We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Andreas Kioroglou ("AK").
Andreas Kioroglou is an award-winning designer that helps make the World a better place with their original and innovative creations and advanced design works.
Andreas Kioroglou Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Andreas Kioroglou.
Andreas Kioroglou Design - Daedalus Maze Board Game
Designer Interview of Andreas Kioroglou:
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?
AK : I always wanted to desgn. To be more specific, I wanted to be an Architect, but life had other plans for me. I studied Graphic Design in Greece, got a Masters degree in Multimedia and studied Product design. After working for many years in the Ad Industry, I decided move alone and do what I love to do. Design.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AK : Matadog Design is a design studio in Greece specialized in branding, packaging and product design. Our goal is to provide unique solutions for our customers.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AK : I love packaging and product design most. I love to design objects that people interact with.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
AK : When I am balanced and when a project or client passion inspires me.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AK : Form, usability and aesthetics.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AK : Pleasure.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AK : Usability, aesthetcs
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AK : To find the most sustainable version of the design solution that is consistent to creative brief and does not compromise aesthetics.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AK : Designing better products more sustainable that cost less to produce.
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?
AK : To be honest, I do not like the term "design styles". My point of view is that a designer should not have a certain design style aka "repeating himself" but to be open to new inputs, experiments reducing this way the risk to become outdated.
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?
AK : I live in Greece. I would say No, the cultural heritage doesn't affect my designs. Greece the last 8-9 years is in crisis so it is very difficult to design under these circumstances.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AK : Companies should see designer past works. However there are upcoming talents that do not have a protfolio yet and deserve to be considered. I remember when I founded Matadog Design and the company had no protfolio to show and it was very tough to be considered as an option. So, companies should not disqualify new talents, it's risky though.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AK : Trust yourself. You can do it.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
AK : Positives: Creation, communication Negatives: pressure, limited free time
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
AK : Ethics, grounded, hard working.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AK : It depends of complexity. From 3 months to 2 years.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AK : I depends. Some projects are designed solo while other projects are the result of team work.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AK : Actually, there are 2 projects that I love and will be published in the next year or so. The first one is Viupax, a patented revolutionary footwear packaging that is more sustainable than conventional shoe boxes and cost less to produce and transport. You can check www.viupax.com for more info. The second project is the design of a motorbike. Hopefully, by late 2018 will be in production.
DI: How can people contact you?
AK : They can get in touch via Matadog Design contact form.