We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Alan Saga ("AS").
Alan Saga is an award-winning designer that helps make the World a better place with their original and innovative creations and advanced design works.
Alan Saga Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Alan Saga.
Designer Interview of Alan Saga:
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?
AS : Since my youth I have been particularly interested in activities related to creativity of a plastic nature. The development of this award-winning project was the fact that most marked me to enter the world of industrial design.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AS : I'm an industrial designer focused on the art object, and I develop a series that represents the transition of the collective consciousness within the social-responsible context.
DI: What is "design" for you?
AS : Is the creative way to express an idea, making it tangible to transmit emotions.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AS : I'm passionate about all the areas of design. I have a particular interest in product design, from the art to electronic area.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AS : Definitely "Only Rigth Here" is the design that has given me projection in national and international level. And which meets all expectations I seek for in my designs.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AS : The design of a commemorative packaging of a recognized regional beer.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AS : 3D modeling
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
AS : Definitely when I'm alone at night, and I can have peace to develop my concepts.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AS : Mainly I focus on the conceptual part, and get to a high level of detail in my 3D models.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AS : I feel emotions when I'm designing, both positive and negative. The best part is the satisfaction of watching when a design starts to come alive.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AS : Normally comes a phase of total relaxation and satisfaction, which I use as motivation to continue creating ideas.
DI: What makes a design successful?
AS : I think a design is successful when it manages to assemble a well-founded and original concept, and gets into the market to where it was headed.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AS : The visual and aesthetic aspects is the first thing I judge, and how can it conceptually integrate.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AS : Create designs that promote cultural values, and create awareness with the history that lies behind the product.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AS : Globalization has greatly accelerated the future of design, expanding to new previously unexplored fields, but always tending to self-sustain, and use the planet's resources in the most efficient way.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AS : October 2013, Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City. The next exhibition will be in August where I will present a new piece in the association CONARTE
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AS : My inspiration comes from my life ideology, and the concepts ingrained throughout the years. The sociocultural aspect of my country helps me feed my creative concepts, plus constant practice and feedback from other designers.
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?
AS : I would define my style, as a transmitter of cultural ideas, building on the original function of my products, and with minimal aesthetic.
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?
AS : I live in Monterrey, Mexico. I think the cultural heritage of Mexico is extremely rich and extensive so it directly affects my designs. However in a global society, my tendency is to make a fusion between my mores and international design trends, always keeping my roots.
DI: How do you work with companies?
AS : In my short experience working with companies, I've done it via online.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AS : It is essential that the designer to work both alone and as a team. And it is very important to detect the degree of commitment, and how can it pose different creative solutions to a same problem.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AS : For my designs, the key phase is the conceptualization, where I make a cultural and market research, which allows me to land ideas with greater impact. And that is where product development begins.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
AS : One of my main characteristics since the day starts, is that most of my activities relate with design, I am passionate person in the whole aspect of creativity. I wake up, turn on my PC, I start designing, and when I find myself a bit saturated, I perform activities such as exercising, listening to music and reading, to release, free my mind and get on with my labors.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AS : Although I'm still a young designer, I’ve always liked being open to explore different fields of industrial design, with this we I can discover with what to identify and my true passions.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AS : there is always something to improve
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
AS : The ability to develop a concept, creativity and certainty to propose different solutions to the same project design.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AS : One of my main sources of inspiration are the books of Donald Norman and technically speaking my basic tools for designing are Rhinoceros, Solidworks, Keyshot and Google (blogs, social media, etc).
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AS : My daily activities such as eating, grooming, etc, I use them as a form of relaxation for the mind, so I can get more work done.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AS : The percentage varies depending on the complexity of the project. However the average range is 1-3 months.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AS : How I can express my talent to leave a mark as a Mexican industrial designer
DI: What was your most important job experience?
AS : Based on the complexity, the most important project in which I worked, was a draft design of electronic products, along with a team of industrial designers worldwide.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
AS : I am a recent graduate industrial designer. Some of the companies I've been in projects with are: Allen, Heineken, Gruma, among others.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AS : The discursive design is what I enjoy the most, being a free style and versatile way to handle and express the themes of inspiration in the purest way.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AS : My main goal now is to stand out as Mexican industrial designer, to have the opportunity to work abroad in a major design studio, where I’m allowed to develop my skills.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AS : I design by myself, and I like receive feedback of others designers.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AS : I'm working on the second project under my firm, which will be presented on May 1, 2014 at Behance.
DI: How can people contact you?
AS : www.behance.net/alansaga or adsaga87@gmail.com
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
AS : I am a young industrial designer, interested in forming international business relations, boost my talent and commercialize my products.