I try to portray with the project.

However, after a close review of my line of work, I noticed quite a few themes that I tend to embed in every project. The biggest one is probably the relationship with the human body followed by the demand for neatly executed bespoke pieces that respond to the commonly proposed research brief: the new luxury.

I am originally from Slovenia and I moved to London four years ago. The biggest influence that the heritage of my home country has had on my designs is not necessarily linked to the design direction I am persuading but more to the approach to work in general and the commitment to good quality. The determination to persuade the line of work that I am currently doing was born upon my move to London. I believe that this event has open my eyes to such a vast amount of different practices and a whole new approach to design that does not require a classification of your work in specific categories. The multinational and diverse structure of the city is what I think really shapes impactful ideas and allows the rise of so many great London base designers. The biggest shame is that all of this could be compromised in the future by Brexit.

I am currently just starting my professional career in the new design direction that I am persuading and I am currently working with two companies on a short and long collaboration as the lead designer for the project.

I think companies should always push themselves and try to grow in terms of their practice (which also applies to individuals) and therefore should not settle for the obvious and comfortable choice. Every now and then they should be open to the idea of collaboration with a new bold designer that could potentially provoke changes in their line of work.

My design process always begins with a wide research on the picked topic. After getting an overall feel of the area I narrow down the gained information into specific problematic and concentrate with an in-depth research on just one of them. This allows me to really understand the area and become more skilful in it. After getting to the core of the picked problem and locating the design opportunity I always try to look at it again from a wider perspective and understand which other areas of life could be influenced by my design intervention.

When designing the objects that will illustrate the problematic the project is trying to expose I always concentrate on the facts gathered by my research so that the objects really relate to the context. I then aim to elevate my design skills by working with as many different experts in the chosen fields as possible and gaining more information and feedback regarding the context and the objects itself.

I define my design process as collaboration-oriented because I do not believe that the projects that I usually pick on could be successfully designed with a singular creative input.

Induction Turkish coffee maker, jersey cotton bed sheets, blue wash wooden flooring, framed insects display, trench coat.

My days are usually substantially different depending on the project and the stage of the project. It varies from devoting 18 hours a day to designing to spending a good part of the day training and doing sport activities.

Always be involved in projects you really believe in and care about as they will probably shape the type of projects you might be involved in the future.

The fact that as a designer you are able to incorporate creativity and critical thinking in every aspect of your life leads you to experience your job as no job and a 24/7 working schedule at the same time. This for me represents the top positive and negative aspect of the designer job at once.

Don’t ever apologise for your design work.

Having the ability to foresee potential design opportunities in most aspects of life and the ability to identify targeted customer/ focus group.

The content of my toolbox changes with every project and within different stages of the project. This rotation of tools and gadgets is probably the part I enjoy best as it allows me to constantly learn and discover new research techniques and craft practices.

I believe that by choosing to be a designer you essentially choose a lifestyle rather than a job. When it comes to a specific day, I don not really work within time frames. I rather try to set tasks that I need to accomplish each day and then determine my free time based on that.

Highly dependent on the object and the project itself (if the context requires an immaculate finish or rough look).

“What type of designer are you?” to which I have no answer.

I think every job experience that I had so far was a valuable experience. However, the experience that in my opinion pushed me to grow the most as a person is not technically a job experience per se. Although, at the time it really felt like a job. With my final master project, I got an amazing amount of media coverage for which I am still really grateful. However, at that time I was not skilful in the marketing of the project and hadn’t had many experiences doing interviews, talks and sharing my view as a designer. As I was asked to do numerous press releases and appearances I got to learn this part of the designer’s job really quickly. When I look back at it I am really appreciative as I now feel much more confident in the mentioned part of the job as a consequence.

Design and marketing agencies and bioengineering companies.

Critical and speculative design that can push the boundaries of what is commonly acceptable in our society.

My plan for the future revolves around trying to expand my practice and get as many inspiring collaborations as possible.

I have currently a couple of exhibitions and talks lined up at exciting events such as Biofabricate in New York and Most Contagious in London. I am also doing some short and long design collaborations with different companies which I am really thrilled about.

I develop the context of the design myself. However, I try to engage with as many experts in the field I am researching at the time so I can really immerse myself in all the different aspects of the project.

I am a really attentive email reader so please feel free to drop me an email at gorjanc.tina@gmail.com at any time.