We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Fernanda and Leo Mangiavacchi ("FALM").
Leo Mangiavacchi is Brazilian, Italian, citizen of the world, father of the incredible Lina and Milo and loves to travel by bike. Always looks for solutions that combine simplicity with expressiveness and design with the head in the clouds and feet on the floor.
Fernanda and Leo Mangiavacchi Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Fernanda and Leo Mangiavacchi.
Designer Interview of Fernanda and Leo Mangiavacchi:
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?
FALM : My mother is a psychoanalyst and my father was an engineer and turned artist. I have an economist brother and another publicist. I think I mixed it all up and became a designer
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
FALM : Fantastico Studio understands that design is the main tool for the humanization of technology, innovation and differentiation of the competition. Interpreting and shaping corporate values and goals, design presents itself as a powerful process that contributes to business success. To this end, we help our clients from the definition of strategies to the implementation of projects, seeking solutions that combine simplicity and expressiveness. From the partnerships built, emblematic projects were born with brands of great national and international prestige, such as América Móveis, Elon, FIRJAN, GeoQuasar, Ornare, Punto Mobile, Sagaz and Tok&Stok Quality concepts, formal sophistication, technical rigor and attention to detail are our hallmarks. Our goal is to create projects permeated by creativity, but appropriate to the reality of the contemporary market and its demands. We produce design with the head in the clouds and the feet on the ground.
DI: What is "design" for you?
FALM : I understand that design is the main tool for the humanization of technology, innovation and differentiation of the competition. Interpreting and shaping corporate values and goals, design presents itself as a powerful process that contributes to business success from the definition of strategies to the implementation of projects.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
FALM : Furniture
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
FALM : Pantom Chair. One-piece, comfortable, sturdy, stackable, fun and stylish. Not bad
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
FALM : It was a stackable chair
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
FALM : I love wood, for its sensory richness, for aging well and being renewable
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
FALM : When I feel happy
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
FALM : I am always looking for solutions that combine simplicity and expressiveness
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
FALM : Usually the projects I like the most are the ones I feel most challenged. Emotions range from anxiety and hope (in the beginning) to fulfillment and pride (in the end)
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
FALM : Most of all, fulfillment and pride
DI: What makes a design successful?
FALM : The balance between the originality in the ideas, careful in the study, rigorous in the result
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
FALM : The Originality of the idea, its translation in the result and the consistency in each detail
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
FALM : In a world where everything seems increasingly ephemeral, I believe the designer has a duty to seek and propose solutions that contrast the prevailing disposable consumerism of things, but also of people, desires and feelings.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
FALM : Talking about industrial design (where I have more experience) I beleave we are going from design "the form and function of things", to design "the experience of products and services" and we will have to deal increasingly with two issues: personalization and sustainability.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
FALM : Right now Poltrona Lina is in two exhibitions: "Design Petrópolis 2019" and "Portraits of a Social History - The Furniture Industry of Rio de Janeiro". I hope one day to have a product exhibited at NY MoMA
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
FALM : One of the beauties of being a designer is that we can draw inspiration from almost anywhere. It is important to be aware of what is being done in our especific design field, but also to look at other worlds and other times. For instance, I love the History of Art as I love to reinterpret objects of the past from a contemporary perspective.
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?
FALM : I like do describe my style as design with the head in the clouds and the feet on the ground. I don't have a specific trait, but I like to look for solutions that combine simplicity and expressiveness.
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?
FALM : Nowadays I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We are a country that has received immigrants from various European, African and Asian countries. This cultural multiplicity, coupled with our immense biodiversity, provides great sensory richness. In general we are a people who value excesses. But my training as a designer was mostly done in Italy. So I like to wipe the Brazilian exaggeration and bring to my projects a bit of Italian sophistication.
DI: How do you work with companies?
FALM : I have worked in several formats: I was an employee, consultant and already received royalties. The format depends a lot on the type of company and project.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
FALM : Ideally, the designer can participate in the company's strategic decisions, contributing to the definition of what will be important to contemplate in each project. In this sense it is important to evaluate the portfolio of the designer but, above all, talk a lot with him, to ensure affinity of purpose and fluidity in the dialogue.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
FALM : I've done projects as distinct as a hospital sign, a juicer or a furniture store so each project has its own path. It usually starts with an analysis of the company and its brand codes. At the same time, a research / mapping of the current scenario of the company and the project category is made in relation to the contexts in which they are involved. This first step generates imputs that intersect with our previous background and lead to freer idea associations that can bring innovative solutions to the project. Then begin the first tangibles of ideas, usually through sketches, succeeded by the first 3d, renderigns and mockups. Once a path has been validated, we proceed to the detailing and prototype, where it will be possible to validate the ideas or, possibly, make some adjusts.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
FALM : Lina Armchair, Regata Bookcase, My Table Cutlery, Spremolo Juicer & Kelvin Lamp.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
FALM : Breakfast, Bike, Work, Pilates, Lunch, Work, Bike, Stretching, Shower, Dinner, Book, Netflix.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
FALM : One must be promiscuous in ideas, careful in study, rigorous in outcome.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
FALM : When designing something, we must consider technical issues such as aesthetic, ethical, behavioral, economic, ergonomic, psychological, marketing, among others. This complexity is fascinating and challenging. We work with subjective aspects, often difficult to quantify. This can lead to a lot of work and low wages. Thus, showing our value is a constant part of our work.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
FALM : The head in the clouds and the feet on the ground.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
FALM : Curiosity, resilience, attention to detail and communication skills.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
FALM : I like to see what traditional cultures have done where we can usually find time-honored smart solutions. I always walk with a sketchbook handy to make tangible concepts anywhere. To refine ideas, I like to use Solidworks, witch I find agile and powerful.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
FALM : I review and adjust the project schedules every day. A great tool for visualizing backlogs and staff availability is the Forecast app.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
FALM : The time required varies a lot but, on average, we can say one year, from briefing to product launch
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
FALM : It must be really fun to work creating things, right?
DI: What was your most important job experience?
FALM : In terms of global visibility, the years working with Antonio Citterio. Although I have affection for many projects in which I was involved, if I had to choose one today, it would be Poltrona Lina.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
FALM : Currently Coca-Cola, Google, Colgate, Tok&Stok and Elon Design Furniture.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
FALM : Currently, I am increasingly attracted to the possibility of developing projects that promote experiences, increasing the interactivity of products with users.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
FALM : More and more I will look for to be envolved in projects about the experience of products and services.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
FALM : Most of the time as a team.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
FALM : I have been working a lot with design for events and points of sale, looking for personalization of experiences and increasing interactivity. I just developed trophies for Google that reflect the performance of each winner. In this way, each trophy is particularly special, because it is unique.
DI: How can people contact you?
FALM : Write me to leo@leomangiavacchi.com
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
FALM : Paraphrasing Saint Augustine: "Love and do what you want"