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FEDER
05/19/2015

Jorge Herrera

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Colección de mobiliario NEXT TO ME diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario NEXT TO ME diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario STRIP diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario STRIP diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario BOO diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario BOO diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario BLOCK diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario BLOCK diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario EASY diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario EASY diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario WINGCHESTER diseñada para Stratta

Colección de mobiliario WINGCHESTER diseñada para Stratta

Tarjetas de visita diseñadas para Stratta

Tarjetas de visita diseñadas para Stratta

Diseño de la web de Stratta

Diseño de la web de Stratta

Luminarias G-OIN diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias G-OIN diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias G-OIN diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias G-OIN diseñadas para Floss

Familia de luminarias FIND ME diseñada para Floss

Familia de luminarias FIND ME diseñada para Floss

Familia de luminarias FIND ME diseñada para Floss

Familia de luminarias FIND ME diseñada para Floss

Luminarias LED para pared APPS diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias LED para pared APPS diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias LED para pared APPS diseñadas para Floss

Luminarias LED para pared APPS diseñadas para Floss

Serie NATURE BOX diseñada para Antic Colonial

Serie NATURE BOX diseñada para Antic Colonial

Industrial designer Jorge Herrera, who was born in Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canaries Islands, opened his own studio in Valencia in 2008, having previously worked for such firms as Alfa Romeo, Arkoslight and Dona Living. His international, multidisciplinary training has allowed him to engage with all types of creative activity and deploy many design techniques. Since 2009, the studio has collaborated closely with Italian lighting firm Flos, getting involved in a multitude of projects in terms of branding, product development and marketing. One fruitful outcome of this collaboration has been its Apps lights which scooped a Red Dot Award and Good Design Award in 2012 and Idea Award in 2013, while its GO-IN and Find Me lamps received a Red Dot Award in 2013. In late 2013, the studio became the art director of new Spanish company Stratta, carrying out its branding and designing its first furniture collections. Around the same time, Jorge Herrera also began participating in fairs and events where it made contacts with and secured commissions from companies in Sweden, Italy and Japan, thereby breaking into the international arena once and for all.

 

The studio’s founder Herrera spoke to us about its career to date, its methodology, projects and international experience.

 

Interiors From Spain: We’re thrilled to be interviewing a designer who hails from the Canary Islands. What inspired you to become a designer? Tell us about your training and your first jobs in Las Palmas.

 

Jorge Herrera: To be honest, I don’t really know why I became a designer, but from a very young age I loved playing in my grandfather’s garage and drawing objects. My first effort was incorporating a desk into some made-to-measure shelves I could use to study on in my bedroom. I guess I found my vocation to be a designer around then. I also come from a pretty creative family: my mother is a sculptor, my sister a painter, and they’re both very good at what they do.

 

As for my training, learning about product design in Las Palmas is tricky since there’s no local industry for it. But I think what really mattered at the time was that I was keen to absorb ideas and plan things; I was thirsty for knowledge, curious to know more. The first professional work I undertook was for Italian designer Carmelo di Bartolo, who opened a studio in Las Palmas. There I could take part in projects both for Spanish and Italian companies, and, above all, learn a lot about its method of working. I remember I was involved in designing the interior of a bus with digital technology, created to bring new technology to the island’s villages, a work station for supermarket cashiers and a kiosk for beaches.

 

Interiors From Spain: You moved from the Canaries to Milan. Where did you work and in which area? How has this experience influenced your career so far?

 

Jorge Herrera: Yes, I was working in Milan in the Advanced Design department of the Fiat group whose brands included Alfa Romeo and Lancia, alongside young designers from all over the world —Italy, Mexico, Japan, France, Hungary, Armenia and Malta… At the Alfa Romeo plant in Arese, northwest of Milan, I studied the future of urban mobility — what it would be like in five, 10, 15 and 20 years’ time.

 

Rather than influence me, I believe this experience changed me, allowed me to evolve as a person and designer. Being in Milan — where we took advantage every day of seeing new designs in exhibitions, shops, factories and design studios — was very positive: I believe it was the best form of education. I hadn’t yet presented my final-year project in Spain and at the time was an unregistered student on Polytechnic University of Milan’s Naval and Nautical Design masters degree, which helped me to complete this project later.

 

Interiors From Spain: What can young Spanish designers gain from the experience of training and working in Italy — one of the birthplaces of contemporary design — which you’ve had?

 

Jorge Herrera: Well, many positive things. Simply learning to cope with working while speaking another language is a big one. Also, witnessing design at first hand in one of the world’s international design centres inevitably influences you and gives you a fresh perspective; in my case, it undoubtedly marked a qualitative leap.

 

Interiors From Spain: How do you describe your work? What’s your methodology as a designer, and what inspires you?

 

Jorge Herrera: Describing your own work is rather dodgy [laughs] because it’s something that constantly evolves. So I don’t know that I can describe it very precisely. What I can say is that I believe in design that’s simple, functional and elegant, and I usually adhere to these principles. I think products should be user-friendly and have a clear design language. We also need to explore new ideas and techniques in the interests of being innovative.

 

As for our methodology, we normally begin by researching as much as possible about the project — and not just by sticking to its sector: whenever possible, we encourage the cross-pollination of disciplines since we believe that trying out ideas in different sectors can ultimately enrich the final design. Next, using moodboards, we ascertain where we can take the project in terms of trends, styles, textures and materials. This also lets us contextualise and create an ‘eco system’ of references which later allows us to plan and stick to certain conceptual approaches. We then begin to give shape to the ideas via sketches. In this part of the process we create some very basic 3D models, depending on how much time we have for the project. After this we review the ideas and make 3D versions of the best of them. Finally we put together a presentation which we assess with the client.

 

As for inspiration, I think this comes to you as you’re working.

 

Interiors From Spain: Some of your work for the famous firm Flos has received prestigious, international prizes, such as the Red Dot awards. What did the judges think of your work? What do these prizes — and your collaboration with Flos — mean to you?

 

Jorge Herrera: They’ve made different remarks about different designs. But in general, they’ve said that the pieces are well-balanced in their use of form. Some adjectives the judges used in their comments were ‘delightful’, ‘captivating’, ‘sophisticated’ and ‘discreet’.

 

The prizes are a reward for our good work and a measure of the excellence of our projects. Of course, they also raise your profile in a way that would otherwise be hard to achieve.

 

My relationship with Flos goes much further than designing products for them. We also closely collaborate in terms of its marketing. For me, this has seen me grow hugely professionally in terms of meeting strict requirements and achieving the highest quality. Being able to work with professionals who aim to create the highest quality designs forces you to get your act together and not be left behind. Ultimately, we’re always evolving in conjunction with our clients. If they grow and become more demanding, so must we.

 

Interiors From Spain: In late 2013, you were commissioned to develop a new furniture brand, Stratta, which, incidentally, was unveiled at the trade fair Orgatec last year. Tell us about this fascinating task for you.

 

Jorge Herrera: Creating a new brand from scratch is the type of project you never expect to take on in your professional life. On top of that, when you have a good connection with the company’s owners who have total confidence in you and give you total freedom when you work with them — that’s as perfect a project as you can hope for. And all these positive factors are eventually reflected in the global impact a product has. In truth, we’re very happy with the way the company is shaping up. With Stratta, everything moves very fast; it’s a constant challenge. In barely a year, we’ve gone from deciding on the new brand’s name should have to exhibiting at Orgatec, and now we’re looking ahead to taking part in the Milan Furniture Fair.

 

For us, Stratta is much more than just about creative direction. It’s a fully rounded, 360º project that involves us creating the brand’s DNA, taking its designs as our starting point — not the other way around as often happens in most cases. One thing that took us more time and effort was the analysis and definition needed to come up with a strategy the brand would need to have a clear direction when it starts to create its various elements: logo, catalogue, style of photography, website, types of products and their design, exhibition stands, the entire management of product development, and so on.

 

The brand’s first collection comprises six families of product, which, at the most basic level, caters to different needs and environments: waiting rooms, spaces to relax in, domestic spaces or offices (shared spaces for collaborating in). It’s also worth mentioning that the designs are ‘soft’ — they don’t have an internal frame — a major advantage in itself. And they’re protected by an outer skin which makes them perfect for outdoor use. We’re also currently working with Danish firm Kvadrat to create different covers for the furniture which will make it look warmer and more inviting.

 

Interiors From Spain: You’ve taken part in the Technical Design conferences with other Spanish designers in Tokyo, Japan and Guangzhou and Beijing in China. Have you made good contacts with companies in these countries? And what are the differences between these markets?

 

Jorge Herrera: They’re countries which, though geographically close, are markedly different in terms of design. Japan understands design — it’s industrial textile industry, for example, is very well-established. Conversely, China is a giant of a country which is only just learning about design. As for industry contacts, we’ve made some but these countries are hard to break into: to do so, you need to persevere and be patient. Fortunately, in our case, we’ve started collaborating with one company.

 

Interiors From Spain: Can you tell us about one of your projects in the coming year? And any that are happening abroad?

 

Jorge Herrera: All being well — fingers crossed — in Milan, we’ll be unveiling some new lighting and furniture, and, towards the end of the year, we might be launching something in Japan.

 

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