Interview with id.real

id.real ("Id.real") interviewed on Friday, 4 May.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

Id.real : id.real is a young studio, working for the last three years with a range of different clients and projects. Our success is due to the team of professionals that are part of id.real: each designer, architect, creator, manager have a rich background that benefits the studio as a whole. For example, Anouk de Lesparda, our CEO and Innovation Director, has more than 17 years of experience designing in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

How did you become a designer?

Id.real : id.real is a team of designers and professionals from seven different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. Our team is formed by 16 extremely skilled idrealists that always keep in mind the final user -in every step of the design process. id.real enhances the co-creation process and defends that the user is the final decision maker.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

Id.real : The priority is always the final user. id.real always keeps in mind the objective and the person/ people the design has to answer to. We work through a phygital approach. When we create we mix the most traditional forms of work with the most innovative and digital technics. We may sketch an idea, and then test it with a 3D program -and even print a prototype or mock-up with the 3D printer. And then, maybe even mold it again with modifications in different materials to see which fits better with our goal.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

Id.real : The range of emotions you feel when designing is just… too much! You can feel energetic, excited one moment, frustrated the next second. That is why being part of a team brings the best of each of us. We help each other to overcome the challenges -or we directly challenge each other! Depending on the needs of the project and how the members are feeling. However, the most common feelings are anticipation and expectation -for the good things to come, for the spark of inspiration, for the satisfaction reflected in our users' faces.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

Id.real : As a collaborative and transdisciplinary design studio, id.real has a team formed by professionals from different fields that provide different skills to the design. Observation, analytics, critical thinking, empathy… all the skills that will help the team to understand the challenge that the creation needs to overcome. It is important to have the ability that will make easier for the designer to find the solution to a specific problem or situation.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

Id.real : There are different plans in id.real near future, already working in the next generation of products that will make users dare to share, play, create and imagine. Some of the new products will complement Agape or Kebrick, some will be completely new. What it is sure is that id.real’s goal is to keep designing products and services through the co-creation process. id.real is also looking forward to partnering with other companies, designers and brands to do some edgy, bold new creation -something imaginative, full of energy!

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

Id.real : Get edgy! Be bold! Be imaginative! Practice empathy… Always, keep the user in the center of your process. Keeping that focus, knowing why you design gives you the energy and boost you need. And of course, keep asking questions and advice from other colleagues and professionals. You may think you are inventing the wheel, but sometimes you will not be the first one to try something -and we bet you that other colleagues (wiser or younger) may already encounter your challenges. So learn from them!

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

Id.real : Design should be a balance between beauty and practicality, between utility and aesthetics. It is important to keep this balance in mind -always. Sometimes, there is a tendency to give priority to one of the two characteristics neglecting the other. A good designer knows the exact dose of each one: always remember that a design missing one of these two qualities loses its reason for being.

What is your day to day look like?

Id.real : At id.real, all the team members meet early in the day -coffee at hand- to discuss the daily objectives, news, and next steps. Feedback from other colleagues is key to move forward. Moreover, these gatherings -that keep happening during the whole day- help the professionals to get creative, to relax, to get inspired. Lunch is also a good moment for chit-chat, project discussion, and networking. Depending on the project or projects, we may split into working groups or just start working on our own. In the research part of the process, for example, the team may decide to break the items into smaller parts so each member can do part of the research. Or someone may focus on the research while others start gathering feedback, feelings, perceptions from the users. Similarly, at the inception stage, we may work individually at the beginning (each one proposing ideas, for example) or create something together from the get-go and test it later on. Each day is a bit different because each project is different. The point in common is that each designer can relay to the other professionals.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

Id.real : There are plenty of ways to keep updated with the latest design trends: conferences, articles in specialized media, conversations, talks or social media channels. In id.real’s case, all this information helps us to get inspiration by identifying what users may be looking for. However, the style does not mean a radical change but rather an influence that help improve the final result. All trends may benefit the final outcome if it is adopted in a thoughtful way.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

Id.real : We need to consider different aspects, that’s for sure. For id.real, the most important aspect is that the design meets its objectives. At the end of the day, a good design is one that does what it was meant to do.Of course, there are other things to think about. For example, the materials -are they durable? Sustainable? Adaptable? If we choose one or another, will it considerably improve the outcome of the product? Similarly, we also may value the replication capability. Is this product easy to be produced? Will it be affordable if we use these or that production system? All in all, we need to consider these aspects that will enhance the results of our product or design idea. As per the bad, and following what we were saying, the worse you can say about a design is that it does not meet the users’ objective. If the objective is to decorate, then it has to be astonishingly beautiful. If the objective is to enhance human interaction, then it has to do it!

How do you decide if your design is ready?

Id.real : The final test for id.real it’s the user’s opinion. We know the design is ready when, after the collaborative creation process, we test the idea or prototype with different end-users and the feedback is that is, indeed, ready. Of course, you must have identified well the profile of your end-users! Otherwise, you may find that your design is never ready...

What is your biggest design work?

Id.real : Each of id.real’s projects have brought satisfaction to the team: the studio has designed various offices, restaurants, leisure areas, websites and services. Kebrick and Agape are the first products designed for and by id.real, so we are especially proud and content with them.However, the biggest design work has yet to come! Thinking that the best has yet to come makes us eager to keep working!

Who is your favourite designer?

Id.real : There are several of them! Pick one of them can be challenging. However, what they all have in common is how they balance beauty and practicality, how they transmit their essence into what they are doing but always keeping the user in mind. You can see a piece and know instantly who create it, you see the style in there! And the style includes that “keeping the human as the measure of all”.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

Id.real : At id.real, there are seven nationalities living together. So our heritage is multiculturalism! So many different perspectives have an impact on how projects are co-created. Each of the professionals brings to the table their experiences, feelings, skills, and knowledge. id.real promotes transdisciplinarity and user-centered design, and also multiculturalism. To revere and care for the cultural heritage is a key element in any good design process. It impregnates everything we do! At the studio you hear different languages and musics; the team members share not only the space or the work but also different types of food, games, idioms, and sayings: there is an interesting mix that improves id.real’s design but also the life experience and style of each of us. That is reflected in our projects too -Kebrick dares children (and adults) to play, create and destroy while learning. Agape, on the other hand, facilitates the human relationships through food sharing.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

Id.real : id.real is a design studio based in Madrid, lead by Creative Director/ CEO Anouk de Lesparda. We are 16 professionals from seven nationalities, and each of us with different backgrounds. We keep the creative process as a transdisciplinary one and, most importantly, we keep the user in the center of it. It doesn’t matter if we are designing a space or a product, for us the ultimate measure is the human they will serve. id.real is a unique place to work because of the team and space. It is situated in an old early 19th-century garage in the Salamanca Quarter in Madrid. The building has been remodeled following our philosophy: getting the best out of it to promote the users’ (our team and our clients) wellbeing: natural light, open spaces, zones that help to concentrate, and a cozy atmosphere that revitalizes our senses.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

Id.real : Currently, the BeCurious Gallery is id.real’s biggest contribution. This non-profit initiative is born from the #becurious movement of the studio. We share the principles of co-creation, multidisciplinarity and the excitement to promote art and design in our daily life. Becurious Gallery acts as a springboard to promote new talents, cross the boundaries of disciplines, inspire and motivate all kinds of creative people; concepts and ideas presented in the form of an exhibition to discover the gaze of others.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

Id.real : The A’Design Awards have several benefits for designers and users. For id.real, it is a support not only for our creations but to our collaborative process. It also means a boost of confidence and energy, a confidence vote -we are sure we are on the correct path! Similarly being featured as Studio of the Day is a public recognition of which we are very proud. In the case of the users or customers, seeing a product with the seal of approval A’Design Award guarantees quality, therefore, for customers means a safe bet when acquiring a product or design.

id.real Profile