So You Want to Be a Product Designer—Artecnica

ENRICO BRESSAN, Principal and Co–Art Director

Loose Cannons Wanted
One of the characteristics we look for is very unedited design. We look for a breadth of imagination, a fresh outlook. That’s the starting point for finding a designer that fits our collection.

The Right Match
They should do a bit of due diligence to try to find matching companies. Every designer has their own style, their own way of doing things, and their own personality. They should try to match those personalities, aesthetics, and principles to the companies they approach.

The Long and Winding Road
A big part of what we do is to recognize certain interesting ideas and direct them to a different purpose. A designer might propose an object for the table, and we say, “Well, that’s an interesting technique—have you ever thought of how this could become a light?” Some of our lights have come from ideas for greeting cards. It’s a very organic process. You never know where you’re going to start, or where you’ll end up. Often, designers show us an object, and we feel like the application is not really selling for us. It might be too conventional or boring, or maybe the object isn’t used anymore. For example, with the advent of iPhones, items like calendars, stationery, and notebooks are disappearing. CD holders were big sellers that are no longer being used. So sometimes we redirect ideas to other applications.

Origin Story
I want designers to give me the background: where the idea came from, what issue they were trying to solve, and what inspired them. Concept development, prior to design and manufacturing development, is very important to us. We may learn something new about how a product should be made. We like to see the origin and the roots of the ideas, not just the object.