We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Thiago Mondini ("TM").
Thiago Mondini is a young brazilian architect who works mainly with highly personalized interior design projects. Other branches of activity are architectural projects - specially residences - and corporate interiors. When creating unique interior design projects, Thiago tries to capture the personality of the clients in order to project this essence on the spaces. Thanks to this approach, there are no two projects that might look alike, even though there's always an underlying line of work that connects all of his creations. The symbolic function of architecture and the way it gives meaning to every aspect of the daily life is, in Thiago´s opinion, as important as the utilitarian functions of a design.
Thiago Mondini Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Thiago Mondini.
Thiago Mondini Design - Equilibrio Sculptural Sink
Thiago Mondini Design - Contemporary Mix Residential Apartment
Thiago Mondini Design - Hidden Residential Interior
Designer Interview of Thiago Mondini:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
TM : Since I was a little child, my life has always been divide between music and architecture.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
TM : I started my company in 2007 focusing on residential projects. Soon afterwards, in 2008, the first corporate project was commissioned and, with this commission, my studio was open to other commercial and public designs. This led to a high diversification of activities, helping with a constant renewal of thoughts and conceptions. Nowadays I focus once again on residential projects, specially because it is possible to know and understand other realities through this kind of work.
DI: What is "design" for you?
TM : Design is a solution to any problem in a way that is at the same time functional, beautiful and meaningful.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
TM : I have naturally specialized in residential design. To design houses and residential interiors is a fantastic way to understand other ways of living and to enhance the life of a person or a family.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
TM : It was a Café downtown in Blumenau. It was unfortunately never built.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
TM : I have always been more creative in the night, normally after midnight. That’s the time when new ideas flow loosely in my mind
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
TM : I like my designs to have a meaning for my clients. This means I must understand my client’s life and references before the creative process. It is useless for ant design to be functional, beautiful but meaningless. It is the meaning that makes a designalive. And this meaning is a very subjective matter.
DI: What makes a design successful?
TM : A design is successful when the users can have an emotional attachment to it. It is very important for a design to be useful and beautiful, but it’s the emotion that brings the ultimate success.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
TM : A designer should always understand the overall reality of a society. We are often deceived by false perceptions of a niche reality, as we frequently deal with high standards. But it's very important to understand how privileged our clients can be to be able to choose having a good design. Unfortunately, most of the population of the world can’t have access to the best standards of architecture and design. However, even when there is no access to what we understand as “high-end”, there is always the human expression through culture, tradition and non-mensurable emotional elements.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
TM : After a long period believing that function is the primordial element of a good design, I feel that finally we are all understanding that the true element of design is emotion, in all different aspects that emotion can be achieved. The future is unpredictable, but I'm sure design will be each time more integrated in the daily solutions, in a way that could be very silent, but always very meaningful.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
TM : Balance of form and materials is essential in any design.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
TM : Knowledge of proportions, knowledge of balance. A good overall knowledge of disciplines as art, music, construction, nature and history. Being curious and restless in seek of a good solution is mandatory.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
TM : I create all the basis of any design by myself. I have some collaborators that help me produce the technical drawings, material lists and budgets. But all the main creative work of my office is very personal.
DI: How can people contact you?
TM : Through my site www.thiagomondini.com.br, through my Instagram account @thiago_mondini