Rafael Morgan is an industrial designer in Brazil whose work, like the Light Drop and the Puzzle Revisited Chair, has been getting some attention of late. His whole portfolio is full of interesting pieces, but we were disappointed to learn that some of the most interesting ones are still prototypes, as it is difficult to find a company willing to produce innovative designs in Brazil. When we thought about it, we realized that little is heard about Brazilian design, save for the fantastic Campana brothers, so we asked Rafael some of his views on the present situation in Brazil for designers who want to break out. Rafael gave us some insight into the scene, all of it from the heart.
Light Drop
As a designer in Brazil, what do you feel are the major obstacles to getting your work produced? What do you think of the success of the Campana brothers?
Well, there are so many obstacles here that it is hard to name them all. It seems that most major Brazilian companies are afraid to innovate, you know, they make a lot of money producing classic or poorly designed products. There are a lot of good designers in Brazil, but most of them are unemployed or are forced to design mediocre stuff in their jobs. It's very frustrating- believe me, I WAS one of those. But I will never give up. I really believe that I was born to do what I do and will keep doing it until the end of my days.
I think the only chance of success for innovative and avant-garde Brazilian designers is to try to design for more industrialized and open minded countries and that´s what I have been trying to do. That's what happened with Humberto and Fernando Campana. They are very talented artists (designers), they have style, identity and some guy from Italy really believed in their work. There´s absolutely no market for their work in Brazil but some of their designs are worshiped out there, in art museums and millionaires’ houses all over the world. I have no words to describe Campana's work...It's just amazing, creative and different from everything else in the market.
Books | 30 Sep 07 | Comments (1) | Print Posts
I tend to be more aware than most of the environment around me, the people and especially the architecture and the objects, it's a design blogger's imperative. So when I began reading Everyday Engineering the book struck a chord. It's an illustrated guide to the built environment, our cities and homes, and how well or not they withstand the effects of time. I suspect the author Andrew Burroughs knows what he's talking about, he's a consulting design engineer with industrial design firm IDEO and has been for the last 15 years. We don't last forever but some man-made things do last a long time, why? Everyday Engineering will help lay people like myself answer that question. Read and see more at the Everyday Engineering website. Hardcover, 204 pages, 175 color images, $19.77 at Amazon. Via Dezain.
