Nominated by Giulio Cappellini, designer Antonio Facco is sharing his experience of Maison&Objet 2018 Rising Talent Awards and describing his design approach.
How would you explain your experience concerning the mentorship program of Rising Talent Awards as part of Maison & Objet 2018?
I studied interior design. 5 years ago, on the day I was presenting my final project, I met Giulio. I was presenting a new format for Cappellini. There were in total 70 students. Giulio was in the jury. I was waiting for the result. I was very tired. It was summer, very hot. The door opened and Giulio came out, towards me. He said ‘congratulations, come and work with me’. I needed a week time to process this. I was extremely happy. This was probably the best day of my life. From that moment on we started to collaborate. I also work with Cappellini concerning the communication and exhibition projects. Parallel to this cooperation, I opened my own design studio in Milan. This was a very generous act of Giulio to allow me to work with other companies. AugustaWestland a renowned helicopter design and manufacturing company was one of them. I received a honorary mansion for an interior project. I started to collect great experiences in the world of design. I also started to design different things for this company. For Cappellini, I have already designed three products. The first one was a couple of ceramic vases named as Duo. Then I designed a low table with four seats. Following this I designed the glass table with Giuglio which we exhibited during Salone del Mobile last April in Milan. This is also sold in MoMa Store in New York. I collaborate with other design brands as well. I am an interior designer. Right now I am working on two residential projects in Milan and Lugano. My approach is transversal. In order to create a contemporary necessity and aesthetics, we need to consider the project as a result of a complicated system. Thus the world is complicated nowadays. Therefore creating a system is crucial. There are many contradictions in terms of technology and communication. Actually the system is an approach. In order to design a product, I need to understand where this product is going to be used. I try to create the scenario around this product. Also communicating the product with the user should be planned from the beginning.
What are you exhibiting?
Mondo is being presented for the first time at Maison & Objet, a lamp I designed for Oblure, a young Swedish design company. I believe that Mondo create a strong interaction doesn’t matter if you like it as a product or not. I see it as kinetic art. You can change the light and design through shape. The name is coming from the Italian word Mondo meaning the world in English. It is a very graphical product with the black and white contrast. Luce Table that I designed with Giulio for Cappellini represents the potential of overlapping glasses. We loved the palette of the colors immediately. We decided to create something really simple. It is just a glass cube. When you place the three tables close to each other they reflect the light and color. So the product transforms into a new product. We believe that this product has a strong statement.
Which topics are becoming more relevant in the contemporary design discussion from your perspective?
Today we are connected with many things through social media, which can also create an illusion. Today people love objects. But actually people should love other people. The role of design should be to help people love other people. If we have a product here that we all like, we start to feel better. It creates interaction between us. I hope that the human interaction will be more in the focus of design. Being free is crucial for creativity. In order to be free you should love other people.
Which media, figures, movements and developments are you following?
I always start with observing people. I love to tell stories about human identities. When I was a child I was attracted with the behavior of people around me. For me behavior is the first point to start with in the design process. It is important to create something that people really need. I am interested in observing how people behave in the real life as well as in social media. Design should consider the gap between the behavior of the users in real life and social media. We should find a safe way to connect these two different areas.
How do you want evolve your design practice?
I would love to have more freedom with the people I work with; intelligent people. Then I would like to contribute to the freedom of other people. My utopia is to help people to be free; to be themselves.