We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Arman Farahmand ("AF").
The world needs the next design icon considering the AI era. Arman Farahmand tries to be the next one to shape the world of design by scoping the big and little daily problems and resolving them in a human-oriented way. the way he thinks of design is inspired by previous design icons like Luigi Colani, Karim Rashid, Philippe Starck, etc. he realizes that there is still enough potential to take people's attention by design and enter designed objects into everyday life.
Arman Farahmand Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Arman Farahmand.
Arman Farahmand Design - Morfius Modular Furniture
Designer Interview of Arman Farahmand:
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?
AF : I was a great painter as a child, everybody saw this in my daily drawings, I got awarded several times when I was just a kid, Because my father had a tools store in town I had good access to different tools and I was so curious about rebuilding things. as I grew up my passion for art and my deep curiosity mixed up together, then I fund industrial design by the age of twelve and since then I am in love with design.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AF : I am part of several companies, two of them as CEO. Until 2024 I have a 10-year background in management. I love to experience different work environments and fields and as a designer, I gathered a small but great design team so we can produce design solutions so fast. In my studio, we seek daily problems and get deep into them so the answers are easy to understand, beautiful, and easy to use.
DI: What is "design" for you?
AF : Design is a pure passion for me, Design means a beautiful answer to daily problems, Design is a way of life, not only for the few but for all the people. It is important to me that people can access good design so their lifestyles can change through design. To be honest I think the one who was the most successful in that is Karim Rashid.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AF : As I said before what most matters to me is the the daily problems. Any kind of design that can be a solution to everyday issues interests me the most. Although most of my work is in the furniture field but I don't consider myself as only a furniture designer. On the other hand, I see that humans are in touch with furniture for most of the hours they live so maybe this is why I worked on the furniture field more than the others. As a Manager, I think Service Design is where you can perfect a system so it would work the best.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AF : To be honest, I don't have a favorite design, but my most favorite way of design are Modular ones.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AF : It was Modular furniture named "FLEXIT" which was designed for a local furniture company named "ARAX" and then nearly bought by Turkish furniture manufacturer "ISTIKBAL".
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AF : Anything that is organic, easy to use, and understand. I love manual platforms and new technologies the same as long as they are simple enough and fast to learn and use.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
AF : The combination of Nature, Peace, and a good Friend is what makes a sparkle in my mind.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AF : Being easy to use and understand is what matters most to me, so I think the answer should be functionality. Although aesthetics is so crucial for a design, but a beautiful design that has to work but doesn't seem like a good-looking sculpture to me.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AF : Excitement, Passion, Passion, and Passion
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AF : It's pure Joy, the feeling of being Gifted and some freedom inside.
DI: What makes a design successful?
AF : In my opinion, this is the designer's perspective that makes a design successful, most of all finding the right problem, finding what matters and suffers people is the job of a designer I think, and if the problem is the right one then the solution comes to mind so easily and at the end, just a bit of pretty look gathers all the effort together.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AF : I see if they found the right problem then look how it is solved, at the end it has to have a fresh look that catches the eye.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AF : We are all responsible for society and the environment but after rulers and politicians, the ones who are most responsible for them are designers. We have to take control of what shapes the world, we have to see deep, see what matters most in our time and we have to think deeper and revise our thoughts so in the process we have to care about society and the environment the most because this is what we are and this is our duty to take care of it.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AF : I think the future of design is not sketching, rendering, and prototyping anymore. The near future of design is Ai. So anyone who can find the best problems could form the new design era. Design is about having a better life through objects and services and AI will take care of the answer so shortly we "The designers" just have to get deep into life and find the problems, not the solutions.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AF : It was in Milan/Italy Sarpi Bridge Oriental Design Week in 2013 as an international event and Tehran/Iran Deco international decoration and Furniture Conference in 2015. I think the closest one would be in the Como/Italy A'design Awards winner's exhibition in 2024.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AF : My designs are human-oriented, they come from people's life directly. I observe people and the way of their lives so deeply. As form and aesthetics nature inspires me the most, Organic forms and bio mechanisms.
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?
AF : I'd like to say that I care about people's lives the most, so I have to take care of the environment and because of that, one of the ways that would be more effective is a sustainable approach so to fulfill my inner satisfaction I chose modular solutions. They are more effective and practical, they just work the best most of the time.
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?
AF : I grew up in Tehran/Iran and I live here now. Persian culture is so deep and ancient, we experienced various historical phases, most of them full of art and design, so many of ancient inventions and designs were from Iran(known as Persia in the past). architecture in my county has about 2500 yrs of background and it was so much advanced that some of them are still a mystery. Sure I have to say whether you want it or not you will be influenced by this glorious past, but unfortunately these days almost everything is lost deep including design and the need for that, these days my people are just fighting for daily life, to survive and to pass the day. unfortunately, I don't see a good horizon for my country including the design field and needs.
DI: How do you work with companies?
AF : As simple, clear, and fast as possible :)
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AF : It really depends on the company's needs and resources. If there is a small company with few resources, I recommend working with several designers found on the web or suggested by friends to find the best one that suits the company, work with them on small projects to lower the cost and damage that may happen then trust the one that works the best. For big companies with bigger resources and needs, I'd rather select the designer by asking him/her for a 24-hour or 7-day design challenge to see how the problem is solved with them, another way I think is to set up a competition and see who works the best.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AF : To be honest there is no big process there. The most important part is to find the most important edges of the problem, and then the answer shapes itself, this is when sketching comes, shaping the form and getting feedbacks then redoing this lots of time to see what catches the eye, that's our design at the end.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
AF : I try to keep my daily routine, I try to get up early in the morning, As the first thing drink a cup of fresh water and have a little breakfast, then do a quick meditation after that I go to the gym for about an hour and listening to audiobooks in the way and the gym, get back home take a cold shower then I leave home to start my daily challenges, it is mostly from 9 am to 7 pm. Meanwhile, I do my responsibilities as a CEO and a designer, taking over challenges in the office and challenging myself by participating in awards, competitions, and exhibitions. When I finally arrive home the most important task is to take care of my beloved wife, helping her with home duties, listening to her and looking after her, then looking at my garden and taking care of my indoor plants, at the end watching a movie or series with my wife, doing another meditation, taking a shower and go to bed before midnight.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AF : I highly recommend them to take part in different practical classes, then take part in good companies or studios for free to learn, I think the most important thing for a designer is to learn freely and to experience real challenges in a productive environment. Meanwhile all of these participate in different design competitions and awards besides exhibitions.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AF : Find the most important problems and solve them simple and beautifully.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
AF : Teamwork, Design thinking
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AF : My sketchbook and my Bic pen
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AF : :)) Actually, it is the most challenging thing for me to take control of, because I don't feel the time passing when getting deep into a design challenge. I get deep into the Flow, so when designing I set alarms or change my space to try to manage my time. Most of the time my wife takes care of that, she feels the time and would work as a human being alarm for me.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AF : It varies from a couple of days to months. Depends on the project scale, Where we design for, and what we design. Our knowledge in the field, the team members who are in the project and our client's or project's needs and deadlines.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AF : How is the payment?! :)))
DI: What was your most important job experience?
AF : I think the last five years were the most important and challenging. It was a huge project, a traditional family business was given to me and I had to transform it into a modern system. I had to make changes slowly to make a paradigm shift for its employees and customers. The challenges were endless and so much practical. It included lots of design processes like product design, brand design, packaging design, service design, and most importantly system design.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AF : I'd love to work on real daily challenges, I'd love to help make a better lifestyle for most people through design. A design that goes through mass production and is feasible for society.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AF : I want to expand my work across the globe. To make it possible I want to move to the United States to express myself in an international environment. The main reason that I started to take part in several competitions and awards this year is to be noticed as an international designer and to make international friends and relations. I have a lot to say and a lot to offer to the world, honestly looking for opportunities.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AF : I believe good work comes from a team effort.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AF : I'd rather say nothing about them, My works express themself in the press, websites design competitions, and awards in the next few months.
DI: How can people contact you?
AF : You can find my contact details on my personal website armanfarahmand.com. Please feel free to contact me by email armanfarahmand@gmail.com and by WhatsApp number +989128026508