We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Andorka Timea ("AT").
Timea Andorka is a professional graphic designer working in Hungary with a strong inclination towards traditional crafts which she tends to combine with current techniques. Her work finds connections to the world of ideas and creativity – she is designing books, exhibition identities, theatre posters. She is deeply interested in the history and theory of typography. Over the last five years she was employed as a senior graphic designer in various exhibition halls including Kunsthalle, Budapest, Ferenczy Museum Center, Szentendre. Now, she is a freelancer.
Andorka Timea Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Andorka Timea.
Andorka Timea Design - Optics and Chromatics Exhibition poster
Andorka Timea Design - Utopia and Collapse book
Designer Interview of Andorka Timea:
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?
AT : At first I wasn’t preparing to become a graphic designer at all – and I am not one hundred percent sure that I am one nowadays. I studied philosophy and literature at university as I was interested in the nature of human thought: how the different conceptual and cultural systems grow and develop from each other, how they are in an everlasting dispute, constantly changing and forming each other and us. I had to read a lot during these years, and meanwhile, I started to become more and more interested in the object that carries the written text: the book itself. This was the core moment when I decided for the making of the books. Thus I started to study typography and graphic design.
DI: What is "design" for you?
AT : For me design is the way of life.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AT : For me designing books is like designing a church for an architect: the top of graphic design. You need all your knowledge and courage to elaborate with the necessary accuracy the labyrinth-like structure from the mass of letters and the white paper and still preserve its aesthetics and grace. Most books are unfortunately not designed with such a careful manner, but one can learn something from all books.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AT : My first serious piece of work was the identity of a contemporary art exhibition for a museum in Hungary. With a catalogue, advertisements, in three languages. I enjoyed it a lot.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AT : My favorite material is paper. It’s strong, flexible, easy to fold, tear, color and print, one is able to prepare, paint, pierce, paste and sew it. It supports all experience and proposes new possibilities if the type is chosen carefully.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AT : It is the first idea from where the process starts which is the most important to later develop the first sparks into a well-constructed, fully unfolded new concept.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AT : That I think, therefore I am.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AT : That I am addicted.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AT : I work at the cultural area, therefore I consider an unimpeachable task to shape society’s aesthetic taste in a positive way. It is important to influence people by visual stimuli of a very high quality and make them open at the same time as the consequences will appear directly in the environment they live in. People make a lot of aesthetical decisions from day to day without even noticing – however it does give an image of them: the choice of their favorite socks to put on in the morning or the mug from which they drink the first coffee of the day; whether they ignore, uninterested, a rather exciting movie poster in the tube station… These all make part of our personality, these messages are primordial in what we show to others about ourselves.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AT : In 2017 I was invited to The World Paper Products exhibition in South Korea. I felt honoured to be regarded as a paper artist in one of the cradles of paper production – despite being a European.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AT : I adore Polish theater posters, British book design and Japanese paper art. I keep following the latest achievements of graphic design on the social networking websites and visiting exhibitions not only at home but also abroad. I am open to everything, an Ivo van Hove theater set can mean as much inspiration to me as the freshest Alexander McQueen collection. I am omnivorous.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
AT : I strongly hope that I do not have a specific style. I try to avoid doing the same thing twice – if this happens, I would take the challenge to make an effort to learn from it and try something completely new and unknown next time. Making adventures is much more important than to have a trademark that is recognizable from far away.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
AT : I live in Hungary. It is a small country with limited opportunities, but maybe this is the reason why the desire to express oneself is so strong. Although contemporary design is far from being defined here in the East-Central European region, trends are still easy to follow and there are some designers whose work is world quality. This may also be due to the double heritage that come from the border line here between the Eastern and the Western world: the the double influence needs strong and constant reflection.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
AT : Kaffeform espresso cups, LiliLite lampshelfs and my handmade paper lamps
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
AT : To be able to think outside the box. This can be quite difficult, but I am in a favoured situation: by working at the museum I am constantly obliged to think outside the box. Working with artists who already have a completely built up word is like being a tourist in a totally new universe. I grow richer with each working process.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AT : Adobe softwares: Indesign, Photoshop, illustrator, Premiere, Lightroom, Nikon camera
DI: What was your most important job experience?
AT : To have the chance to work together with Timothy Heyer, Pantone’s Senior Creative Manager was a crucial experience.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
AT : museums, artists, publishers, musicians, theatrical companies
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AT : It is leaving the computer behind and creating something manually that I love the most. I love handcrafts. Sometimes my hands can think of a great idea quicker than my mind.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AT : Currently I am working together with Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm – exhibitor of the 2017 Venice Art Biennale – on his exhibition in Hungary.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AT : In most cases I work alone, but exhibitions are always an exception. Creating the exhibition’s identity requires a complex teamwork in which graphic designers stand in the middle of the process. The requirements and conditions of the artist, the curator and the institution can determine numerous facts including aesthetic decisions and the whole concept. Materializing the exhibition interior is not a simple graphic designer’s task, but the professional accordance of architecture, technical knowledge, interior design and printing is necessary for the perfect harmony in the exhibition space.
DI: How can people contact you?
AT : through my website or the social media sites