Interview with MASOUD SERATI NOURI

MASOUD SERATI NOURI ("MSN") interviewed on Saturday, 6 July.

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

MSN : My experience in designing traveled a rough path, but in the end I reached the result I wanted. After the end of the Corona pandemic, I moved to Istanbul and at the same time as I started my master's degree in interior design, I also expanded my experience in jewelry and learned many trainings that I was able to attract the opinion of the great designers of this city.

How did you become a designer?

MSN : I discovered my interest in design since I was a teenager. Accordingly, I chose the field of architecture in the university. After working in this field for ten years, I entered the field of jewelry design to expand my experiences and personal growth. Now, I am studying in Istanbul. And I am working on making jewelry in my atelier. My jewelry consists of precious decorative stones that are cut both inside and outside.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

MSN : Designing jewelry decorated with precious and colored stones was the field that I studied in Istanbul, cutting stones into desired shapes for use in jewelry is now my specialty.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

MSN : It can be said that this feeling cannot be expressed in words, everyone should follow the path of discovery and intuition. I mostly design by being immersed in my fantasy world, which naturally consists of culture, experiences, interests, past and many concepts, and based on this, the form and language of the work is formed in the final stage.

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

MSN : The painting that I have been interested in since I was a teenager.

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

MSN : Participating in international exhibitions, including the Vicenza and Hong Kong jewelry fairs, is one of my plans, and naturally, other important exhibitions. Playing with colors and stones as well as exploring new ways of designing and making jewelry has always been my favorite subject and I am looking to continue it now. Another of my plans is to study academically in this field, another one of my plans in the coming years, which I decide to continue in Italy.

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

MSN : Strengthening imagination and manual design, then being equipped with new software and digital systems.

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

MSN : Only one sentence is enough in this context and that sentence: focus on your interest and equip yourself with the tools that will lead you to your goal.

What is your day to day look like?

MSN : Naturally, starting work in the workshop is the beginning of my day, but before going to the workshop, I try to read an article related to jewelry. These days, I am very busy learning about sales and management, which is becoming more complicated every day. As I mentioned in the above questions, sales management training and organization management is one of the things that designers should be equipped with.

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

MSN : In my opinion, with the expansion of the digital world and, of course, the expansion of the tastes of the people of the world and the complexity of everything, there is no such thing as a trend anymore, of course, if there is, I would rather be a trendsetter than a trend follower. I believe in my design style and the originality of the design, the trend is a kind of expansion of the way of thinking, which is basically temporary, but the original design is stable and lasting.

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

MSN : In my specialized field, which is jewelry, if I want to comment, I must say that the innovation in the form and concept of jewelry, as well as the visual appeal of the work so as to arouse the audience and their feelings, have brought the work close to good design to a large extent.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

MSN : If I am satisfied with a plan, then I will end that plan. This satisfaction is the combination of different issues: reaching the concept I had in mind, coordinating the form and the concept so that the form has the power to express the concept, and of course, an inner feeling is also involved in this stage. At this moment, when I am answering this question, I have several half-finished designs that I have not been able to complete due to not being satisfied with their forms, and I am still tinkering and designing.

What is your biggest design work?

MSN : The luxuriate ring is very sacred to me, I have a good feeling about it, and it won awards in all competitions, that's why I can say that it is valuable to me, but a special and exquisite design that I will unveil at the Istanbul 2024 exhibition and is currently being made. I consider it my best work.

Who is your favourite designer?

MSN : Valance Chan, in one word, consists of innovation and beauty and a new language of jewelry design.

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

MSN : Iran's culture, history, and art have always existed in my intellectual background, however, due to the cultural closeness I have with the people of Turkey, after my migration, I was greatly influenced by the city of Istanbul and its beauty. Preparing for the Istanbul 2024 exhibition and unveiling new designs and of course the designs that win international competitions are on my agenda in this period of time.

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

MSN : Undoubtedly, working alone in today's world cannot be a good answer and option. I do the initial designs alone and alone, but the continuation of the work is a joint product of several artists. The speed of today's complex world does not allow us to work individually, and we are constantly forced to systematize, which, of course, we wish it wasn't like this and the work would be out of Hermand's hands.

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

MSN : In general, I can say that the goal of my life is to live well by helping the society, and wherever this opportunity arises, I will do it to the best of my ability. At the very least, I consider it my duty to introduce the art of my country to the world.

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

MSN : Participating in this competition and winning two prizes in the jewelry section was a launching pad for me, which even caused me to migrate and expand my thoughts and enlarge my world.

MASOUD SERATI NOURI Profile