Interview JORGE HERRERA

These are Jorge Herrera's core design principles. And they've stood him in good stead because he's a man on a plane these days, jetting around the world from Mexico to Japan to meet clients with projects that encompass furniture, lighting, graphic, retail and exhibition design.

*  The following article is an excerpt from Design in/from Spain magazine for smartphones and tablets.
    
Jorge Herrera  is your proverbial 21st century in-demand designer, jetting around running concurrent diverse projects. His Valencia studio at any one time could be designing the label for a brand of wine, a light for Italian brand Flos or a showroom for Porcelanosa, while he also gives plenty of time to what's been a constant in his work schedule for the past three years, his role as design and art director for Stratta.

Stratta is very close to Herrera's heart and if you don't know this brand of furniture, you will, because the company is growing as more people fall for the comfort and charm of its unique range of coated polyeurethene foam furniture. Sofas, armchairs, side tables, seating pouffes and seating systems with integral planters, Stratta has embraced the design opportunities opened up by the development of high quality foams. The material is warm, supportive and can be cut into any shape from geometrically precise to soft and rounded.

Stratta furniture can be used outdoors as well as in and it is perfect for contract and hospitality venues as well as the home. The aim of the brand, says Herrera, is to give people comfortable modern ergonomic furniture that is fun, different, colourful and has a simplicity: it's just made from foam that is coloured and sealed and that very pared-back aesthetic is refreshing.

Herrera, who opened his own studio in Valencia in 2008, says his relationship with Stratta came about through a friend who knew some business people in Zaragoza with an idea for a new brand of furniture, but who lacked the industrial know-how and crucially needed a designer to lead the project. Herrera met the team and quickly established a rapport, finding they shared a vision on what the brand should be.

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