Interview with Vulca Studio

Vulca Studio ("VS") interviewed on Tuesday, 18 June.

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

VS : Before i graduate from an industrial design degree, I have had work for an office furniture design company and an automotive assembly design company, where I could learn a lot from the senior engineers and designers, after that I work at a company designing POP display and exhibition, and right after I got fired from that job I cofounded Vulca Studio in the year 2006, and ever since I ve had the opportunity to work in retail and hospitality design projects involving disciplines such as graphic design, landscaping, interior design, architecture, industrial design, lighting design and more.

How did you become a designer?

VS : When I was a child I used to think I would become an inventor, then I was determined to become an engineer but it was until I learn more about art ,that I wanted to find the way to mix engineering, invention and art, and that’s why I decided to study industrial design, but it was after that I started my company, that I understood that the mix of specialties makes a concept strong and full of content and that’s the way to connect with the users.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

VS : Priority number 1, is to have clarity, without it I don’t know where we are heading, clarity for me is to understand who is going to benefit from this project? what problem are we solving for them?, what is happening in the world around this problem we are trying to solve?, and fully understanding the operational and business model of my client. Number 2, is to find the concept that will lead the idea, number 3 is when we star the sketching process to let flow the ideas, number 4, is to give proportion, balance and coherence to the design around the notion of lighting, air and traffic flow. Another way to see it is that before sketching we design the soft needs, such as lighting air and traffic flow and from there we design the hardware.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

VS : Excitment, Uncertainty, despair, stressed, euphoric and happy, in that specific order

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

VS : I would say that growing up with the notion of art and aesthetic that some of my artists relatives, taught me, that mixed with the fact that I was always curios about how thing work, l would open a radio and disarm as many parts as possible then put it all back together, I remember I made my own portable mini fan to use in my school desk when I was in 5th grade, also the fact that my father taught us to work with our hands by building some of the toys my brothers and I use to play with.

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

VS : I just hope that we keep making bigger and bigger projects, more architecture related, such as office buildings, residential buildings, right now we are in negotiations of a vineyard design and a big federal park, If we get to pull this out it would be fantastic for the company and also I would love to make my own brand of furniture I don’t know why I´ve always felt the need to do this, and I will.

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

VS : First of all find a deep rooted motivation to dedicate to this profession, and then never forget about it, and ones you start in this path, make a commitment to design for a mutual symbiosis, a design that benefits from every possible aspect that involves the design. I believe that must of today´s current decadence is generated by laziness in the solutions provided and in short sighted projections. Be sure to be part of the solution.

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

VS : I would have to quote a friend of mine that says “think inside the box”, because outside the box there are no boundaries, and what we are trying to do here is to set our own boundaries, or in other words build our own box, and within this boundaries is where the magic must happen, we have to build all the walls that make up our box, one wall could be, the user’s needs, the other wall could be our client’s needs, another wall could be the story and concept behind the idea, and you keep going until you end up building a box that contains all the information needed to develop the rest of the project

What is your day to day look like?

VS : Well for me it´s been hard to find a routine, but mostly I get up and the first thing to do is to take an eye opening shower with a cold water at the end that boosts my energy in a fantastic way, after that I go to check some of the small important things that I can fix in 30 min max, and have a quick look at design news, then I would make myself breakfast, I love doing it, after that I go to the gym and come back and have another shower, then I work hard for the rest of the day, I mostly have like 20 min meal and go back to work, but the most fun of it all is that I get the chance to work most of the time wherever I want, it could be at a coffee shop, restaurant, at my house backyard, in another city, my office, you name it, it is fantastic to have this freedom only achieved by building a trustworthy team.

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

VS : Every day I keep track of the latest architecture and design news, and not just that, I follow other disciplines (biology, philosophy, music, psychology, etc.) because I believe that everything is connected and, for example, an actor´s character development process could be useful to find a creative way to approach a design project. In my case I find trends to be very inspiring but I will try to come up with my own version of it, because my view is always to make functional, original and coherent design, for me “the form follows the function”, and in order to be true to myself I must be original and find a way to make that an advantage for the project.

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

VS : For me design is about serving others, so you must create empathy with your users and make your design useful for them, if it is not useful there is no beauty in it. Let´s be aware that usefulness can be emotional or physical, so an artistic object such as an statue can be useful emotionally also. The key aspects to evaluate the greatness of a design are, functionality, originality and coherence.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

VS : I believe a project has different layers of “goodness”, actually as we work with franchises the concepts get to evolve into a more mature designs as more stores open, there is always room for improvement, and I learned that the only ones that knows that the design could´ve been better is us, the designers, the ones that develop the project, so my advise would be to pay attention mostly to the important details.

What is your biggest design work?

VS : I would say that the supermarket Merco, which is the one that we were awarded for. Our client gave us full control of the project, and the fact that this was a lower-class brand, gave us the opportunity to dignify lower class users, and to upgrade the brand perception. Another great thing about this project is that more than 2500 people every day get to interact with this store design.

Who is your favourite designer?

VS : I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I don’t have a favorite designer, architecture or artist, or sports team, but this doesn’t mean I don’t admire their jobs, I love watching well executed projects, such a good movie, a good song, etc. But when it comes to think of good design the first one that comes to mind is Dieter Rams, Yves Behar is another one I admire, and many more.

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

VS : Being born and living in the north of Mexico has made me a hard working person that finds beauty in simple things, I´m still surprise by the perfect machine that we humans are and the things we are capable of, I truly believe that the only way to explain all this chaotic order is by a higher intelligence and therefore I try to find the answers and ideas in the wise nature, and as I said before I believe that everything is connected and I believe that the root of every profession is design, I believe design can help mold the attitude and thoughts of people, I believe that through design we can build a better economy, build more dignifying cities, and live in harmony with nature and technology.

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

VS : My philosophy Is to trust the team and their talent to work all together in the same vision, I believe in people and I like to work with better people than me. Working for me is not an easy task, I will ask them to do things they´ve never done before, and they will have to say yes to new and difficult challenges. I like working with people that are responsible, have good taste, and have high level of sensitivity to abstract concepts. I will try to stay out of the way letting them do what they were hired to do, trusting they will do their best. I used to have a business partner, but he decided to go find his own way, and ever since I´ve never wanted to work with another partner anymore, because I found freedom to be one of my lifes mottos and it just feels really good to take your own decisions and be 100% responsible for them.

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

VS : I believe that through smart design it is possible to achieve great things for the society, therefore I am excited by the opportunities we´ve had to keep doing this work in other parts of the world. By being awarded in this prestigious competition, I´ve earn the respect and trust of more clients, and I am hoping to have more interesting project and the opportunity to find more high quality team members. I am really grateful for the chance of expressing my ideas, hoping this resonates within someone.

Vulca Studio Profile