We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Giuseppe Santacroce ("GS").
The designer expresses his thoughts through the beauty of the materials. The designer's creations present an essential and decisive style. He often works with olive wood, recovered from knocked down specimens giving new life to the material. The projects are entirely handmade, thus projecting themselves in the search for an artistic and creative style supported by fine craftsmanship and the use of noble and eternal materials. The SantacroceDesign studio therefore moves away from industrialism by involving expert craftsmen in its projects.
Giuseppe Santacroce Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Giuseppe Santacroce.
Giuseppe Santacroce Design - Sun Waves Uv Sterilizer
Giuseppe Santacroce Design - Static Movement Kitchen Sideboard
Designer Interview of Giuseppe Santacroce:
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?
GS : I've always dreamed of leaving my mark on the world around me, without limiting my expressive stamp. I love design because it is the means of expression that can best tell a story and a function. I decided to become a designer when I was 18, I am passionate about sculpture, and when I realized that I could shape my imagination and at the same time allow people to use my ideas in everyday life, I decided to study Design. I always thought that "only through craftsmanship can we bridge the distance between Art and Design. If you don't live the essence of your materials, you will end up becoming an artist without a canvas or a designer without sincerity". I hope to develop a communication skill that can give any type of emotion to those who touch my products.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
GS : Giuseppe Santacroce Design is a design studio based in Milan. Founded in 2015, the studio embraces various sectors (hospitality, residences, offices, yachts, product design), offering unique solutions, personalized concepts and refined projects, with turnkey projects. I hope in the future to be able to invest more in my studio, in order to grow my brand. My creations present an essential and decisive style, linking Art and Design through a fine craftsmanship.
DI: What is "design" for you?
GS : For me, design is an art that must touch the heart, eyes and hands. The hands because the design must allow to live the works daily.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
GS : I don't have a priority, but I would like there was always a feeling between me and my customers.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
GS : The "eternal" design. When you draw something that still excites you after years, that's good design. I don't have a favorite one, because each one has its own history and characteristics, but I can say that of all my projects, the "Pacàma" project was the most suffered and perhaps the most satisfying afterwards. Pacàma is an Italian cafeteria. Where relaxation is the main element. Colors, shapes and materials bring peace back.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
GS : My first project was a cup of coffee, I was inspired by the snake scales to create a wonderful texture. I carried the texture of scales on the saucer that becomes more or less visible based on daylight. The whole product is white, saucer and cup, while the handle of the cup is in gold. An object to use every day, or even to collect. In its simplicity this product has a lot of character.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
GS : The noble and eternal olive wood, typical wood from my homeland. For me it is the first wood in the world. The olive wood is very hard, it is compact and homogeneous, and it is resistant to woodworm. It grows to about 15 meters, the trunk is twisted and often hollow. The olive tree is a very resistant and long-lived tree, and specimens over 100 years of age are often found. I always try to make my designs by hand.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
GS : During the night I have the greatest inspirations. It's really the time to be alone and hear the ideas inside me in silence, there are things in a silence that you never expect, and it is there that I can bring out my ideas with the right delicacy.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
GS : Each idea must have 3 fundamental aspects, functionality, aesthetic and sensorial pleasure. I focus a lot on functionality, after which you just have to draw, by simplifying each draft until you get to the soul of the project. All is there
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
GS : I feel different emotions, I don't hide from you that I often also feel anger or suffering. When a project is not linear, it creates embarrassment, annoyance. There you have to fight some worries, until you reach visual and sensory simplicity.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
GS : As I said before, once you have reached the ideal form, you have achieved peace and satisfaction. You must love every project, because those who are close to you perceive the love you put into the job.
DI: What makes a design successful?
GS : As with art or poetry, what a designer feels makes creation successful. Moods (of any kind) are the centerpiece of a brand's personality.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
GS : Good design must have the right basic idea, but an idea remains only an idea if form and function are not combined. Good design must communicate, be useful and must have its own story.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
GS : There is only one word, respect. Respect for the environment, respect for feelings, respect for people who invest money in your design.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
GS : Design changes as society changes, so it is important to have solid roots, the future is built on the past, and this is what I try to do using materials and craftsmanship in my creations.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
GS : A strange coincidence, my last project on display was the coffee cup mentioned above, a great satisfaction was exhibited at the "HOST" in Milan, next to the Lavazza cups. I hope to partecipate in a new event as soon as possible.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
GS : The relationship with the beaches of my native land in southern Italy often inspires me. I have a great feeling with the sea, the smells, the colors, the sensations that it conveys are the design of nature.
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?
GS : I'm probably oriented towards a minimal style, characterized by the use of olive wood. I like to give shape to the beauty of natural wood, but without exaggerating. The material is often the protagonist. Matter takes on a function, the right function for the right place. I always try to make everything very "clean", linear and pleasant. There is no need to overdo it, just transmit your thoughts through the materials.
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?
GS : I live in Milan, but I come from Calabria, a land of historical and landscape beauties often unknown, which is why I hope to make my land known through my works in the future. I hope this competition could be a launching pad, to rediscover the beauty of the south.
DI: How do you work with companies?
GS : It's important that companies rely on my creativity.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
GS : To select a good designer, a true designer, you need trust. And as for love, trust allows you to build something together.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
GS : I always draw by hand and pen, I don't use a pencil because the mistakes I can make by drawing must be visible to improve myself. Later I transfer my idea to the software. Technology helps you avoid material waste and speed up production times. After elaborating the design I contact the best craftsmen for the realization of my projects.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
GS : I often work at night. I wake up in the morning at 8 am take a shower, drink coffee and start the day from there. In the planning phase I finish working at 3 in the morning. I pause to reflect on where I go outdoors and listen to a lot of music. The words of the writers make me think a lot about what I do.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
GS : Always say your idea, without being conditioned by social media. Following to a word is copying, listening and understanding many words is research.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
GS : You don't have timetables and you are often forced to "suffer", but this also means that you are putting all of yourself on the sheet.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
GS : If you keep your idea, you have no rules, that's the beauty of it, you can express yourself without rules as long as what you do makes sense.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
GS : It is essential to understand the client's dreams, what he wants, what makes him (even unconsciously) happy. The designer must be able to read people's emotions, be able to read historical moments, trends, and in all this he must be able to put his mark.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
GS : Absolute simplicity: Feelings, pen and sheet, cad and 3ds, then, go to the lab.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
GS : I divide my time in blocks of 2 hours, at the end of every two hours I make a small revision. The designing takes a long time, but "thinking" is everything in life. So it is right to devote as much time as possible to the design, hours, days and sometimes even months. But during the designing you are facing the most beautiful and most difficult phase.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
GS : More or less 3 weeks, research, drawing and various tests are needed.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
GS : I am often asked how I can turn an idea into reality. The answer is simple, you have to think about what can give an emotion, and give it life.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
GS : Pacàma, the project of a cafeteria created for myself. It is the work for which I have suffered the most, and also the work most appreciated by the public.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
GS : Companies and individuals, but I work mainly for myself.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
GS : I really like making works that are or become necessities for others, sometimes you realize you need something only after seeing it, or you need something that has not exist yet, it's the right time.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
GS : As mentioned before, I am working on a project that I hope will help everyday life now and in the future. A product born after the latest emergencies of the COVID-19.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
GS : I work alone because I want to express myself freely.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
GS : The next outgoing works concern a high class home, I immediately created a feeling with the owners who like me love materials rich in history. I can't say more, hahaha!!!
DI: How can people contact you?
GS : Through my website: http://www.santacrocedesign.it
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
GS : No thanks, you have been very precise in the questions