We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Plus 360 Degrees ("P3D").
Plus 360 Degrees has been pioneering with the real-time 3D technologies on the Web for the past years and continues to do so. Major challenges have been overcome by the company, who is pursuing in creating the most realistic visual results within the broad Web environment. The company has been doing extensive research and tests in finding the proper ways to reach the most users and devices, keeping in mind the complexity of this diverse environment. The company created various projects in different areas, like automotive, architectural visualizatios, product visualizations, real-time cinematic experiences and artistic representations.
Plus 360 Degrees Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Plus 360 Degrees.
Designer Interview of Plus 360 Degrees:
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?
P3D : Delia Otetea: I have a background in Industrial Design, that I studied in Bucharest at the University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” and a MSc in Digital Media from Hochschule Bremerhaven in Germany. I always had an attraction towards the beautiful and functional and that’s how in high-school I decided to pursue this career. I ended up experimenting with different types of design, now creating mostly digital works. Ivan Moreno: I have a background in Fine Arts with strong focus in Design from the University of Bogota “Jorge Tadeo Lozano” with a specialization in Digital Edition and Multimedia. I made another specialization in Germany in the same program as Delia. I studied some years engineering that helped me to grasp knowledge we apply in our art today. I like to solve problems, and I find that the combination of disciplines enriches perspectives, it opens the door for new possibilities.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
P3D : Our company, Plus 360 Degrees is a result of our Master’s program in Germany, where we dedicated all our time to research real-time 3D technologies for the Web and not only. After having studied the principles and applying them in anything we did back then, we slowly created our studio where we could offer potential clients interactive visualizations using cutting-edge technologies. We always stay up to date with all the developments and implementations of what is new and could potentially benefit companies everywhere. We have worked with clients worldwide, our works being presented in many galleries that follow Web technologies. We work with WebGL mostly and open source tools, but we have also created on top of that our own tools that can facilitate our workflow.
DI: What is "design" for you?
P3D : Delia: Design is everywhere I look. Even bad design is still design. But good design is the one that stands out, that people admire. Good design is the one that makes you look at it for hours and still be impacted by it. It is a piece of art. Ivan: Is an exercise of bringing order to chaos.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
P3D : Ivan: I like to tell stories, thus I like the idea of motion. Motion design or motion graphics with a touch of social emotion is attractive to me. Once you add that story to your work you add your attention to it, your time. There is no other genuine form of admiration than attention.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
P3D : Ivan: I find “La Sagrada Familia” by Antoni Gaudí incredible.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
P3D : Delia: A wardrobe for a young family. Ivan: I can’t remember.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
P3D : Ivan: the browser is my favorite material, the new web graphical libraries and top quality rendering engines like three.js makes it hard to not to feel attracted to it. This is specifically related to the technology we work with, which is WebGL - it allows us to have realistic 3D presentations on the Web like never before, taking advantage of the hardware accelerated graphics.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
P3D : Delia: I think I feel the most creative at the beginning of a project. My imagination bursts in that moment and all the good and bad ideas come flowing. I specifically write down everything that comes to my mind then, because many times I use it for another project at a later date.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
P3D : Delia: I focus on the concept - brainstorming, creating and optimizing the 3D models, and texturization.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
P3D : Delia: Empathy and excitement.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
P3D : Delia: I feel that I can now focus on what is next. Usually I feel happy and excited for the finished design.
DI: What makes a design successful?
P3D : Delia: Successful can be determined as to how many people get influenced by it. Either they use it daily, or look at it for some moments, having someone impacted by the design can make it successful.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
P3D : Delia: Every designer has a deep responsibility towards the society, as through the products they create they can teach or influence people in how to better behave towards the environment or other people. A designer should take advantage and transmit a message with every work they make.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
P3D : Delia: I think people are becoming more responsible towards the environment, more empathetic towards the ones in need, that in general we are becoming better. Design as a result can be used as a strong weapon against discrimination, violence, abuse and increase the positive emotions in a person.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
P3D : Delia: Inspiration comes from everyday things. From books I read, movies or TV shows I watch, walks in the nature, or just when hanging out with friends. A lot of inspiration also comes from seeing the news and the state of the world problems right now.
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?
P3D : Ivan: I called what we do, NetArt Hyperrealism when the context is the web. So far it has worked out for product visualizations in our studio, but the ramifications of this can be more. To make it as real as possible, you need the understanding of multiple concepts, like lighting, geometry, math and color theory, in combination with other technical concepts out of traditional imagery. When we create, we take into consideration all aspects of what we want to achieve. We prototype extensively, we care about the details of the project and the mutual satisfaction of creation between us, the work and the client. We do different approaches depending on project and client's needs.
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?
P3D : We both live in Bremen, Germany. We come from Romania and Colombia and definitely the cultural heritage of our home countries affects our designs. Living in Germany has affected the design thinking, how we approach our projects. Cultural shock is challenging, even talking the same language; and because of this difficulty, overcoming it is of great value and a lasting one. Diversity of experiences that converge in one point to find out its similarities aside of decades of geographical and historical separation is an unique experience that nurtures our spirits, and that indeed is reflected in what we do.
DI: How do you work with companies?
P3D : We normally get contacted by all sort of companies wanting to create an innovative way of presenting their products. Our clients range from the automotive industry, to architecture, industrial and fashion design. We find out what our client’s needs are, propose a solution if they don’t already have one in mind, and guide them through the process of achieving the best results with their project. We work on projects from concept til delivery and have a very strong attention to detail.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
P3D : Companies should do research regarding their designer of choice, that they are up to date with trends, that their creativity exists and they don’t rely on copying from one project to another, that they bring their best in the projects they are working on.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
P3D : We like to have space for experimentation and play. Many of our ideas come out of this playfulness room. We like to give freedom of opinion and naivety to resist bias and have a less blurry image of direction. We streer a lot doing this, but little in circles. Then we stop, analyze the “brainstorming” exercise, take notes, pin point relevant game rules and repeat that when we can. We are strict within our freedoms, because consistency and discipline are crucial for learning and mastering.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
P3D : Ivan: Pay careful attention to study the masters, their techniques, their patterns. The humans that give the most. It might sound a cliche too, but read about everything and surround yourself with diverse people.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
P3D : I see a great positive in the fact that you always are making something new. Designing something requires research, testing, imagination, always staying on track with what is happening. It can become tiring, but at the end of the day you create something, you see a tangible or digital result of your work. The fact that the work has indeed a visual feedback is amazing. The negative that I see is that a designer will rarely consider its creation finished, which can bring frustration and many never ending projects.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
P3D : Ivan: Taxonomy is super important. The way how you make your priorities and organized them defines your work. Please don’t confuse this with how clean you can be, or sterically conservative thinking.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
P3D : Attention to detail, patience and commitment, and imagination of course.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
P3D : There are periods in which we manage the time better. When we focus on one project at once is when we can manage it the best. But most of the times we deal with more projects, which means that we end the day later than usual. But with this type of work you can have very good ideas or moments even in your “free” time.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
P3D : It truly depends on its complexity, from a month to a year.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
P3D : How much does it cost?
DI: Who are some of your clients?
P3D : We are working with clients across industries and sizes. Some of them are The Boeing Company, RPA, Alcar Holding, Sommer GmbH, and others from various industries like automotive, fashion, architecture and interior design, and product design.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
P3D : We enjoy the most when we have complete freedom with our work. It rarely happens with client projects, that’s why we always have personal projects on the side, to keep the mind creating, researching and trying new things.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
P3D : We work as a team in all the designs we do. Even if there are projects in which Ivan or Delia have to put the most of work, we always ask for inputs on the outcome. But in most projects we combine our skills.
DI: How can people contact you?
P3D : People can reach us through our studio’s website, or directly via email at contact@plus360degrees.com or via telephone at +49 421 16153680 .
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
P3D : Thank you for the interview and the award. It’s an honour to be featured.