Interview designer Kamil Izrailov.

What is the best definition of industrial design these days?

industrial Design are the things which around us or could be around. Now the difference between exclusive and mass production are almost away. So anything can be the object of mass production. Even if it was done not by designer, but simple engineer or craftsman.

Balance between form and function – is this the general rule in industrial designing?

The function of device is not connected with its shape. And if it connected it is insignificantly. The shape now is independent element. The making shape is based on such concepts like image, the target audience, cost, technology, brand and so on…

When you are working on project /idea, mobile phone for example, are you thinking about creating another object or is this a global approach and you analyze goals, needs, user’s expectations, technological or ecological issue?

While working on making idea the process is rendering options for implementation of the task. At this time the working on another projects allow to relax and to make a new fresh look on ready option. After drawing and choosing design direction is really very useful to work in parallel on another tasks. And the more time between pencil sketch and computer simulation the better. For example “Mobicom” phone sketches were made in 2008. And the project you have seen appeared in 2010. But this applies only for creative work. The deadlines for commercial works usually are very tight and concerted with customers.

In which part the industrial design depends on trends? Which are the most important in mobile technology today?

The industrial design is really depends on fashion, technologies because it’s not just for being but people need to want the thing, object or product. Very much depends on color. Color can say for what is this thing was done, which functions it has. For me texture and material are not so important. mobile Technologies is dynamically developing area. It’s almost impossible to guess which technologies we use at present will be important in future. For me as for different gadgets user the right direction for the development are energy-saving batteries of devices. Wу make all the possible things for user not to be able to live without gadgets. But the problem of independent power of these devices is almost forgotten.

What is the most important thing in creation process – revolutionery idea or technology – the tool to materialise it?

Idea is the most important thing. You can think over the technology, but without the idea (for what you need the technology) it will be useless and needless. You can act in another way and invent design product for technology. But the technology is quite limited thing and you will not be able to think wide and to wander in looking for something new. You can not depend only on imagination. So the idea is much more important.

Have you got a guru in designing? (If so, who is it and why him?)

Of course I have! It is all the people who seek to invent something new. And if they do it interesting and beautiful they become my guru.

You consider yourself as an artist, visionary, developer or designer – which is closest to you and why?

I see myself as a designer. My purpose is to invent something new, interesting and lovely. It’s my work, my studies and brain training in one. And of course it’s my profession which is hobby too.

Tell us a story about “Mobikom” and stages in creation process?

It’s one of brain training projects. There was not real customer and nobody asked me to invent such device. I began to think over such phone I needed in. I wrote the list of functions I like and I don’t like in phones. And in that stage I thought I would like to change its size. It needs different size for sporting, travelling or business. We need to carry too much different devices, it’s uncomfortably. I thought I would not like to buy one giant plane-table. It would be more interesting to buy 2-3 phones and to gather it from them. And that’s all!!! The next step was to think over how I could realize this question visually. And to invent some technology features of phone stuffing.
I put it on one English site and on my personal site. And have forgotten about that project. Till I decided to take part in “designboom.сом” and “Futjitsu Simens Award” competition. This project got a place in short list of 3500 worldwide projects. And was loudly disqualified for Internet publishing.
When I tried to find out how the organizers knew about that publishing it cleared up that this new spread worldwide and was published on hundreds of sites in different languages.
For me the popularity of that device was quite unexpectedly. Because I invented the device I needed in myself.

In this world, what decide about market success, for example that some mobile phone’s producer buy your project and start produce it?

If the producers will buy this project for manufacturing I'll be happy. I’m really often asked where the person can buy this device.

Design and innovativeness – how you perceive their relation or interdependence in industrial design?

Repeatedly I noticed the dependence even on the mental level. The projecta I see on different designer sites are similar in their ideas and creation time. It’s not just plagiarism. It’s really difficult for explanation.

Are you working on interesting projects from mobile technology area lately? Tell us about it, if you can say about details.

After “Mobicom” I have a desire to invent something in this area. And as simple as “Mobicom”. Not sure I can)))/ But the time will tell.

Best Regards Monika Kaszuba